We awoke to the site of our bow perched firmly on the shores of the Antarctic Peninsula; Neko Harbour, named after the factory whaling ship Neko, which plied these waters in the early nineteen hundreds. The Zodiac drivers were kept busy this morning, pushing icebergs out of the path of the ship, under the watchful eye of our Captain. Meanwhile on shore, groups of guests and naturalists snaked their way up the snow-capped hills to an incredible vantage point about 350ft above the harbour. Here we could see why it was important to avoid the shoreline inasmuch as possible: a massive glacier dominates Neko Harbour. This iceberg-conveyor-belt looms above the sea, churning out vast columns of ice which threaten to generate very large waves. A Weddell seal slept on the snowy shoreline, apparently indifferent to the risk of catastrophic waves. While we heard some intimidating thunderous cracks, we did not observe any big ice calving events.
The most remarkable wildlife to be seen at Neko Harbour are the gentoo penguin colonies. The skies above the penguin colonies were constantly patrolled by skuas and kelp gulls, waiting to snatch a penguin egg in order to feed their own chicks. When the penguins were not pacing up and down the snow slope between the sea and their colonies, they were perched on their nests. Their clumsy waddle with wings out-stretched, large white ‘eye brows’ and red beaks and feet giving them a comical but endearing appearance. We stood next to their colonies, quietly observing the endless quarrelling and thievery (they compulsively rob their neighbours’ nesting material).
The ship headed across Paradise Bay in search of an ice-free route to the Lemaire Channel. The sea was full of pack ice, which we deftly dispatched with our ice-strengthened hull. Watching the bulbous bow riding through the ice, as the deck shudders beneath our feet was thrilling. On either side, precipitous cliffs towered above us, topped with snow-draped peaks being whipped to a frenzy by stiff winds. A searing blue sky and pin-sharp visibility made for superb polar photography, as our minds struggled to comprehend the scale of our surroundings, with nothing but the red buildings of an Argentinian Station (Brown Base) for reference. The day was topped off with an unusual sighting of a lone and lethargic looking male killer whale, swimming slowly amongst the icebergs.
