The Antarctic Circle and farther south
66° 33.6 S - the Antarctic Circle! This imaginary line marks the point from which all locations south experience at least one day of complete daylight at the Austral Summer Solstice and, conversely, one day of complete darkness in midwinter. We crossed the line shortly after breakfast, with the ship’s horn sounding to mark the passage.
Soon the Endeavour entered a world of white as pack ice enclosed the ship. We nudged our way through pancake and brash ice, past floes and bergy bits, keeping a keen lookout for wildlife. Antarctic minke whales, crabeater seals, leopard seals and snow petrels all added interest to the spectacular seascape as we edged farther south. Lectures were cancelled since everyone wanted to spend as much time as possible outside enjoying the beautiful weather and awesome scenery.
Lunch was interrupted by a sighting of an immature emperor penguin from the dining room. Enthusiastic observers forgot their hunger and hurried onto deck to be rewarded with great views of this rarely seen species on an ice floe just ahead of the ship. Shortly after, two further immature emperors were sighted on fast ice dotted with crabeater seals (pictured - crabeaters in the foreground and penguins farther away).
The emperor penguin is a true Antarctic specialist. It is the largest of all penguins, weighing in at up to 45 kg and standing a little over one metre tall. These immature birds are less than three years old, and to reach this stage have endured some of the harshest conditions on the planet. These birds will most likely spend their entire lives either at sea or on sea ice – perhaps the most perfect of all seabirds.
Attempting to head further south, we found ourselves staring down The Gullet – choked with ice and impassable. Undeterred, our Captain parked the ship in some nearby fast ice and we stepped out onto the ice on foot to head south. After passing some Weddell seals lounging on the ice, seemingly unconcerned about the red-coated intruders, we reached 67° 02.00 S, our farthest point south.
Exhilarated by our adventure, we returned to the Endeavour and steamed north. We spent the evening reflecting on another day of extraordinary experiences in this most magical of places.
66° 33.6 S - the Antarctic Circle! This imaginary line marks the point from which all locations south experience at least one day of complete daylight at the Austral Summer Solstice and, conversely, one day of complete darkness in midwinter. We crossed the line shortly after breakfast, with the ship’s horn sounding to mark the passage.
Soon the Endeavour entered a world of white as pack ice enclosed the ship. We nudged our way through pancake and brash ice, past floes and bergy bits, keeping a keen lookout for wildlife. Antarctic minke whales, crabeater seals, leopard seals and snow petrels all added interest to the spectacular seascape as we edged farther south. Lectures were cancelled since everyone wanted to spend as much time as possible outside enjoying the beautiful weather and awesome scenery.
Lunch was interrupted by a sighting of an immature emperor penguin from the dining room. Enthusiastic observers forgot their hunger and hurried onto deck to be rewarded with great views of this rarely seen species on an ice floe just ahead of the ship. Shortly after, two further immature emperors were sighted on fast ice dotted with crabeater seals (pictured - crabeaters in the foreground and penguins farther away).
The emperor penguin is a true Antarctic specialist. It is the largest of all penguins, weighing in at up to 45 kg and standing a little over one metre tall. These immature birds are less than three years old, and to reach this stage have endured some of the harshest conditions on the planet. These birds will most likely spend their entire lives either at sea or on sea ice – perhaps the most perfect of all seabirds.
Attempting to head further south, we found ourselves staring down The Gullet – choked with ice and impassable. Undeterred, our Captain parked the ship in some nearby fast ice and we stepped out onto the ice on foot to head south. After passing some Weddell seals lounging on the ice, seemingly unconcerned about the red-coated intruders, we reached 67° 02.00 S, our farthest point south.
Exhilarated by our adventure, we returned to the Endeavour and steamed north. We spent the evening reflecting on another day of extraordinary experiences in this most magical of places.
