Orcas Everywhere
Orcas Everywhere
By Blog.Admin
Saturday 28 February 2009
Orcas everywhere!
Yesterday morning we awoke to find the strong currents had smashed the large chunk of sea ice into which we had ventured the previous evening into tiny pieces. Even so icebergs choked our path to the south and slowed our progress to Devil Island.
Before breakfast I spied seven Snow Petrels and well over a dozen Orcas. Many of the Orcas were covered in diatoms lending a pinkish hue to their flanks. We stayed with the Orcas for a good half hour before inching south once more.
A majority of folks landed on Devil Island and took the walk to one or both of the twin summits that give the island its name. The remainder took to the sea in the zodiacs to explore. We found a couple of Crabeater Seals, Fur Seals on floes and a flock of Kelp Gulls in a neon blue iceberg pool. We also drove our zodiacs onto solid pans of sea ice for an ocean landing.
Once we were back on board we headed north-east towards Paulet Island. On the way we came across another group of Orcas. This time an enormous male Orca with its huge distinctive dorsal fin accompanied a smaller pod of female Orcas. The Orcas were curious and came right up to take a look at us, a terrific thrill for everyone.
Just prior to arriving at Paulet Island we crossed paths with Minke and Fin Whales. We spent a short time with the whales before heading to anchorage and taking to the zodiacs for a landing on the island.
Sometimes you can smell Paulet Island well before you can see it. The smell is intense. At the height of the summer tens of thousands of Adelie Penguins nest here. When we landed, most of the Adelies had left for the winter. A few chicks that had not completed their moult remained. The evidence of the great numbers of penguins was everywhere. A toxic layer of krill coloured guano coats the lower slopes of this volcanic island. Fur seals littered the beach and the smell of seal urine and penguin guano permeated our clothing. One unfortunate lady slipped at a rather inopportune moment and returned from a stroll covered in guano.
The island is also home to the remains of Nordenskjold’s Hut which has until very recently been in remarkably good repair. When we arrived at the stone hut a big male fur seal sat perched on a wall and another side of the hut had been destroyed no doubt thanks to the marauding seals.
Later in the evening we set sail across the Scotia Sea for the South Orkney Islands. The Scotia Sea is named after the ship of Scotsman Robert Spiers Bruce, the meticulous indefatigable Scottish Nationalist that led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904.
Early this morning we came across some huge bergs including a single berg 12 nautical miles in length and a pod of feeding Fin Whales. We are now streaking across calm seas towards our destination, Orcadas Base on Laurie Island.
David Sinclair
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