Wow… where to start?
Wildlife like you have never seen before, Sub-Antarctica Islands that truly reflect the climate zone you are in, the Antarctic Circle where we received the mark of the penguin and time on a Russian ice mover…
Having changed the direction of our No Fat Chicks Tour (NFCT) to take advantage of an opening in the pack ice surrounding the Antarctic Circle, Campbell island was the first island we explored. Chugging into Perseverance Harbour at 0600hrs a wake up call (of which we will hear for the remainder of the trip, ‘Good morning folks, good morning’) comes over the PA system that we should be on the bridge or foredeck enjoying the sights of the rising sun.
As with all the sub-antarctic islands, they have very rugged coastlines, rocky barren spaces rolling for kilometres, tussock grasses growing in peat soils enriched by numerous mega-herbs that add the various texture and colour to the landscapes.
To land on any of the islands you have to have permits from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC); we also had to have a DOC representative on the trip to monitor our boot washing techniques and impact on the environment on our walks and ‘other’ planned activities. Blair’s (DOC official) camera was always at the ready snapping footprints and mud holes here and there. If we make heaps of mess that causes slips and landslides the department then builds a boardwalk – takes away all of the fun of sloshing around in the mud.
The down side of the permits means that only so many people can do certain activities as there may only be 11 for this walk and eight at a time in this hut or 40 in this special protected area. The rules and regulations definitely damper down the excitement of visiting a new place but I can see that some rules are required for preservation reasons but to what extent?
After an 8hr walk up Mount Honey, 569m at the highest point on Campbell island and a leisurely time watching and snapping pictures of Albatrosses interacting, taking off, landing and flying around we boarded Spirit of Enderby again, this time heading for the Ross Sea.
Boat life was miserable, not for this little adventurer – endless days in the bunk was enough to put me of travelling by sea ever again. The crew did everything they could to make the journey as comfortable as possible but if you were susceptible to sea sickness then you were bound to spend time in your bunk. The first night was an eye opener, realising that your bed was going to slide back and forwards all night (and day) and if it was not your bed then it was your tummy moving. I learnt to read in the conditions and managed to square away a book every two days or less.
Others learnt to play bridge or use photoshop and most typed up a daily log. It was a long month.
Most people over ate for the lack of energy that they were exerting; cooked breakfasts, lunch with biscuits, three course dinners and all the chocolate biscuits in between. Craig bribed the kiwi chefs, ice cream in exchange for movies… not that he needed the ice cream he found out afterwards. I think it was the thought that he could barter.
The air-conditioning, that left your nose blocked up the whole trip, spread every smell possible throughout the ship from the Russians smoking to tonight’s dinner.
Surprisingly only one passenger out of 56 people smoked, but the 24 Russians made up for that statistic.
After more than a week at sea crossing latitude 66′34″ into the Antarctic Circle saw us all celebrating on the foredeck with hot cocoa and Bacardi and receiving the Mark of the Penguin on our foreheads and pledging to undertake all means necessary to protect the environment and wildlife in that environment we were about to enter.
Rescue mission delta, Enderby to the Rescue! We had to find a fishing vessel that had been broken down for a few months down in the Ross Sea and ferry them across spare parts required to get them back home. Amazing protocol in the seas, if we passed a USA ship we were not allowed to communicate with them, we just stood at the windows and waved as we went past, a weird sensation when you hadn’t seen anyone for weeks.
Wildlife of the Southern Seas
We saw seven varieties of penguins each as special as the other in their characteristics and habitats. February was the end of the molting season for most colonies, a lot of the adult penguins had left for feeding so mainly fat furry chicks where spotted on each island.
Our first leg stretch was on Franklin island where we got our first real encounter of Adelie penguins and Weddell seals. It was fantastic to crunch around on the ice dodging massive smelling pits of yellow penguin pooh snapping pictures here and there of penguins flapping their wings and seals lying around with snot dribbling out of their noses. Some of us climbed a hill to get a great view back over the sea of our boat and ice bergs floating around as the sun set (2200hrs). Yet it never truly got dark.
