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| Elephant Island
Elephant Island was our next destination. Shackleton’s crew
spent 4 1/2 winter months here, while Shackleton and a small crew sailed 800 mi
in 17 days in an open lifeboat across the world’s stormiest seas to South
Georgia. Due to winter ice, it took four rescue attempts before the island
could be reached and the men rescued. Even today the island is difficult to
access due to ice and rough seas. The MS Fram has only managed a few landings
there in the last seven years. We were lucky to be able to land at such an
inaccessible and historical site.
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| How to make Chinstrap Penguins |
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| Elephant Seal (kiss me!) |
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| Tabular Iceberg |
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| Adelie Penguin with chick |
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| Pat Kayaking (blue hat) |
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| Gentoo Penguin with chick |
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| Caldera at Deception Island
Another unusual landing was Whaler’s Bay on Deception
Island. This is a volcanic caldera with a collapsed wall section that allows
ship access to the interior, making it the best harbor in the Antarctic. There
was a whaling station here and later a British Base, but the last eruption in
1967-1969 destroyed most of the structures. The volcano is still considered
active.
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| Iceberg Turnover |
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| Loading PolarCirkle Boats |
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| Crabeater Seal
The last stop was to be the British Base at Port Lockroy -
unfortunately the bay was packed with ice and the PolarCirkle boats would not
be able to safely cross. The Captain headed the Fram south through the ice
filled Lemaire Channel until our passage was completely blocked. He turned the
ship around and found a spot where the passengers could tour the ice flows and
wildlife from the PolarCirkle boats. From here, we headed north and crossed the
Drake Passage. We had some gale force winds but the ship handled the swells and
soon the Cape of Good Hope was sighted.
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| Antarctic Peninsula - Our passage |
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