Review : Antarctica/Falklands/S Georgia - Dec 2005

[NewCruiseFan]

I'm back!

Explorer II (during N Hemisphere summers called MV Alexander von Humboldt)

21 Dec 2005 - 5 Jan 2006

Ushuaia - Port Stanley - S. Georgia - Antarctica - Ushuaia

 

The trip was incredible and I'd happily do it again. Our itinerary had originally been the reverse of the above but the one we did was perfect, you build to the climax and then are exhausted and ready to go to your own bed.

 

logistics and gear:

The ship:

fantastic library with everything from trash novels to excellent research materials on geology, history, mammals, birds, ice.

movie theatre on board which showed a film daily at 2p, that was fun and a nice diversion. they showed March of the Penguins once in the cinema and one day on tv.

there's a small but useable gym at the top of the ship. two bikes, one treadmill, one eliptical trainer and two rowing machines. there's also ping pong. although we never had anything remotely resembling swells it was quite entertaining to walk on the treadmill - i tried running but couldnt' get the hang of it. i also walked circuits on the promenade (outside deck) with some of the staff and passengers. there's a tv in the gym.

two restaurants, sit down and buffet. the buffet served all the same dishes plus extra salad stuff and the food in both was exceptional. service impeccable and staff the best.

beauty salon/spa. lovely woman works it and looked lonely most of the time. i used her hair dryer once when my roomie was ill but never used the complimentary sauna.

well equipped sundries store, but bring what you need. they do have chocolates that you can't get in states which was fun.

reception has postcards drawn by one of the expedition staff. Dr. Patricia Silva, an Ornithologist - her work is exceptional.

 

expedition staff was composed of university professors and other PhD's who make this an annual holiday. extremely friendly, funny, interesting and informative. available both in and out of the formal lectures as well as on shore.

 

cabins, small but well appointed. room under bed for empty suitcases. plenty of closet and drawer space.

there's a tv with built in dvd player, dvd's are free to borrow on board but the selection is limited and other passengers are also borrowing - if you have something you want to watch bring it with you.

tv shows programs provided by ship, schedule in daily expedition briefing.

one 110 outlet in the bathroom, with switch to convert it to 220. one 220 outlet in cabin. a provided hairdryer which is lovely, powerful and works great.

your room steward sneaks in several times a day to clean up after you, provide email messages and expedition notes.

 

there's computers in the library which you can access to send email, be sure to take your email addresses with you as it's an application for the ship. the ship collects and sends email several times a day but you do not have internet access. it costs $5 to send a message per address but is free to receive.

 

passengers, an international mix of very well educated people. there were two groups A&K which was primarily American but with some from Australia and UK and Noble Caledonian with primarily UK (Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland) but with a lovely woman from Spain.

 

the A&K agency advertised this as a family trip so there were about 20 kids all of whom were fabulous. well educated, well travelled and well behaved. they went to the gym, the game room and the daily kid program to behave like kids but the rest of the time they were fab. most had homework and reports to do during the trip and could be found part of the day in the library with mom or dad working.

Noble Caledonian apparently goofed and advertised as kid-free so some of the UK folks were distressed to find kids but as the kids were so good they eventually warmed to them.

Noble Caledonian and also advertised the Drake crossing as one day promising passengers an extra day in S Georgia and one extra day in Antarctica - passengers were extremely unhappy to hear the crossing is more like 2.5 days.

 

weather:

we were blessed with the most incredible weather. we had the rare but delightful Drake Lake on both our outbound and return. we made all of our landings plus an additional landing in Antarctica.

 

weather all information was collected at noon throughout the trip

temperatures ranged Low High at noon

air 35 degF 50 degF

sea 33 degF 48 degF

 

wind ranged from calm to one day with 17 - 21 knots

sea ranged from calm to 4 meter swells on one day

 

on two occasions we experienced snow. once a little rain and once sleet. for the most part we had gorgeous sunny skies. when travelling through the channels/passages between islands and the Antarctic continent we had great weather. when we were at sea between S. Georgia and Antarctica and again between Antarctica and Ushuaia, we had fog.

 

between the Falklands and S Georgia we came across a huge mass of ice roughly 4 miles composed of bergs and bergy bits that was not previously mapped. the residents of the Falklands had indicated they'd heard a huge piece of ice was drifting their way and they indicated worry about it.

