After a very slow overnight cruise because we didn’t have to travel far, there was a sudden panic this morning. The weather unexpectedly turned worse, so our plan to go to Cuverville and Useful Island had to be changed. We decided to follow the better weather northwards, which meant a few hours of rough seas full speed ahead. The new plan was not all bad news as it meant another continental landing instead of islands. We made for Orne Harbour and managed to spot some very elusive Minke whales on the way. They are particularly quick and very shy so seeing a few as we sailed by was a real privilege.
Orne harbour has a Chinstrap penguin colony. The only problem is that Chinstraps like to nest on rocky outcrops high in the cliffs that are either free from snow or get the best spot for an early melt of snow. That meant a climb up a pretty steep snow covered hill. But hey – if a tiny penguin can do it every time then so could we. If only I could also slide on my belly on the way down again…
We were fortunate to be on the first zodiac across and could climb near the front of the crowd. The site was rather small so after about 10 min at the top it started to get very crowded and noisy. We were starting to feel just like those penguins – crammed together on a small ledge with a few very noisy neighbours.
Chinstraps nesting on the high rocks
The views from the top of the Gerlache Strait were amazing but we decided to head down for some peace and quiet. I spotted some seals chilling (no pun intended) on a piece of ice on the other side of the bay, so because we got down before the hordes, I managed to convince the zodiac driver to take a little detour on the way back to the ship.
The red is from the krill that seals feast on. Basically, someone had a messy lunch!
Wha?
Once back on board we felt like we had the ship to ourselves until Adrie suddenly exclaimed: “Oh &*#$!” I thought a glacier was about to calve and I had missed it. But no – we received a visitor – a massive (but apparently young) 6-7m humpback was very curious and had come within about 2m of the bow. It swam around and under the boat and with a flash of its fluke he swam away to investigate something else. Adrie’s jaw was on the floor.
The most incredible sight; a humpback whale about 3m away
Goodbye Orne Harbour
