Prince Leopold Island
Prince Leopold Island
By prisca.campbell
(Aug 16, 2010, 11:00) - Dundas Harbour - Hamish Fothergill reporting - The day began with the standard wake up call before a trip over a calm ocean to the cliffs of Prince Leopold Island. The cliffs where thick with kittiwakes, Glaucous Gulls and Brunnic’s Guillemots, all squabbling for control over the rocky outcrop. They swarmed the narrow ledges, building nests or simply finding a suitably flat spot. Luckily we were not downwind of the avian colony for the stench was always a pungent persistent one, which hung around ones clothes until washed.
On return, lunch was again exceptional, as all the food had been on this enchanting voyage. Following the second meal of the day,there was a planned landing at Port Leopold. This was however called of by bad weather conditions, so in its place a brief helicopter flight, ten minutes or so, was offered. Whilst the previous passengers reported sightings of a whale, it can only be presumed that they misinterpreted a block of ice floating across the surface of the ocean to be either a beluga or narwhal. The day ended with several games of ping-pong followed by a session in the sauna and the pool -and finally a trip to the bar.
The KK is well facilitated and whilst the pool is rarely filled, it is a joy onboard the ship. Since the pool is filled with seawater it can only be refilled when the ship is at least 12 miles from the nearest land. By the same regulations the water must also be emptied after each day of use. Subsequently it was only filled three times across the trip. Today is the last day in what has been an exceptional trip of unparalleled opportunities.
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