 

clothing:

I goofed and took too much in spite of having cut it down several times.

here's what I'd do in the future

one evening outfit composed of nice black trousers, black shirt (with long sleeves which could hide a thermal shirt under it), simple/elegant dress vest. I'd include 2-3 scarves (this includes the ones worn on shore) to vary the outfit along with a couple of dressy earrings.

daily wear: one pair jeans, one pair fleece trousers, one pair running tights. two turtlenecks, two shirts that could be worn over either turtleneck. one sweater, one fleece vest.

warm under garments: one pair wool/capilene thermal longjohns, two thermal tank tops, two thermal long sleeves, one thermal turtleneck.

one very cool, fun, funky hat the sillier the better. requirement is that it be warm and not fly off head - something you could wear skiing. some of the staff had hats with two or three long tails - that would have been very fun.

one balaclava - my face was the only part of me exposed. on all zodiac rides and some shore visits i struggled with my wool scarf to try and keep it covered.

wrap around sunglasses - an absolute must.

waterproof pants - another must. get them really baggy as you might end up with jeans and thermals underneath.

thermal glove liners, heavier gloves that are wind/waterproof to wear over these.

thermal sock liners, two pairs light weight but warm socks, two pairs thick/warm socks.

 

the ship provided an exceptionally nice water/windproof parka. it has two small zip pockets high and great size but they are underneath your life preserver which you never remove so very awkward to get to. it also has enclosed pockets lower with open pockets under. there's also an inside zip pocket again difficult to get to.

 

when you are bundled up you're the michelin tire man so the lighter your undergear is the better.

 

some folks brought their own wellies which ran them as much as $200 US. the ship provides wellies that work great and I brought a pair of gel shoe liners that made them more comfortable.

 

once you are geared up in your thermals, waterproof pants, wellies, parka and life preserver it's easiest and least time consuming to leave it all on so your wellies are the only shoes you'll wear ashore.

 

take a pair of walking sandals that you can comfortably wear socks with, a pair of tennies for the ship and gym and a pair of nice, warm shoes/boots for dinner, relaxation etc.

 

the ship provided a backpack but it is not waterproof. take ziploc baggies for your electronics and gear that must stay dry. nothing is allowed to remain on shore so staff is religious about keeping after things that get caught in the wind.

 

i looked like an idiot but i poked little holes in the corners of the bag, slipped the ends of my camera straps into them, attached the camera and was able to ziplock the bag. the cameras wore the stupid bags until we headed to the Drake for the return. everythings stayed dry and i could wear my camera around my neck onshore without concern to the elements. and my bags were never being chased by me or staff.

 

the temperatures make your batteries think they are running low quickly so keep extras in a warm pocket while ashore. get rechargables and recharge every night so you're topped off.

 

all alcohol is complimentary on the Explorer II with the exception of premium liquors and wines. everyone had wine with lunch and dinner as well as cocktails every night but no one became obnoxiously drunk.

 

next message, the landings and funny things on board...

[NewCruiseFan]

on the way to the Falklands we saw our first whales!

 

we came across a pod of Fin and Sei whales. Captain Moulds is a huge fan of whales so he followed them around for a while.

 

the stabalizers are retracted when in the vicinity of wildlife so it got a little bumpy but was fun.

 

Several complimentary excursions were offered. as I'd done penguins in the Falklands previously I didn't do it this time and instead went to Long Island sheep farm. I very much enjoyed it. we saw traditional peat cutting, learned about the environmental affects associated with it and how the peat is used at the farm.

saw sheep herding and shearing.

saw the traditional tack used for their horses along with where the horses live during summer/winter. learned about the environmental changes which are affecting vegetation.

had high tea (many tasty treats!) and met the adult children and grandkids of the farm owners.

 

had plenty of time to wander through town, have a pint, shop etc. I'd pre-ordered a sweater to my specifications through the Falklands wool shop (look for AE Falklands wool online) so I picked it up and purchased yarn for my knitting friends. also learned how the wool industry is changing in the Falklands.

 

reboarded and headed on to S. Georgia!

[NewCruiseFan]

forgot to mention:

there were 195 passengers

174 staff including 15 members of the Expedition Staff.

 

They held positions in Geology, History, Marine Biology, Biology, Ornithology, Geography and included a former member of the British Royal Navy (a commando) who served as Base Commander for the British Antarctic Survey - Russ of the Antarctic. :-)

 

One of our bird experts, Chris Hill who resided at Bird Island in S. Georgia doing research, had two of the PhD's (JJ- natural history and Michael- marine biology) romping around in the main lounge demonstrating typical behavior of fur seals. It was hugely entertaining.

