Ocean Tramp – The Scale of the landscape

26th December 2022
After contemplating if we had indeed digested all of our Christmas dinner, or if this feeling of wanting breakfast was just an intestinal hoax aimed at making us consume even more food than required, we cast off the shore lines, upped anchor, and waved goodbye to our Gentoo Penguin friends as we left Ronge Island. Destination: Port Lockroy.

Back in the Gerlache Strait we were once again treated to sight of several Humpback Whales feeding. Drifting along. Watching these huge animals feed on the tiny Zooplankton and Krill which draw them down here. Marveling at the striking mountains which rise from the sea. Contemplating the glaciers as they march imperceptibly but unstoppably onwards. Absorbing the warmth of the sun in a place so seemingly hostile. It’s almost enough to make you think. Alas, the Whales have consumed their uncountable prey and move on, and so do we.

The dramatic peaks of Wiencke Island passed along our starboard side as we raised some sail, cut the engine, and enjoyed taking our time passing Truant Island and Cape Errera. The sheer scale and drama of the landscape seems to almost be becoming a parody of itself – just as you become accustomed to where you are, it seems to turn it up a notch. Towering black granite peaks, sheer cliffs so steep they do not hold snow, polystyrene white glaciers, and ridgelines suggestive of the high Himalaya. We take photos, but we are kidding ourselves if we think they stand a chance of conveying even a portion of the true sense of awe this place instills upon us. There’s a timelessness here, an almost visceral indifference of the landscape to our presence which is beyond humbling.

Swinging north we drop anchor within sight on the British Antarctic Heritage Trust station at Port Lockroy. Naturally, we are nestled in next to a white and impossibly blue hued glacier with a backdrop of snowbound peaks – the most striking of which is the 1400m high Luigi Peak which is flanked by the Seven Sisters Range. A delicious meal of Apricot Chicken and oven roasted vegetables reminds us that we are really roughing it and we prepare our postcards to send off tomorrow from the World’s southernmost post box at the Penguin Post Office.