Our day started early with a wakeup call from Expedition Leader Michael Jackson to remind us to watch as the ship entered Neptune’s Bellows, the narrow entrance into the center of Deception Island. The day was a little overcast and there was a light breeze, which added to the atmosphere as we could see the beaches of Whaler’s Bay steaming all around.
Quickly after breakfast, the Zodiacs started taking us to shore. We had the option of a short, medium, or long walk around the main sites. The long hikers took off for a quest on Roland’s Hill whilst the medium set for Neptune’s Window. We were excited to see three different types of seals on our walk: elephant seal, Weddell seal, and a very large leopard seal!
We then returned to the ship for a briefing and lunch while the ship repositioned to Half Moon Island. Then it was time to load up the Zodiacs again. A quick run to the shore and we arrived at the beach to take a lovely, gentle hike across the snow-covered island to a chinstrap penguin colony and also to a group of Weddell seals snoozing on the snow.
All too soon it was time to head back to the ship in time for the captain’s farewell and our last dinner together. What an amazing day!!
