L’Austral: A Journey in the Southern Ocean

[gatoratlarge]

Now that we were officially in Antarctic waters and had touched foot (was it ever in doubt?) on the continent itself ...where to next?? 

In a joint session of the daily briefing (they often had a separate English and French briefing but I believe this one we were all together) Captain Etienne Garcia announced we would be sailing into the Weddell Sea!   

 

It was totally unexpected as any pre-trip itinerary had our ship on the west side of the peninsula, in fact, I think most Antarctic cruises stay on the west passage between the continent and the westerly Antarctic islands.  Only emperor penguin-specific cruises or very extensive Antarctic cruises venture into the Weddell Sea.  I could be wrong about this but I certainly went through a lot of itineraries before settling on Ponant and this specific expedition. 

 

For a good while into the Weddell Sea it was eerily ice free---but the wind shifts the sea ice/ice floes around and it wasn't too long into the next day when we were surrounded by it and you could hear the ship groaning as it nudged and pushed these blocks of floating ice out of our way.  Soon after, over the intercom, the captain announced that our first emperor penguin had been spotted on an ice floe and we all rushed to the decks to see it!

 

We reached Snow Hill Island and saw a couple more emperors and some Adelies resting on the floes after a succesful day of feeding, as well as crab eater seals napping on the ice...we didn't land on the Snow Hill where there is a 15 km trek to see the actual colony with their chicks but we were absolutely ecstatic we got to see emperors  period!  Perhaps you need special permission to visit the colony? 
 

That sighting completed us seeing all eight species of penguin that call Antarctica home ---something the crew said had not happened on a Ponant vessel in memory...we took zodiacs out to explore the ice floes and landed on one, toasted our good fortune and drank champagne in the zodiac...the Weddell Sea was a great surprise and were feeling quite happy with ourselves 

 

you never forget your first—this was our first emperor penguin:

 

 

Walking on sea ice:

 

breaking out the champagne 👍🏻

 

 

lone emperor

 

Loved the light in the polar region — it would light sections of the ice in brilliant white

 

 

 

 

A lazy crab eater seal 😁

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

That's really awesome you saw all Penguins! Wonderful icescapes.

[Zim Girl]

How fantastic to get to see an Emperor penguin.  Really enjoying your report.

[gatoratlarge]

After working our way out of the Weddell Sea which involved a lot of pushing ice around, we made our way to the Antarctic’s South Shetland Islands.  These last two stops were really dramatic as far as the wind and snow which to me was just perfect! 
 

We had lucked out with beautiful weather in the Falklands, and in South Georgia, even in the Weddell Sea so it was our time to experience just a glimpse of what it might be like over the long dark winters!  30 naught winds, driving snow. The next stop was Half Moon Island which was the home of a large colony of chinstraps…I believe the most numerous of Antarctic penguins. 
 

Half Moon Island:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Fabulous seeing the emperors! 

[gatoratlarge]

Last installment!  Damn, this was a long extended trip! But with many a highlight 😁

 

The last stop was Deception Island, an ominously named (appropriately I’d say) sunken caldera in the South Shetlands with a narrow, windy entrance into Telefon Bay that was tricky to navigate.   
 

Once ashore, we trekked up to a shallow crater in driving wind and snow—my ill-adapted legs punching holes in the snow up to my knees! 😆 Even a couple gentoo penguins were struggling so I didn’t feel too bad.

 

Here’s a photo from Latika in our group and then a friend Alex’s photo:

 

 

 

 

Sailing into the caldera:

 

 

and a short video that’ll give you a good picture of the experience 😁 

Thanks for indulging me on this trip down memory lane — it was one that I’ve thought about most every day since. Do it if you can! 👍🏻👍🏻

[Atravelynn]

Of course the penguins and wildlife shots are stunning, but so are all those red jackets in the frozen landscape.

[michael-ibk]

Thanks for this report Joe, it's obvious you had a great time. A pleasure to follow this. You really captured the beauty of this ice wonderland perfectly. What's next for you? 

[gatoratlarge]

5 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

Thanks for this report Joe, it's obvious you had a great time. A pleasure to follow this. You really captured the beauty of this ice wonderland perfectly. What's next for you? 

 

Ten of us are going to Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda at the end of next month so I'm very excited about that.  We're going to the Mara (other than myself, none of the group has been to Kenya before) and then Uganda for gorilla trekking.  What's next for you guys?  I'm signed up for Christmas in the Congo with @Sangeetaand crew as well so that'll be about it for '24...wish y'all were going so bad!

[Kitsafari]

that first photo in the last segment looked like a painting!

@gatoratlarge

thank you for sharing your experiences in Antarctic - it gives a good flavour of what to expect there. 

 

Looking forward to Christmas and NY in the heart of Africa with you and the others! my heart is starting to tremble with equal parts of trepidation, thrill, anxiety, excitement, nervousness and whatnots thinking about it. 

[gatoratlarge]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:11 AM, Kitsafari said:

Looking forward to Christmas and NY in the heart of Africa with you and the others! my heart is starting to tremble with equal parts of trepidation, thrill, anxiety, excitement, nervousness and whatnots thinking about it. 

Same here, Kit!!  I told folks that I've spent 50 (some odd) years with family on Christmas so they'll have to excuse me as I spend Christmas 2024 with my next closest relatives (the bonobos!)   which is exactly what we'll be doing on December 25!  The countdown is on!

[Zubbie15]

Somehow I stopped reading this over the holidays, and just found it today in my open tabs. I'm glad I was able to catch up on the rest, even with some delay. Someday I have to get to Antarctica! Thanks for sharing @gatoratlarge. 

Edited April 8 by Zubbie15

[gatoratlarge]

Thanks @Zubbie15its a remarkable place and one of the years I’d love to go again 😊