Port Lockroy Wilhelmina Bay
This morning we awoke to a fairly stiff breeze and some very light snow, but nonetheless, we were able to go ashore at Port Lockroy. It was originally used as an anchorage for whale factory ships in the 1920s. Port Lockroy became the site for a British base built on Goudier Island in 1944, and it was part of Operation Tabarin, a secret project in World War II meant to deny anchorage to German commerce raiders and thwart the Argentine claims to sovereignty of the area. It closed in 1962 and subsequently suffered from looting and decay until the recent restoration work by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. It is now the most widely visited site in the Antarctic and is manned each summer by people who operate the small museum, post office and gift shop. We really enjoyed seeing what life must have been like at an Antarctic base in the 1950’s and 60’s. We were also offered the chance to go and see a complete whale skeleton and masses of gentoo penguins at Jougla Point.
After our excursion, we arrived back aboard the National Geographic Endeavour eager to be fed and in anticipation of our afternoon’s landing. On account of the weather, our original plans were changed, and instead of heading to Dallmann Bay, we entered Wilhelmina Bay. We spent the afternoon whale watching as there were several humpbacks in the area. They kept surfacing just off the bow and it was often the case that we heard them even before we saw them. As conditions were good, we were able to take the Zodiacs and cruise through the spectacular surroundings in the company of these leviathans. There were several close and awe-inspiring encounters that left some of us completely speechless. It was an incredible evening, and we once again returned to the ship wondering what tomorrow would bring …
This morning we awoke to a fairly stiff breeze and some very light snow, but nonetheless, we were able to go ashore at Port Lockroy. It was originally used as an anchorage for whale factory ships in the 1920s. Port Lockroy became the site for a British base built on Goudier Island in 1944, and it was part of Operation Tabarin, a secret project in World War II meant to deny anchorage to German commerce raiders and thwart the Argentine claims to sovereignty of the area. It closed in 1962 and subsequently suffered from looting and decay until the recent restoration work by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. It is now the most widely visited site in the Antarctic and is manned each summer by people who operate the small museum, post office and gift shop. We really enjoyed seeing what life must have been like at an Antarctic base in the 1950’s and 60’s. We were also offered the chance to go and see a complete whale skeleton and masses of gentoo penguins at Jougla Point.
After our excursion, we arrived back aboard the National Geographic Endeavour eager to be fed and in anticipation of our afternoon’s landing. On account of the weather, our original plans were changed, and instead of heading to Dallmann Bay, we entered Wilhelmina Bay. We spent the afternoon whale watching as there were several humpbacks in the area. They kept surfacing just off the bow and it was often the case that we heard them even before we saw them. As conditions were good, we were able to take the Zodiacs and cruise through the spectacular surroundings in the company of these leviathans. There were several close and awe-inspiring encounters that left some of us completely speechless. It was an incredible evening, and we once again returned to the ship wondering what tomorrow would bring …
