There have been so many Antarctic highlights;· Watching as humpbacks fed on krill, opening their huge mouths in giant gulps before squeezing the water out through the baleen sieves and diving, raising their huge flukes before disappearing.
· Our landing onto the Antarctic Continent led to a greeting by fur seals, who made it clear to us that this was their land. It was a celebration and felt special that we had made it to the Antarctic Continent.
· Interacting with the penguin colonies in Antarctica and setting foot onto Antarctic land. We had the pleasure of watching the behaviour of and interacting with one of our favourite penguins – the Gentoos! Adorable is the first word that springs to mind, particularly as we were also surrounded by 100s of chicks too! Every penguin has its own character and can behave in an hilarious fashion, chasing one another, squabbling or just lying flat on their front sleeping! We often thought they displayed many human like characteristics. The chicks in particular were highly inquisitive, which was lucky for us, as we had the amazing experience of sitting in snow in what we called “the penguin baby crèche”, just waiting for a chick to come to say hello. They liked to peck our boots, our legs and gloves and Chris was lucky enough to have one lay on his legs momentarily. Other than that, these fluff-balls would just look you in the eye, which was a heart-warming experience. At one point we felt like traitors as we rushed to see a leopard seal tossing a penguin in the air only metres from the safety of our zodiacs, but then, this is nature….and the leopard seals have to eat too!
· Visiting Paradise Harbour on our last day and watching as huge blocks of ice carved away from the immense 40-50 high glacier fronts into the sea, creating giant tidal waves that sent us bobbing over the place in the zodiacs. On our way back, we came across a curious leopard seal in the water, who then circled us, his big black eyes piercing into our zodiac.
But one aspect of Antarctica that it would be great to bottle is the peace and quiet and the morning and evening light – just amazing. Antarctica is truly a pristine continent, the beauty of which words cannot do justice.
