Antarctica - Cape Adare

January 17, 2025

Jan 17 & 18

Awoke to a gorgeous day. Blue sky, few icebergs floating by, and the sun up about 1/3 above the horizon (oh, we forgot to mention that now the sun never sets; we are about 70th parallel-latitude)

And right at the end of breakfast (about 8.45am), we were interrupted by an announcement that whales were spouting ahead of us. So as usual, the dining room emptied quickly, and we went outside into 30F weather (not including wind chill) to observe the action. Turns out we saw numerous (at least 12-15 whales over the next couple of hours) BLUE whales. These are the largest animals ever to be on earth - even larger than dinosaurs. They can weigh over 100 tons and can be as long as a football field!! They live on krill, so you can only imagine how much krill they need to ingest each day! Exciting morning. Even our guides were in awe. (To give perspective, in all of our other trips, we’ve only seen one or two blue whales total.)

The weather here can change quickly. An hour later, the sky became overcast and the temperature dropped. The ocean became colder and took on a more greenish grey color. And just as quickly, the weather changed again and it was sunny and you could feel the warmth from the sun.

We put down anchor at Cape Adare, the famous location where Amundsen, Borchgrevink, and a British team led by Scott separately wintered in the quest to reach the South Pole. Borchgrevink’s hut is still there, and until recently all of his tools, equipment, and canned goods remained. They are in the process of being cleaned and restored and will eventually be returned to the hut.

Imagine 10 men in a cabin 15’x20’ for 8 months. Each had a bunk, and several of the explorers etched or wrote on their ceilings and walls.

What is also remarkable about Cape Adare is it is host to the largest Adele penguin colony on earth. Estimates range as high as 500,000 pairs on the Cape! They are highly photogenic as you can see!

Young chick who is starting to molt. You can see the white chest and if you enlarge, can see the waterproof feathers he will need to swim.

Skuas (the birds in this photo) are never far from penguins. They will go after eggs and weaker chicks which you see everywhere.

Skua

Skua assessing his prey

We have debated how to title this photo. Poor thing looks like he has a hot spot. Clearly embarrassed, I still took his photo.

We often acknowledge the privilege we have had in seeing parts of the world, nature in particular and often remote, that are so pristine and beautiful; it simply takes your breath away. Yesterday and today were such days. We can only imagine the experience of the first South Pole explorers who set foot here, lived here through some of the worst weather imaginable, and a number died here, and we landed on truly one of the most stunning days with a slight breeze, full sunshine, and the sound of those Adele penguins.

We haven’t talked about the “bergs”, or sea ice, or packed ice yet. No matter what size, shape, or color (icebergs do have color variations), ice is gorgeous. As we sit in the library at the aft of the ship, we are looking at sea ice as far as the eye can see, the Antarctic cap with its shores protected by layers of sea ice. Even when it appears to be a calm day, the ice can move and can do so quite rapidly. We look for penguins, seals, and whales.

The flat ice is ‘sea ice’, sea water that freezes (and thaws during summer).

These are ice bergs (from glaciers or the ice ‘shelf’ - solid fresh water ice over land)

Cape Adare

Today (Jan 18) we sailed all morning along the sea ice, seeking a way to go towards a landing spot in Terra Nova Bay. However, our expedition leaders decided we should take advantage of the perfect weather and calm sea, so they quickly unloaded the Zodiacs, and we spent 2+ hours cruising thru broken sea ice - where we saw more penguins, crab eater seals (they eat krill, not crab), and our first leopard seals on this trip (they are the most aggresive seals, eating penguins and other small seals). Just an outstanding afternoon.

Leopard Seal

Ben, I needed you next to me today (mom here). It is so gloriously sunny with a hint of a breeze, but I had a terrible time photographing the ice. Our iPhones are definitely great for all occasions! The above is a piece of glacial ice and the flatter pieces around it are sea ice.

And just to reassure everyone, the food is delicious, and, coincidentally, the chef on board served as our chef two years ago. His new style is to deconstruct his dishes, so the presentations are quite elaborate, and a welcome sight at mealtimes.