Deception Island and Hannah Point on Livingston Island

How can this trip be nearly over? Although I’m ready to go home, I’ll miss so many things from this experience: 1) Doug’s enthusiastic announcements using Swahili, Hawaiian, and Fantastic!!! He and his wife Gail have led 66 trips to Tanzania and Kenya in the last 30 years and they have a house in Hawaii, 2) The landings at colonies of penguins and seals nearly everyday, 3) The incredible scenery everywhere you look, 4) The wonderful friends I’ve made, 5) Having everything done for you – no cooking, no dishes, no laundry.

Our last day is spent like so many of our days, fully booked. We begin the morning at Bailey Head, a beautiful rocky point bordering a volcanic black sand beach, on the outer portion of Deception Island. The inner portion is a water-filled caldera of this active volcano, steam streaming at the water’s edge. Bailey Head is known for its 100,000 strong Chinstrap Penguin colony, scattered in numerous colonies in a punchbowl-shaped area strewn with rounded hillsides. I spend my first hour standing at the surf’s edge (and sometimes knee deep in the surf in my knee rubber boots covered by rain pants), watching and photographing the penguins go into the water and crowd at the edge. Mesmerizing.

I take a few steps up to the top of the beach and record the penguin highway. As they come from the ocean, they walk up the right side of the broad path. The others heading to the ocean are on the left side, just like American drivers. From high on a hill overlooking the activities, it looks just like a Grand Central Station populated by penguins. I wonder over to the edge of a colony and watch parents display to each other while their two chicks either flop out on the ground, or beg food from their parents. There are neighborhood squabbles, some of them appearing to be particularly feisty. The scenery is stunning with moss covered hills situated below a massive glacier covered in black ash. We are reminded that this is the most dangerous part of our journey because we are cruising into the caldera of an active volcano.

About 20 passengers take part in a polar hot springs swim. They Zodiac to the edge of Whaler’s Bay where the steam seems to be rising the most. I initially thought I would go too but since I can barely go outside to take pictures without having all of my layers on, I decide to stay on the ship. It’s great fun watching the beach-goers strip down to their swimsuits, enter the warm edge of the water with a tentative look, then after about 4 steps when they hit cold water and a drop off, their faces turn to an agonized look, quickly making a retreat back to belly flop on the warm sand at the water’s edge, posting for pictures taken by others who wanted to watch the scene from a closer vantage point.

Our third stop of the day, and final landing of the trip, is Hannah Point on Livingston Island, one of the Shetland Islands. This place is quite diverse with both species of Antarctica’s flowering plants (!), breeding Kelp Gulls, South Polar Skuas, Southern Giant Petrels, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins, and the stinkiest wallow of Elephant Seals. I mainly sit on a comfortable rock step near a crèche of Gentoo Penguin chicks. Now that they are almost the same size as their parents, mom and dad are starting to limit the food they give them as the chicks prepare for fledging. Chick chases are common when a chick spots one of its parents coming up the slope, then runs towards the adult and chases him throughout the colony trying to get food. Sometimes the parent gives in and feeds the chick, but other times the parent keeps pecking the chick’s neck in an effort to stop the begging. The chicks seem to do most of the behaviors the adults do, including the ecstatic display with their bills pointed skyward, wings out, and braying phrases shouted out. As it begins to snow, I head back to the ship and warm up in a hot shower. Later that evening, we see the last few rocky stacks ringing Snow Island and begin our crossing of the Drake Passage. It’s supposed to be a bit rocky but not as bad as our previous crossing so I’m hopeful that I won’t get sick again.

Now we’re into the at-sea lecture stage of the trip. Today I learn about many of the special species of Tanzania and Kenya. Doug and Gail are leading a trip there right after they return from this trip. I’ll be joining them on one of their African safaris soon. Although this is Doug’s last Antarctica trip, he says he’ll do the African trips until he’s no longer able to do so. I admire the Cheesemans, their staff, and this group of passengers so much. It really has been an incredible trip and it sounds like the seasoned travelers to Antarctica and the staff all think this has been one of the best trips they’ve been on. I agree and look forward to my next trip with this group.

Next up: Cape Horn, the Beagle Channel, and finishing the trip with two days of birding Tierra del Fuego.