Penguins and Whales!
Penguins and Whales!
By Blog.Admin
Our first stop today was Cuverville Island, no we did not see any Cuvers. We did see loads of penguins though, and even some whales! We dropped off the climbers around 8 AM, they were off to climb Spiggots Peak. We continued down the channel a ways and anchored just outside of the landing bay. Cuverville is home to 4,800 breeding pairs of penguins and they were everywhere! In the water, we would see them leaping as they swam from place to place. The water is incredibly clear, so we also had some good views of the penguins swimming under water.
On land, the penguins were moving along their little highways. It was very amusing to watch them waddle along in little lines. We had to mind where we walked, to make sure we did not block their progress. A group of people left to go on a hike up to the top of the big rock outcropping, to get good views of the area from up high. The rest of us were able to wander along the beach and take a short walk to a rookery. This was the place to sit down and watch from one place because inevitably one or two penguins would walk by quite close.
At the beach they were going into and out of the water. We had great views of the speed with which they can swim as they came up to the shallows. After an hour or so, we chose to join a zodiac tour. We were to go looking at the icebergs up close. Just as we started our tour, word went out over the radio that there were whales near the ship. We sped up and headed that way.
After a bit of looking around for the whales, we finally spotted them behind us! We spent the next 40 minutes watching two humpback whales as they relaxed and stayed near the surface. At one point they came right between our zodiac and another. This was the closest whale watching experience we have had! Now it is off to Deck 5 aft for a BBQ, the weather is calm so it promises to be quite pleasant outside!
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I think my sister and her husband (Valerie and Kyle Ramsey from Virginia) are sharing your experiences. If you meet them please tell them the Bond family says "Hello". Hope all of you have a wonderful and safe trip.