27 Jan 2018

SHO: A Beautiful Morning at Cape Adare

On Friday 26 February, Australia Day, the voyage south continued on a sunny day and calm seas. With the expedition having ten days to run, this was a good opportunity to organise and exchange photographs and Australia’s national holiday was celebrated in fine style. There were prizes for the best costume, best joke and Weetbix eating. The Chefs provided an excellent meal and by 7 p.m. the Antarctic continent was visible on the horizon and soon afterwards, the landmass forming the Adare Peninsula was also prominent. As the sun slowly dropped, the light over a sea studded with ice floes was superb for photography.

As we neared the continent, many people spent most of the night on deck and took advantage of a very special evening. As the sun climbed higher in the early hours of morning, the Captain who had been on the Bridge all night, carefully guided the ship through large ice floes. An early fog lifted and by 6 a.m. in perfect conditions, the anchor was dropped off the north side of Ridley Beach at Cape Adare. This was the site of the first winter spent by an expedition on the continent in 1899. Zodiacs then shuttled 46 passengers and 8 staff ashore for a continental landing and an opportunity to view Adelie penguins and their chicks in brown down. Here they saw the largest penguin colony in Antarctica with 400,000 birds, and about 20 minutes was spent by each person ashore. It was a beautiful crisp morning with a light breeze and the high peaks of the Admiralty Mountains and glaciers were cloud free and truly outstanding. The landing was something all would remember, the rest of their lives.