Gerlache Strait & Cuverville Island
One of the real advantages of expedition travel is the ability to take advantage of an opportunity. This morning proved to be no exception, when we encountered a group of killer whales in the Gerlache Strait. We were heading south at the time towards a landing at Cuverville Island, but the whales were on their own agenda and heading north. No problem, and after a quick about turn we were travelling with the whales. They proved to be a little curious at first, approaching the vessel and diving beneath us at very close range. For the next hour. we watched a widely spread group of about 8 animals in calm seas with a stunning setting of the snow capped mountains of Brabant Island with glaciers flowing down to the ocean. The chance to see the animals in close-up detail was superb, but perhaps the more lasting memory was of these beautiful black-and-white animals against the monochrome backdrop of the Antarctic coast.
The afternoon proved to be no anticlimax. We made our first landing at a large penguin colony at Cuverville Island – the location of the largest gentoo penguin colony on the Antarctic Peninsula. The sights, sounds and smells of these birds at the peak of their breeding season were impressive, while the nonchalance of the birds as they moved around and between their human interlopers proved very entertaining. Meanwhile, just offshore our fleet of kayaks took to the water and allowed us to explore the location from a very different perspective.
Moving on from Cuverville, one could have considered the day complete but days here are never over, they merely transition from one event to another. This evening we were privileged to enjoy the first presentation from our guest speaker Buzz Aldrin; a name that needs no introduction and one that is associated with one of the finest acts of exploration ever.
