Very early in the morning, as the sun was rising, we sailed through Lemaire Channel also known as Kodac Gap.
Until you get close, it does not appear to be a passage through this channel. The glaciers on both sides of the vessel towered above us. They were so close, we could almost touch them. We did meet with some bergy bits and brash ice.
At the south end of Lemaire Channel we took another eventful zodiac cruise in Pleneau Bay. This is an iceberg graveyard where icebergs as far away as the Ross Ice Shelf are cast aground. Just like snowflakes, there are never two ice bergs that are the same. Various colours, shapes, sizes of ice bergs were admired.
Lone Leapard seals are often found on bergs hoping to to find a meal, especially penguin, or rest. A leopard seal was found on an iceberg and another was playing with his food, a penguin, in Pleneau Bay. The mouth of a leopard seal is large, prehistoric looking and its teeth are huge and serrated. If I was a penguin or a small seal, I would live in terror of leopard seals.
For lunch we dined with glaciers on the bow of the ship. We took part in a barbecue.
After lunch the zodiacs ferried us to Port Circumcision, a cove off a 1.6 km long island called Petermann Island 65'10'S latitude.
Adelie Penguins were spotted here. These penguins were also molting before heading out to sea. These penguins are black and white, colours most people expect penguins to be. It was interesting to observe them.
Gentoo Penguins are also on this island, this is as far south as these species of penguins go. The Gentoo were very entertaining. There was a shallow wading pool from melting glaciers that the young and adult penguins could swim in. It was fun to watch their clumsy movement on ice.
Adventure Life has been an extraordinary travel resource for us over the years and today was no exception. Our River Cruise booking was handled by Jess (who has been our personal trip planner for several years) the same day as our inquiry. Suggestions were given for cabin choice and pre-trip options (that were not shown on the cruise line's website) like airport transfers and prepaid gratuities. Trip insurance recommendations followed and we were assigned a travel co-ordinator till the end of the tour. All we have to do is show up! Great service from friendly folks.
APtravelwell
1 day ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
1 day ago
Although there was a lot of paper work, I received help and guidance when I needed it.
Donna Kirby
2 days ago
Our travel was flawless! The rider pickup (airport, hotel, ship) was seamless. Jane's recommendation for Emerald Cruise Sakara was everything I wanted but the experience was soooo much more. Adventure Life took care of each and every detail and this was the easiest of all my travels.
Anne Petty
3 days ago
Follow up was effective any questions were answered in a timely manner