Early risers up to greet the morning were treated to a spectacular view of Mount Français, rising to almost 10,000 feet on nearby Anvers Island. As the dining room doors were being opened for breakfast, the National Geographic Explorer eased into the snug little harbor that is Port Lockroy and anchored a stone’s throw from tiny Goudier Island. Aside from a nesting colony of gentoo penguins, Goudier Island is home to a small museum/UK post office that is operated each year for several months during the Antarctic tourist season by the British Antarctic Heritage Trust. Originally built by the British in the 1940’s during WWII to monitor enemy activities, it later served as a scientific base until it was abandoned in the 1960s. In the 1990s it received a new life when it was restored to its original condition and opened by the trust. All proceeds from the sale of items in the shop there go to restoring and maintaining that, and other heritage sites around the continent.
After a brief introduction to Port Lockroy by the four museum staff, we commenced our morning activities ashore. We had equal time between Goudier Island and Jougla Point. Jougla Point offered us our last chance to spend time in the glorious sunshine among nesting gentoo penguins and Antarctic shags. It was also the site of a shore-based whaling station from the early days of Antarctic whaling. Piles of whale bones can still be found on the shore where the huge animals were pulled up and flensed for their oil.
Before leaving Port Lockroy an opportunity to plunge into the painfully cold Antarctic waters was offered and a surprising number of brave souls actually turned out for the challenge, some even went in twice!
During lunchtime our ship traveled northward to the Gerlache Strait in search of killer whales and around 2:30 p.m. a large group was spotted from the bridge. These were the “small” type B or Gerlache Strait killer whales. Immediately, whale researchers John Durban and Holly Fearnbach set off in a Zodiac to get photos and video of the whales from the air with their hexacopter. The rest of us aboard the ship had some spectacular viewing as a group of the animals chased hapless gentoo penguins directly under the bow! When we eventually left the killer whales behind and headed north through Dallmann Bay we encountered feeding humpback whales. Our usual daily Recap was cancelled so that we could continue to watch and photograph the graceful leviathans with beautiful icebergs and the snow-capped mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula for a backdrop. A fitting end to our visit to the world’s most pristine wilderness!
