Antarctica Cruise: Whalers Bay at Deception Island and Half Moon Island.
Weather: Wind. 36 degrees F
Overnight we sailed north through the Gerlache Strait to reach our destination for this morning: Deception Island. Deception Island is an active volcano, which erupted last in 1970, destroying the remains of a whaling station and the British Base B. Forming a caldera of more than 6 miles in diameter, Deception is one of the few volcanoes you can enter by ship.
At 8:00 a.m. I woke up to an overcast and slightly windy day and found myself just outside Neptune's Bellows, the narrow entrance to the caldera. Under these conditions it was possible to enter the caldera and turn hard starboard into Whaler's Bay. As we arrived on the beach near the old whaling station we can smell sulphur and see steam rising from the wet sand at low tide. We can also feel the heat of the volcano by just digging with bare hands a few inches into the sand. We have the option to walk to the right along the beach, pass a few stray chinstrap penguins and walk up to Neptune's Window. From here we have a magnificent view of the distant Antarctic Peninsula.
A walk to the left of the landing site brings us to the remains of the old whaling station, the decaying Biscoe House or ''Base B'' and the old aircraft hangar. It was from here that the first flights to the Antarctic Peninsula took off.
Back on board the ship, we were welcomed by Johnny and Katrin with a mug of hot cocoa and a Christmassy ginger biscuit!
Captain offered a little scenic drive into Port Foster and headed out through Neptune's bellows once again. We are now moving northward towards our afternoon destination Half Moon Island. Half Moon is a crescent shaped island north of Livingston Island and home to the Argentinian summer base of Camera. The base is not occupied at the moment and at 4:30 p.m. we go ashore at a small cobble beach. Chinstrap penguins are the main inhabitants of Half Moon. They occupy the snow-free areas of the island and after watching for a while we discover that the first chicks of the season have hatched. A special treat is a lonely Maccaroni penguin who tries to hide amongst the chinstraps, but his yellow hairdo is a dead giveaway.
A longer walk through deep snow takes us to the back of the island, a favorite spot for Weddell seals. Approaching them carefully we are able to watch them and listen to their singing.
After 7 p.m. the soft snow starts to freeze again and we slowly head back to the ship from our final Antarctic landing.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.