Iceberg in Antarctica
Antarctica cruise and kayak

Antarctic travelogue

South Shetland islands

Day 8
  • Position: Livingston
  • Hour: 07:00am
  • Latitude: 62°39’S
  • Longitude: 59°48’W
  • Distance: 991Nm
  • Air temperature: 2°C
  • Water temperature: 1°C

penguin chickWe reached the South Shetland islands and more specifically Half moon island. Although we haven't sailed for a long time the sceneries dramatically changed from Antarctica peninsula. Snow and ice are hardly visible (except a thin layer of powder snow on mounatins tops), giving way to rocks and sand.
This morning is our last kayak expedition of the Antarctica adventure. Although we already had a lot of sensations we are still excpecting more but we know today's kayaking experience will not be as thrilling as the previous ones.

Here no icebergs to play with, no signs of whales and no white Antarctic landscapes. However the cool feeling about kayaking in Half moon bay is the moderate swell we have to deal with. After paddling along the moon-shaped shore, we beached the kayaks to explore, on foot, the island where a chinstrap penguins colony lives. A bit farther two large elephant seal females are resting. On our way back to the zodiacs we spotted two fur seals, the same type we saw at Cape cross Namibia. Before boarding the zodiacs all members of kayak team decided to test our kayak waterproof clothing and jumped in the freezing water. And yes, they are waterproof!

Back on professor Multanovskiy bound for Aichoa island where no trace of snow is visible. Mud and moss cover the ground hence the prevailing green colour all around us. What a change with the exclusively white sceneries of the Antarctica peninsula! A huge number of Gentoo penguin colonize the main beach, the chicks are already as tall as the adults, only the feathers can tell them apart. However they still don't have the defensive reflexes to fight against predators. This Gentoo chick captured by a skua who caught up while hedge-hopping. Grabbed by the neck the poor chick was intentionally drawned by the skua who landed on water with the chick still squeezed up in its claws, and finally eaten on the beach.

Farther we spotted at least twenty elephant seals resting on a beach. On our way back we managed to approach a few giant petrels nests, very big birds but not as gracious as albatrosses.

And then was time to board the zodiacs marking the end of our presence in Antarctica and the begining of the journey back to Ushuaia haunted by Drake's passage.

[Continuation] Heading north towards Drake passage