Hans Hansson – “The Riviera on Ice”

Updates by Andrew Conomy

Blog Thursday 16^th Feb

Day Six, and the reassuring tempo of boat life as become second nature.

Our ship stirs itself awake: first the engine, then the rattle of anchor chains. The weather is clear and bright at 0700 and the day full of polar promise. But first: breakfast, coffee, and a quiet look around. Our overnight anchorage is revealed to be a gallery or frozen ice structures of every shape and size. The Graveyard of Icebergs has respected the personal space of our little ship.

First landing of the day is at Yalour Island, a small island hosting a colony of Adelie penguins. This group is closely studied by scientists, and a number of cameras track the population demographics from season to season.

By 1000 we are blessed with sunshine, blue skies and perfect visibility of the surrounding glaciers and mountain ranges. The penguins themselves seemed stunned by the balmy conditions, while the crew remark it is perhaps the finest day of their entire season.  The Riviera on Ice.

Latitude 65 degrees south being attained (our southernmost point), we turn north.

After a short cruise through the Penola Channel and a return through the Lemaire Strait, we head for DAMOY Hut. Established in the 1970s, it is now a well-maintained monument to early expeditions and an important part of Antarctic Heritage. Visitors can enter the isolated wooden structure, which is furnished with of remnants and equipment and supplies from the early expeditionary teams.

A leopard seal prowls the bay, only its eyes and nostrils protruding above the glassy surfaces of the water. It is on the hunt for dinner, no doubt, as indeed are we when we board the Zodiac to return to our ship. Another fine day in Polar Paradise.