Greetings from the Ocean Tramp!
Last we left you, we were just about to do our polar plunge! A group of us took our turn dipping into the Antarctic waters, a balmy 1 degree C/33 degree F. After our adrenaline warmed us back up, we settled in for the night before our long transit day across the Bransfield Strait to head back north.
Despite a long transit day, there is always plenty to see! We spotted several Albatrosses on our transit over, which are the largest species of seabirds on the planet (can get up to impressive wingspan sizes of 10 feet/3.5 meters). Watching an Albatross soar in circles and coasting over the water was definitely a highlight of the day! Clear skies allowed us to view an excellent sunset on the water, along with the moonrise over Livingston island.
We were treated to continued clear skies in the morning, and used this opportunity to watch the sunrise on Half Moon Island, a small curved Island about 2km in size. We watched the sun slowly rise amongst the clouds, small peaks, and chinstrap penguins waddling across the cobblestone beach. Half Moon Island really treated us well, as we also watched a leopard seal hunt and kill a penguin, found Wilson’s Storm Petrel nests’ in the rocks, spotted a large resting Southern Giant Petrel, and the cherry on top- a new species sighting of the trip, two female elephant seals!
We still have one day left as we transit back to King George Island, but here is our list of species sighted on the trip:
Leopard Seal
Adelie Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Wilson’s Storm Petrel
Southern Giant Petrel
Weddell Seal
Cape Petrel
Antarctic Shag
Chinstrap Penguin
Antarctic Tern
Antarctic Fur Seal
Humpback Whale
Snow Petrel
Kelp Gull
Crabeater Seal
South Polar Skua
Subantarctic Skua
Antarctic Minke Whale
Southern Fulmar
Pale-faced Sheathbill
Black-browned Albatross
Southern Elephant Seal
Our trip has been nothing short of an exciting adventure, with each day bringing us a new experience or wildlife encounter. Personally I want to thank Quixote Expeditions and their hard working crew for allowing me this opportunity to conduct research and truly experience what Antarctica has to offer! And yes- we cannot wait to show you our many photos and videos from the trip once we are back on the mainland.
Many cheers,
Laura Howes
