South Orkney Islands
Endeavour approached the South Orkney Island group during breakfast, having made excellent speed since leaving the wonders of South Georgia. Isolated and often icebound, the South Orkneys are seldom visited.
We took advantage of the dense pack ice, as Captain Karl Lampe expertly navigated our sturdy ship into the heart of the frozen blue and white world. The scenery was sublime, as the ice exhibited an ongoing display of shapes and hues. In open patches we could look through the rich blue-green brine to see the submerged portions of icebergs, providing us with a fuller understanding of the term, “the tip of the iceberg.”
Wildlife was surprisingly abundant. Many adelies and chinstraps and a lone gentoo penguin floated along on the bergs. A leopard seal had a large chunk of sea ice to itself, allowing us to pass closely by, raising its massive reptilian head from time to time. Elegant snow petrels and ever-present pintado petrels did regular fly bys.
The snowy sheathbills pictured here flew around us for ten to fifteen minutes. They landed more than once on our Zodiacs before finally coming to rest on the sea ice. These odd scavenging birds are the only Antarctic species that does not have webbed feet. Though these heavy bodied birds may not look capable, they migrate between South America and Antarctica annually.
Throughout the afternoon, in between naturalists’ presentations, we enjoyed seabirds and scenery as we made our way towards the South Shetland Islands.
Endeavour approached the South Orkney Island group during breakfast, having made excellent speed since leaving the wonders of South Georgia. Isolated and often icebound, the South Orkneys are seldom visited.
We took advantage of the dense pack ice, as Captain Karl Lampe expertly navigated our sturdy ship into the heart of the frozen blue and white world. The scenery was sublime, as the ice exhibited an ongoing display of shapes and hues. In open patches we could look through the rich blue-green brine to see the submerged portions of icebergs, providing us with a fuller understanding of the term, “the tip of the iceberg.”
Wildlife was surprisingly abundant. Many adelies and chinstraps and a lone gentoo penguin floated along on the bergs. A leopard seal had a large chunk of sea ice to itself, allowing us to pass closely by, raising its massive reptilian head from time to time. Elegant snow petrels and ever-present pintado petrels did regular fly bys.
The snowy sheathbills pictured here flew around us for ten to fifteen minutes. They landed more than once on our Zodiacs before finally coming to rest on the sea ice. These odd scavenging birds are the only Antarctic species that does not have webbed feet. Though these heavy bodied birds may not look capable, they migrate between South America and Antarctica annually.
Throughout the afternoon, in between naturalists’ presentations, we enjoyed seabirds and scenery as we made our way towards the South Shetland Islands.
