24 Feb 2017

Pods of Orca and the Polar Sun

At last we have a few minutes to catch our breath .. we are currently cruising to Cape Crozier we will be  there after dinner tonight. The last two days have been very full, very busy and incredibly rewarding.  We arrived at Cape Royds yesterday, so it was an early lunch followed by a detailed briefing and then ashore.  The weather was exceptionally good, a very light southerly, and blue sky.  It was an easy 40 min walk from the landing to Shackleton’s “Nimrod” hut.  We spent the next 4 hours soaking in the history of the place. It is a very revered site for anybody interested in Antarctic history, our group was no exception.  Nearby the hut on some fast ice there were  Weddell, Crabeater and Leopard Seals hauled out for everybody to see and photograph.

We drifted in McMurdo Sound last night and were rewarded with a simply amazing sunset, the colours and the lighting were indescribably beautiful .. and if that wasn’t enough a large Pod of Orca came close by to inspect us. So we had Orcas backlit by the reds and yellows of a Polar setting sun... I can't think of anything more beautiful.

This morning we enjoyed an equally rewarding and fascinating time at Cape Evans or Scott’s 'Terra Nova' hut. This site is revered almost more than the Nimrod hut, we had a perfect morning, the light air of northerly wind made the landing a little challenging as it pushed a lot of ice onto the landing site.  By mid-afternoon everybody was on board and we commenced our journey, we are now heading for Cape Crozier and then the Bay of Whales.