NEKO HARBOR
Our arrival in Neko Harbor this morning was a little delayed. Last night there were winds of 55-63 mph (10 on the Beaufort scale, and considered a storm) and as there is a lot of ice here this time of year, the captain took the ship to Andvord Bay where we could safely stay overnight. We were oblivious to the whole thing, but had it occurred while on the Drake Passage, we would have been miserable. This morning the winds had subsided to mere gale force (8 on the Beaufort scale), and they weren't sure if they would attempt the landings. Things improved quickly, though, and they were able to run all the activities despite a very fine drizzle. We are spending tonight in Paradise Bay, and the sea is like glass. Go figure.
The Neko Harbor landing site is a small tongue of stone surrounded by glacier-covered mountains. Unlike our previous two landings, it's on the continent itself so now the visit is official.
At our briefing yesterday, we were instructed to move higher up the beach as soon as we were off the tenders. A few years ago, the adjacent glacier calved and within a minute, a 6 foot tsunami washed up on the beach and took all the landing equipment. They didn't address if anyone was hurt, but we were sufficiently intimidated so that no one dawdled.
The penguins are really good at locating their rookeries in safe places, so we hiked up the hill to check them out. As usual, the penguins got the best route.
Penguin highways in the center. Clumsy humanoids on the right.
A close-up of the glacier of concern. We were hoping to witness the birth of an iceberg. Not today!
The Gentoos are very vocal, and there's a constant chatter of parents braying for their young, chicks chirping for their parents, and random sounds like a loud cat's purr...or a Wookie. They are so entertaining! I hope I can upload the videos to this blog after we get home.
Many of the chicks were congregated near the water. One of our naturalists explained that they were taking their first dips in the sea. As social animals that instinctively find safety in numbers, a few of them would approach the water together and wait for one to get brave enough to go first. The others would follow immediately. They quickly got the hang of it and started throwing themselves into the air as they torpedoed around. It must be amazing and liberating for them to discover that they aren't so awkward after all. So cute!
Some fluffy chicks still have to molt into their big-boy feathers before they can join the fun.
The penguins carefully build their nests of stones and twigs, which gradually get flattened and scattered after the chicks hatch. We saw a couple of intact nests which had eggs under the brooding parents. The parents are young and arrived after the other penguins were no longer incubating, so they didn't learn by observation that their egg had to be turned regularly in order for the embryo to develop.
Part of that massive glacier again..
After we left Neko Harbor, the ship did some scenic cruising through Errera Channel. The icebergs this far south are complex, large and beautiful. Many of them must be close to 100 feet high, as they are at or above eye level when we're on the top deck.
There was a group of crabeater seals playing around the base of one. I showed the photo to one of the expedition team to find out what they were. Our boat group is crabeater seal, so at least now we know they are a real critter.
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