26 Jan 2017

Antarctic Base Visits at Terra Nova Bay

With Mt. Melbourne looking over us, we arrived in Terra Nova Bay early in the morning.It was named by Scott after the ship, the Terra Nova, which was one of the relief ships sent in 1904 to "rescue" the Discovery expedition.  This was the same ship that later was used for his 1910-13 expedition. The iceberg filled bay has more human activity than most areas around the Ross Sea thanks to Korean and Italian bases located there. We did a morning landing, and set foot for the first time on the continent! We had 3 hours to explore the area. A group went hiking up the ridge, while others enjoyed exploring the nearby German research base, and viewing skuas and seals. In the afternoon the Italian base welcomed us with a tour of the base, and LaVassa coffee with cookies. A full day and perfect weather in Terra Nova Bay!

Photo (from file): H.Ahern