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Antarctica: Neko Harbour & Cuverville Island
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Monday 26th November 2018
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During what passes for
night at this latitude at this time of year, we sailed south-west
along the west coast of the Antarctic peninsula, through
the Bransfield Strait, towards a collection of potential
landing locations, which we would attempt to visit over
the next two days. |
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The potential landing
spots are quite close to one another, as this larger scale map shows. |
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We were both out
with our cameras before breakfast to take in the magnificent scene. |
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All layered up and ready
to go, we were very much looking forward to our first landing
on the Antarctic continent itself. |
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The onboard team
was always on hand to ensure that we got on and off the zodiacs
safely. |
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Because of all the ice,
the ship had to anchor some way from the shore. This meant
that the ride on the zodiacs was quite a long one (around
45 minutes) and our expert drivers had to pick their way
through ice like this. For the passengers, it was a magical
experience. (I am running out of superlatives to describe
things by this point!) |
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We were in the group
that went ashore first, followed by an extended zodiac cruise before
returning to the ship. |
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In my element! |
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Sadly, it was time to
get back on the zodiac and return to the ship, but there
was still plenty to see and experience along the way. |
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Our driver on the return
leg, a very funny man called Nacho, pulled up alongside
some small icebergs and encouraged us to scrape enough ice
off them to make snowballs. The aim was to throw them at
our fellow travellers when we passed them. None of the other
drivers did this, so the look on their faces and those of
their passengers when we actually threw them, was priceless.
Luckily nobody got injured! |
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Finally, back to
the ship. What a fabulous morning! |
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In the afternoon, we
did it all again. Back on the zodiacs and onto land once
again, this time on Cuverville Island. Unlike this morning,
however, the ship was able to anchor closer to shore, so
we didn't have such a long trip. The scenery and the ice
everywhere made it another wonderful experience. For me,
the highlight was getting up close to a leopard seal, who
eyed us warily from his own little ice island as we circled
around him, snapping away madly. |
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