Cuverville Island, Errera Channel and Neko Harbor
Cuverville! Errera Channel! Neko! A day jammed packed with contrasts, stillness, roaring avalanches and of course the hustle and bustle of penguin colonies.
All the places we visit today were first discovered or sighted by the members of the 1897 – 99 Belgian Antarctic Expedition led by Adrien de Gerlache.
After a bumpy night we wake up to an overcast, but calm day outside as we make progress along the Gerlache Strait. After breakfast we attend a kayak briefing and soon afterwards we arrive at Cuverville Island. It is possible to kayak and so we all head off to new adventures in different groups.
There is the opportunity to visit the largest gentoo penguin rookery on the peninsula on the lovely island of Cuverville. We are struck by the contrast in chick development from those seen just yesterday, here they are much smaller and the parents are still protecting them from predator attacks. Some whalebones are strewn on the beach harking back to bygone days. The sides of the mountain are covered in lovely green mosses and brightly colored lichens.
For others it is an opportunity to take a Zodiac cruise, we get to see some seals hauled out on ice and to enjoy the incredible scenery that surrounds us.
Lastly there is the chance to experience kayaking and soon enough the little yellow craft are dotted about the area. It is so wonderful to experience the stillness, the silence and the different perspectives as we gently paddle past fantastically shaped icebergs or drew close to small rocky outcrops or simply gazed into the clear waters.
During lunch we sail through the narrow and scenic Errera Channel and into the head of Ardvord Bay en-route to our afternoon adventure. The bay is chocked with lots of ice, the colors pop out at us in the overcast conditions.
During the rest of the afternoon we partake of Zodiac cruises and make a second continental landing. The Zodiacs head into a heavy snow storm and pass many huge icebergs, some with huge caves and catch glimpses of the beautiful white snow petrels flying like ghost figures in and out of all the whiteness.
The landing offers new chances to come up close to gentoo penguins and a glacier which leaves us speechless with its sculpted blueness. The landing is a lovely yellowy brown sandy beach and all about there are brightly colored rocks. We continue up to a rocky promontory with wonderful views out into the bay, our ship and deep blue crevasses. Occasionally there are distant cracks and rumblings as the ice makes its inexorable voyage down to the water’s edge and on a few occasions the deep silence is interrupted by thundering avalanches tumbling down from hanging glaciers and ending in a huge cloud of snow and ice particles before returning to the silence.
