24 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 11, Marguerite Bay to Loubet Coast via Horseshoe Island – I thought nothing would top yesterday, but today came damn close. We had a quiet morning as we sailed through calm seas and under blue skies, towards Horseshoe Island. It was during lunch that the call came – “orcas!” […]
23 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 10, Bellingshausen Sea to Marguerite Bay – After an overnight sailing, we anchored on the south side of Charcot Island. For a long time it was thought this was part of the continent, as it was joined by an ice shelf. It has only been very recently that the […]
22 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 9, Bellingshausen Sea, Verdi Inlet – The day was not over yet. Not content with smashing records, there was exploration to be done. No-one on board ship had been here before, and the crew were as eager as the passengers to get out in zodiacs and discover what was […]
22 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 9, Bellingshausen Sea, 72 Degrees South – A big morning! We were woken at 7.30am with an announcement that an emperor penguin had been sighted. The next announcement, at 9am, was an invitation to a “72 Degrees South” celebration on the Pool Deck – yes, we had achieved our […]
STOP PRESS – at 5 pm this afternoon we sailed below the 70 degree South line – a new southern record for a Hurtigruten ship. The only seagoing vessels further south than us right now, are a couple of icebreakers. More tomorrow on our southerly progress – in the meantime, go to cruisemapper.com, and look […]
20 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 7, Marguerite Bay, Stonington Island – We continued our southerly progress during the night, into Marguerite Bay. We anchored off Stonington Island in the morning, for our first landing today. Stonington Island is a former British research station, established in 1946 and closed in 1975. It is also the […]
19 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 6, Graham Coast to Marguerite Bay via Fish Islands and The Gullet – After a lazy afternoon, excitement kicked in at 5pm when we crossed the Antarctic Circle – 66.33 degrees south. Apparently to appease King Neptune, one is supposed to have a bucket of ice tipped over one’s […]
19 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 6, Graham Coast to Marguerite Bay, via Fish Islands – A selection of photos from our morning zodiac cruise. We saw our first Adelie penguins, Antarctic shags, and a crab seal. The ice is a stunning translucent blue. Ian is looking more Shackletonesque by the day.
18 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 5, Paradise Bay and Danco Island – Paradise isn’t always a tropical island or palm-fringed beach. Sometimes it’s a cold, wet, grey harbour in Antarctica, filled with icebergs, penguins and whales. Enjoy our photos of all three. The first batch are from the ship. The rest are from on […]
17 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 4, Drake Passage to Danco Coast via Borgen Bay and Damoy Point – We awoke this morning to a whole new world filled with icebergs and snowy mountains whose tops we couldn’t see. We’d cruised into Borgen Bay overnight, and were now at anchor, waiting for the morning’s activities […]
