A Week’s Worth of Days All in One
Ocean Tramp – Jennifer
We had assembled in Punta Arenas a couple of days before the DAP flight on the 4th January to King George Island and the transfer to our home for the next thirteen nights, the Ocean Tramp. After unpacking (such as we could in our tiny but cosy cabins) we set off south towards our first destination of Cuverville Island. The sea was “interesting” overnight and the weather not very favourable during the first full day so we passed the time talking about the plans for the trip, viewing some amazing huge icebergs and scenery, and with a couple of presentations about the boat and essential safety regulations and then a very informative one from Daisy about photography. Unfortunately the weather precluded a landing on Cuverville when we arrived but we planned to have a very early start (03:00, yikes!) the following day.
After a rather short night’s sleep we woke to see good conditions for a landing. And what a landing it was! In fact what a day. A landing at the main Gentoo colony on Cuverville was followed by breakfast and a return to the island and a zodiac cruise. As the group was split there were just three or four of us on any activity which was such a delight and a privilege. We all agreed that this was the very best way to visit Antarctica. The weather by now was beautiful with a lot of warm sunshine and after lunch the anchor was raised and we headed out into the Errera Channel. We had only just set off when the first of what turned out to be well over fifty feeding Humpback Whales were seen. The sights and sounds of these cetaceans was jaw-dropping given the backdrop of jagged icy peaks. We eventually dragged ourselves away because a landing at the Chilean Videla base had been scheduled, but yet again the wildlife had a surprise for us – a pod of Type B small (Gerlache) Orca. They didn’t come too close but we had excellent views of one big bull, several females, and most exciting of all at east two tiny and rather playful calves. Could the day have been any better we all wondered, and a particularly great birthday for Graham, certainly one to remember! Our last treat for the amazing day was landing at Videla and seeing the leucistic penguin, affectionately known to the crew as Alice (although whether it was male or female was not known). We had great views as Alice sat on her nest, incubating two eggs, and then headed back to the Ocean Tramp for a great dinner over which we all discussed this astounding day. We had seen more today than many trips would see in a week and we hoped our luck would continue.
Blog & Photo: Jenny Varley
