Emily's Antarctic Adventure: Trip number 2.

I’ve been to Antarctica, I know what to expect, so this time I’m even more excited!!!

There were so many highlights to this trip; starting to feel confident in a Zodiac, amazing scenes of ice and glaciers in Neko Harbour, an Antarctic swim in the caldera of an active volcano, so many penguins, my first Wandering Albatross (biggest wingspan in the world), seeing a glacier carve and then riding the wave from the mini-tsunami it created and of course, always learning more and feeling more confident knowing about the amazing wilderness around us.

Below is a trip map which shows where we went.

We unfortunately had to cut the trip a day and a half short due to a bad weather system which was coming through. When the winds are high, the swell in the Drake Passage (between S. America and Antarctica) becomes huge and has a big affect on ships. Firstly, it would make it unbearably rocky for our guests. Everything becomes impossible; imagine cooking, showering, or simply walking in a straight line on a ship which is throwing you sideways, definitely a risk of injury! Secondly, the ship needs to face into the swell which can change a 2 day crossing into a 3+ day affair. For us, the best option was leave early to ensure that our guests didn’t miss their flights, no one got injured and we arrived in Ushuaia ready for the next trip. It was a shame, but we managed to pack a lot into the days we were there!

That’s all for now, but I’ll leave a few photos here of what we saw...

Spot the difference: 2 Blue-Eyed Shags in the middle of a Gentoo Penguin colony

A humpback whale in front of an iceberg

A Leopard Seal and Brown Skua. Best of friends or blissfully ignorant?

A Gentoo Penguin waddling proudly over the snow off to find his mate