Further down the Ross Sea we stopped on Ross Island at Cape Royds in the morning and Cape Evans in the afternoon and visited the huts of early explorers Earnest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott, Scott Hut. It was here we encountered Leopard Seals, fatter Adelie penguins and stunning views of Mt. Erebus. Which is still smoking away on a daily basis.
The huts were in immaculate condition due to the restoration programmes and the dry air with all the original tins of food and newspapers on the shelves, 100yr old hams hanging on the walls, seal blubber under the flooring (used for fuel) and the skis and bicycles up against the sheds. It was four days off a 100 years since the explorers were last in Shackleton’s Hut.
Another day and the Enderby was roped up to the side of the ice shelf with a scattering of Emperor penguins wandering around. A stunning creature that stands near on a metre tall and slides along on its bellie. The penguins dived under the ice with us and wandered around our gear.
Later on we emptied out the ship of our ‘toys’, it was time for golf, cricket, MTB, motor bike riding and nice leisurely walks inland on the ice shelf, all within our 1km limited radius of the ship. One of the two rules, the other being if the ship horn sounds drop everything and run for the ship.
I really enjoyed playing golf, more time was required, the sound of the club scrapping the ice as you chipped a ball towards our makeshift hole highlighted by a Postie bike chopper flag took a while to get use to.
Next it was MTB riding, the ice was like riding on sand, hard and soft parts, very hard work when you are wrapped up like an Eskimo – I loved it, again more time required to go for a decent ride.
What next? A motorbike ride, I think. I ended up melting my Gortex pants on the exhaust – oops! You had to remember to take off in second gear otherwise you spun out. Very exhilarating.
But the best was yet to come, a kayak in the channel. The wind had got up so the wind chill factor made kayaking quite cold. As soon as the water came down the paddle it froze in to droplets so I did not actually get wet. I was dressed like an alien in half diving and half kayaking gear – but it worked.
Along the McMurdo Sound ice channel to Scott and McMurdo Bases we saw small pods or lone Orca playing. They tended to stay close to the edge of the ice shelf in hope of stray food falling in to the water – penguins. Also down this latitude you saw Minke whales – yeah the Japanese haven’t got them all!
Unfortunate weather, -20degree winds, meant we could not continue down the channel to Scott Base with the hovercraft so the decision was made for us to leave early for the Auckland Islands. It was with heavy hearts that majority of the ship buckled down for a weeks travel back north through rough seas.
Our last day on the way out was a quick explore around Cape Bird, a meal looking over the Ross Ice Shelf and a polar plunge through the ice.
Three of us decided to skip the penguin gazing on Cape Bird and head for the hills for some much needed exercise before we got tied to our bunks again. We tramped over the hills and found our way down the glacier edge (on the glacier was out of bounds – oops do not tell anyone). It was fun falling in to thigh deep powder snow; remembering that the air is very dry down there only 3% humidity.
The ice shelf is over400NM long and over 80m tall surrounded by miles of pancake ice. In winter this ice shelf is up to 2000NM long doubling the size of Antarctica. It was here we had our last dinner in Antarctica while the brave donned their togs for the polar plunge. At 2130hrs the ice was repeatedly broken up with an oar at the foot of the gangplank while one by one, like penguins, the hardy ones jumped beneath the ice.
Russian Chief over the PA System, “Doctor, Doctor to the 500 level” to where one female head had dented the captains door and left a tuft of hair behind. Rough weather another day saw a plastic surgeon requiring stitches to her head (but do not shave my hair off!) after a 9m swell sent her flying under/at a table at lunchtime. A couple of intravenous drips for sea sickness and the odd tablet was all the doctor had to deal with during this week.
