02 Feb 2014

17 Jan Voyage: Terra Nova Bay

After an evening spent watching Orca working the icepack, we awoke to the magnificent sight of the Drygalski Ice Tongue – a massive glacier that starts on the continent and literally flows out into the ocean. The morning light shining through the gnarled edges created hues of blue and white, and some spectacular photographs.  The beautiful turquoise icebergs that had ‘calved’ provided a resting spot for several Adelie Penguins. Cameras went into overdrive as we made a ‘lap’ of one so we had plenty of time to capture the scene.  

We made our way north past Inexpressible Island and its 60 knot katabatic winds to Terra Nova Bay, overlooked by Mt Melbourne (shown above) and the site of the Italian, German and Korean Bases – the latter still under construction. Our chosen landing was at the German ‘Gondwana’ base which is currently uninhabited. The rock formations there were very different to those on Ross Island and our onboard geologist lecturer (and her budding geologist followers) found plenty to talk about. Wildlife enthusiasts located a moulting Emperor Penguin, an Adelie Penguin and many Weddell Seals basking in the sun.

All expeditioners enjoyed the freedom to wander and soak up the surroundings in glorious weather with lenticular clouds creating linear patterns against the bright blue sky. Our landing was completed in style with a Zodiac cruise past the Korean Base to the Campbell Glacier where a sole Emperor Penguin stood sentry on a single iceberg.  Since arriving in the Ross Sea region we have seen Antarctica in all her weather guises and today we have been blessed by incredible conditions.  We are now returning to Inexpressible Island hoping to make an early morning landing when the katabatic winds drop. Always at the ready for the next adventure, 2am now seems a normal time to be up and preparing to board Zodiacs!