Perch Island, Fish Island Group
Some days are just destined to be great, the kind of day you will be talking about and re-living again and again for many years to come. The last 24 hours have been just that kind of day.
I actually begin this magical 24-hour period late last night, when the National Geographic Endeavour encountered three “Type B” Orcas hunting and feeding upon a seal among the ice floes as the sun was setting behind Adelaide Island, south of the Antarctic Circle. The golden glow of pinks and reds cast a surreal light on this life-and-death struggle of seal and killer whale. In the process of the hunt the youngest member of the pod of Orcas would approach an ice flow and “spy-hop,” raising its head and eyes above the level of the flow in search of its prey.
Early this morning we chose to hike and kayak in the Fish Island Group on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. How often is it that you get to watch (and listen to) whales from either activity? Our hikers were able to crest a magnificent snow-covered island (named, appropriately enough, “Perch”) and look down into iceberg-studded waters where several minke whales were feeding. The kayakers paddled in and amongst those same icebergs and were treated to the same sights and sounds!
The afternoon brought us north into humpback whale territory. Here a whale, there a whale, seemingly everywhere a whale. A mother and her 6-month old calf were foraging amongst the ice floes and bergy-bits. The calf took an interest in us and “spy-hopped” several times to get a good look at the strange apparition nearby, not as a possible food source, but rather as a passing curiosity! Further north, more humpback whales dotted the seascape, and a couple even decided to breach completely out of the water, much to our amazement.
Our day was capped off in perfect style, as we transited the famous LeMaire Channel late in the evening, bringing the 24-hour cycle to a close. Superlatives aside, it was quite simply a whale of a day!
Some days are just destined to be great, the kind of day you will be talking about and re-living again and again for many years to come. The last 24 hours have been just that kind of day.
I actually begin this magical 24-hour period late last night, when the National Geographic Endeavour encountered three “Type B” Orcas hunting and feeding upon a seal among the ice floes as the sun was setting behind Adelaide Island, south of the Antarctic Circle. The golden glow of pinks and reds cast a surreal light on this life-and-death struggle of seal and killer whale. In the process of the hunt the youngest member of the pod of Orcas would approach an ice flow and “spy-hop,” raising its head and eyes above the level of the flow in search of its prey.
Early this morning we chose to hike and kayak in the Fish Island Group on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. How often is it that you get to watch (and listen to) whales from either activity? Our hikers were able to crest a magnificent snow-covered island (named, appropriately enough, “Perch”) and look down into iceberg-studded waters where several minke whales were feeding. The kayakers paddled in and amongst those same icebergs and were treated to the same sights and sounds!
The afternoon brought us north into humpback whale territory. Here a whale, there a whale, seemingly everywhere a whale. A mother and her 6-month old calf were foraging amongst the ice floes and bergy-bits. The calf took an interest in us and “spy-hopped” several times to get a good look at the strange apparition nearby, not as a possible food source, but rather as a passing curiosity! Further north, more humpback whales dotted the seascape, and a couple even decided to breach completely out of the water, much to our amazement.
Our day was capped off in perfect style, as we transited the famous LeMaire Channel late in the evening, bringing the 24-hour cycle to a close. Superlatives aside, it was quite simply a whale of a day!
