Deception Island
Where do things start or begin? After almost nine days in Antarctica we have received a taste of the last really dramatic and pristine part of the world. We have also tasted both good and bad weather and experienced how quickly and dramatically things change. At least this has given us a feeling of how the early explorers and later whalers had to struggle to be able to achieve their goals.
Today at Deception Island in Whalers Bay we saw the remains of one intensive period of human activity in this part of the world. Sealers, and later whalers arrived, over-harvesting the resources and pushing them right to the edge of extinction. In only a few years sealers hunted themselves out of business, while whalers lasted here at Deception Island for two decades, from 1911-31.
Gladly we can today see how the chinstrap penguin colony at Baily Head was steaming with life while off the beach several humpback whales fed on abundant krill. Fortunately the visitors of today are completely different than our predecessors, and we are careful to ensure this continent’s resources are no longer over-exploited. We as visitors take only photos and leave only footprints.
We have been able to explore and discover this part of world comfortably onboard Endeavour. Instead of surviving on penguins, seals, and whale blubber we have wondered and marveled in utmost comfort.
Today is January 17, a date to remember, a date which changed the future for this last unseen continent. Who really was the first person to Antarctica will be a question never answered, just like who was the first to America. We know for sure that the most impressive navigator in history, James Cook on the ship Resolution, crossed the Antarctic circle on January 17 1773. In the year 1775, January 17, he was the first to land on the island South Georgia. He thought, at last, he had found the still unseen southern continent. As he reached the southeastern tip of this island and became aware that this was not the continent and named it Cape Disappointment. Actually James Cook never saw the mainland of Antarctica! Another man who became very disappointed January 17, 1912, was Robert Falcon Scott as he arrived at the South Pole, only to find the Norwegian flag. Amundsen had arrived December 14, 1911.
After almost endless struggles Scott’s expedition ended in disaster. Amundsen had raced to the South Pole and victory. Polar experience and supreme planning paid off!
Where do things start or begin? After almost nine days in Antarctica we have received a taste of the last really dramatic and pristine part of the world. We have also tasted both good and bad weather and experienced how quickly and dramatically things change. At least this has given us a feeling of how the early explorers and later whalers had to struggle to be able to achieve their goals.
Today at Deception Island in Whalers Bay we saw the remains of one intensive period of human activity in this part of the world. Sealers, and later whalers arrived, over-harvesting the resources and pushing them right to the edge of extinction. In only a few years sealers hunted themselves out of business, while whalers lasted here at Deception Island for two decades, from 1911-31.
Gladly we can today see how the chinstrap penguin colony at Baily Head was steaming with life while off the beach several humpback whales fed on abundant krill. Fortunately the visitors of today are completely different than our predecessors, and we are careful to ensure this continent’s resources are no longer over-exploited. We as visitors take only photos and leave only footprints.
We have been able to explore and discover this part of world comfortably onboard Endeavour. Instead of surviving on penguins, seals, and whale blubber we have wondered and marveled in utmost comfort.
Today is January 17, a date to remember, a date which changed the future for this last unseen continent. Who really was the first person to Antarctica will be a question never answered, just like who was the first to America. We know for sure that the most impressive navigator in history, James Cook on the ship Resolution, crossed the Antarctic circle on January 17 1773. In the year 1775, January 17, he was the first to land on the island South Georgia. He thought, at last, he had found the still unseen southern continent. As he reached the southeastern tip of this island and became aware that this was not the continent and named it Cape Disappointment. Actually James Cook never saw the mainland of Antarctica! Another man who became very disappointed January 17, 1912, was Robert Falcon Scott as he arrived at the South Pole, only to find the Norwegian flag. Amundsen had arrived December 14, 1911.
After almost endless struggles Scott’s expedition ended in disaster. Amundsen had raced to the South Pole and victory. Polar experience and supreme planning paid off!
