17 dec. 2023 - Day 6 - Orne Harbour and Lemaire Channel - 64°39.7’S / 62°54.0’W
Morning - Orne Harbour
We start this morning with a visit to some Chinstrap-penguins at Orne Harbour. To get a nice view of the area and because everybody loved walking in snow-shoes we start with a nice trek up the hill. The snow is very soft and fresh so even with snowshoes you have to be careful climbing the very steep hill. Luckily we already had experience from two days ago, so we could walk up in a nice and steady pace. Its really impressive to think of all the penguins that have to make this climb often for food and a quick wash. When we got at the top of the hill we not only got a very nice scenery in all directions but also lots of chilling Chinstrap penguins. The penguins are just chilling around or building their nest. It is funny to see them steal pebbles from each other and hop around.
Some of the penguins were currently brooding on their egg. Others were still building their nest with small pebbles. We are too early in the season for seeing the little penguin chicks.
The weather was quickly deteriorating though so we took the ship elsewhere.
Afternoon
The planning for the afternoon went overboard when some of the people in our group spotted water plumes in the sea about 2km away. After informing the expedition staff they recognized them as Orca’s and decided to up-end the plan and turn the ship around. The captain steered the ship right next to the feeding area’s where we could observe the Orca’s really well.
When we got to the Orca’s there must have been at least 20 to 40. This is a unique encounter especially with so many animals present. The Orca’s were feeding and were all around us.
They were obviously aware of our boat and were curious. Swimming up to it and checking it out. This made it possible to get some nice pictures for the photographers among us. Personally I liked to film their movement because it all looked gracious and well choreographed. What’s really cool is that you can spot the calves among the groups. They have more yellow skin patches and are obviously a lot smaller.
Evening
After all the plans had changed and we were enjoying a beer in the bar we got the message that the expedition team had a great idea. We had a spot to go through the Lemaire Channel. This is a beautiful and small channel between two mountain ranges. Most ships can’t sail through it because of the size. When most people on the ship would get a Zodiac cruise through the channel we would go in Kayaks! There was hardly any wind, the water looked like a mirror with floating ice. Perfect Kayaking environment and intensely beautiful.
First time kayaking for me but with some tips from my travelmate we managed quite well. The floating ice was quite an extra handicap but it was also very cool to kayak through. Eventually we even got surprised by a Weddel Seal. These seals are resting in many locations along the coast and are very very lazy. It is fun to notice they really don’t care about humans. They don’t see us as an enemy or thread so they just don’t care. We got quite close and the only thing the seal did was look up annoyed because we disturbed its sleep.
