ORCAs!!!!!

Days can be pretty fabulous in Antarctica and yesterday was no exception. We woke up early in Port Lockroy (5am) to set off to the access point for Mount Hindson – a mountain that our mountaineers had their eye on. Anchor up and 2 hour sail west. We arrived and the mountain was looking fantastic. 2 trips ashore and the mountain team was off and going roped up slowly towards the summit. During the morning we caught glimpses of them as their path wove in and out of our view. A small string of dots against a large vast white glacial backdrop. SUCCESS!!! 5 hours later they were down having reached the summit – the whole team!!! What a day. but that was only just the beginning.

From there we wove our way through icebergs to the grand entrance of the LeMaire Channel – famed for its beauty – it’s a narrow passage with high glaciated mountains on either side. Sadly as we entered the clouds were low and it was a bit drizzly – I was not hopeful for a beautiful LeMaire. Antarctica, however had other tricks up her sleeve. Almost immediately upon entering the channel we encountered a group of Orcas heading in the same direction as us through the LeMaire. There were about 6 or 7 in total and one young one as well! We got to watch a whole array of behavior – not just travelling, but also we watched them spy hop. They go straight up to see what is on the ice. They were looking for penguins, small seals, any delicious meal!! On one side of a small iceberg we watched them spy hop and a seal hovered in the water on the other side! This time no luck for the Orca. We continued south through the LeMaire, as did the Orcas and then we got another surprise – an Orca (or rather 4) chasing a gentoo penguin. The Penguin was running for his life, and the chase was on. We watched the penguin porpoise and then a few seconds later the orca would surface. Penguins surfacing, orcas following. The chase went across the channel and in the end, the penguin was free! What a sight.

We continued on and the Orcas appeared, dove, and continued to reappear. At the southern end of the LeMaire there was a VERY large iceberg blocking 70% of the entrance. The iceberg affected the water flow through the channel and we watched the water spin around it as it created crazy eddies where small and medium ice swirled in odd patterns. From there we continued south in the Penola Straits until we finally reached our destination for the night – the Argentine Islands, where the Ukrainian Vernadsky station is located. WHAT A DAY – thank you Antarctica.

Laura