Sub-Antarctic islands
Macquarie Island, an Australian claimed island, was our first stop on the way home from the Ross Sea. Probably the most spectacular island in terms of penguins and Elephant Seals. Out of all the King penguins in the world no where else are they as curious as they are on Macquarie. As soon as the boat anchored we were surrounded by King penguins swimming and darting around, the noise was unbelievably loud. From the bridge we could see a colony of 600 thousand pairs and at 1.2NM offshore we could smell them! Penguin shit really does stink.
After dinner that night we went for a snorkel with the penguins, half in and half out of the boat as it is forbidden to dive on the island. Awesome video footage shows the penguins shooting through the water with their boosters going, bubbles galore, an amazing experience. Do not tell anyone 
We also saw Royal and Gentoo penguins on the island and Rockhoppers from a distance.
The Australians let us on to their base for morning tea of scones and jam with whipped cream. They have a room purely for dress up costumes for their parties.
We got to watch the weather balloon being released which collects data for the WMO for this part of the world as it is the only Island on this latitude.
Next it was off to the Auckland Islands, of which I only really enjoyed Enderby. The rest were very bleak.
A long walk up the ridge to the top of Auckland Island let us experience the peat marshland type vegetation that the European settlers would have had to try and live with back in the early 1900’s. After a gruelling day of walking the hill tops a few of us had the opportunity to kayak to our next anchorage for the night – 3 1/2hrs later I kayaked young Hannah MacIntyre back to our boat. It was a long paddle but worth it near the end when the sea-lions started playing around our kayaks and racing along beside us. The warmer temperatures of the sub-antarctic made the kayaking more enjoyable too. We were lucky with this calm day.
The next day was one of my favourites, an all day walk around Enderby Island where we could explore by ourselves and basically do our own thing all day – this was a rarity hence the excitement in it. The sea-lions and yellow eyed penguins were a delight to watch and interact with. For lunch we sat upon a cliff top amongst the grasses and sea-lions who popped up their heads at random locations along the island hill tops. There are beautiful micro plants and mega-herbs on this island and the bright red Rata forest was a stunning setting for a tea and a sit down near the end of the walk. Funny sitting there and spying a pair of eyes looking back at you from under a log. These penguins are solitary breeders and nest way up in the bush under logs rather than down by the waters edge.
Another rescue mission for a group of us. A muddy hole full of about 15 pups turned into a full scale digging and tree gathering session. The boys dug ramps and trenches to allow the pups to get out of the hole but ended up having to throw them out as the pups were too scared and tired to get out themselves. The girls gathered old dead wood, trees and branches to fill in the holes again so that the pups would not go back in. Not only was it important to get the pups out but if they did not find their mums then they would die as they are still in the suckling phase of their lives. We saw three re-connections before we left the island, which was better than none at all.
The next morning saw some of us done our kayaking gear again for one last paddle to the European settlement. It was a windy day and we had to cross a few open channels with over lapping currents. Luckily I had Henry with me this time as all strength was required for the hours and waters we kayaked – It was a thrill.
Our last day of excitement was a joy ride in the Naiad’s around rocks, in and out of caves, spying Snares Crested penguins on the steep cliff edges and a dive or snorkel with the sea-lions on Snares island.
A 7mm wetsuit was warm enough here and it was a lot of fun swimming with the sea-lions. They blow bubbles and bare their teeth when they are playing so when they did it to you, you held your breath so they would not come and wrestle with you – very entertaining. More excellent video footage was taken by Craig of the sea-lions in action.
Our final night in Invercargill involved fresh Bluff Oysters in an Irish bar with live music and a few old bod’s dancing (including us) – it was a nice way to say goodbye to the last few passengers, who happened to be some of the best company on board and we have since booked other trips with.
Would I do the trip again? Not in the same way, there was never enough time to do activities properly as you needed so much time to travel everywhere.
I would like to do a true adventure down there one day.
Posted by michellecolerocks 