25 Jan 2020

Celebrating with an Emperor on the Ice

Tonight we were joined by Akademik Shokalskiy's sister ship Spirit of Enderby (Professor Khromov) and her expeditioners in a joint celebration of the 200th anniversary of what is widely regarded as the first sighting of Antarctica with a champagne and dessert party on the Ross Sea ice.

First to arrive was a curious Emperor Penguin which wrangled its way onto the guest list after torpedoing out of the water and belly sliding over the ice to join our expedition team setting up as delighted voyagers watched from the two ships parked at the ice edge between Mount Erebus and Mount Discovery.

It wasn't long before expeditioners were crunching over the ice, raising a glass to mark the auspicious occasion and getting some great photos of our suave visitor.

The magical evening capped off yet another a perfect day having spent the morning exploring Shackleton's Hut dating back to the 1907-09 Nimrod expedition at Cape Royds, with many expeditioners (and our expedition team) claiming it one of the best days of their lives.

Image © I.Wilson, Heritage Expeditions