29 Jan 2015

Minkes and Ice

The weather continues to be in our favour with calm seas, sunshine and Mt Erebus in all her glory. During the night we relocated to Cape Evans where we took the opportunity to inspect Captain Scott’s hut, enhance our photo collections and enjoy the surroundings. Later we had a superb Zodiac cruise around some grounded icebergs festooned with icicles before following the ice edge.

Ice Berg Cruise

Minke Whales Encounter

Scores of Adelie Penguins were lined up like soldiers, while others swam in large groups around the Zodiacs. They were soon joined by several Minke Whales blowing and diving very close to us. Even seasoned expeditioners on the staff were impressed with these outstanding close encounters. We also viewed the coloured volcanic rocks of the Delbridge Islands before returning to the ship for an excellent lunch.

This evening we are making our way towards the Ross Ice Shelf which we are scheduled to reach around midnight.  Along the way we will pass some beautiful polar landscapes including Cape Crozier, which has a large Adelie Penguin colony and an Emperor Penguin colony during winter.