 

The staff also hosted an evening where they played something like "spot the truth" where they'd make up a definition for something related to the trip and only one would be correct. The audience would vote by clapping for the truth. sad to say, staff beat us by having us vote for the made up stories more than the correct definitions! each of Michael's stories started out with "As you know, I'm a marine biologist..." I don't think he ever heard the end the grief for that.

[Bill S]

NewCruiseFan: thanks for sharing your adventure--it sounds just wonderful! It sounds like your weather/sea conditions were much like we had wheile we were in Antarctic waters two years-just spectacular!

We also took the trip out to the Long Island Sheep Ranch in the Falklands - glad to hear that Glenda and her family are still doing well.

Thanks also for your tip on the ziploc bag for the camera!

[2552phxcrzr]

Thanks for reporting on your adventure. Looking forward to reading more. We're headed on a similar itinerary with Quark Dec 06-Jan 07. Perhaps we'll get lucky with the Drake 'Lake' - but I won't hold my breath.

[NewCruiseFan]

Funny things people said before the trip, to me or to one of the guests:

Oh! Polar bears! I love polar bears, get lot's of pictures.

Isn't it going to be dark since it's winter?

Oh, it's summer, will it be hot?

Do you have relatives there?

Who owns Antarctica?

Are you staying in a nice resort?

 

A funny thing that happened on the ship:

As it happened Chanukkah began on Christmas in 2005. I learned that Chanukkah is apparently not well known in the UK. At breakfast one morning I overheard the guests at the table next to me badly mispronouncing it and musing about its origins. They finally concluded it must be an American concocted holiday.

[mikey1958]

Looking forward to reading more.

 

Jill

[NewCruiseFan]

If you have the opportunity to do South Georgia, go for it. Abundant wildlife, spectacular views, interesting history. This was when the passengers were split into two groups to ensure no more than 100 people were on shore at a time.

 

26 Dec Morning - Salisbury Plain

We arrived at Salisbury Plain, South Georgia with great anticipation. South Georgia is considered a naturalists paradise and many on the cruise had selected this itinerary because it included S. Georgia.

 

Salisbury Plain has a long black beach, due to weather and shore conditions we had to do a stern landing - where the zodiac backs onto the beach with the engine pulled up out of the water. This was the only location with a stern landing. Easily half a dozen of the expedition staff were there to help us out of the boat, through the waves and onto shore. Once there we were welcomed by hundreds if not thousands of fur seals and some elephant seals.

 

Fur seals aren't so happy to have visitors and have been known to bite so the expedition staff created a safe passage for us along the beach and kept the seals at bay with clacking sticks. Once we got through most of the seals, with huge numbers of little black babies, we were rewarded by a King penguin colony of nearly 80,000 penguins! It is the second largest in South Georgia, I can't imagine how overwhelming the first would be.

 

We walked up off the beach to the rookery and were immediately surrounded by curious babies wearing what appeared to be brown fur coats. The juveniles are called "Oakum Boys," don't know why. They look like fat balls of feathers teetering around on tiny little feet. There's a creek coming down from the mountain with tussock grass and small hills on the side opposite the rookery. The fur seals pretty much stayed on the other side of the creek leaving our side for the penguins.

 

We'd been warned by expedition staff that penguins were odiferous, they weren't kidding. We were standing in mud, guano and rocks surrounded by the sounds of parents and babies whirring, whistling and chatting away. It's absolutely astounding. The skies were overcast and it may have drizzled but I found I forgot quickly any inclement weather conditions.

 

We were warned to stay 15' away from the birds but once near them the birds wanted to come inspect us. Before long you're surrounded by penguins. From the beach the colony goes up high onto the hillside and it's very clear where the birds are, the hillside is covered with brown fur coats and big white chests.

 

26 Dec Afternoon - Elsehul

After our mornig landing we sailed back North to go to Elsehul, small bay named by the Norwegian sealers and whalers who worked there between 1905 and 1912. We didn't do a landing but instead did a one hour zodiac tour.

 

Elsehul has Macaroni penguins - they are so beautiful! I love those yellow feathers popping out of their heads. We also saw a light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatross along with Giant petrels, fur and elephant seals.

 

The ride was in lovely sunshine on very calm waters so there were no worries about wind or seas. The naturalists are your zodiac drivers and each has their own specialty so you'll hear about geology or plants or birds or mammals. It's an incredible experience and off in the distance you'll catch glimpses of the ship peeking over craggy rocks spilling into the bay.

 

27 Dec Morning - Grytviken

We anchored in Cumberland Bay, with clear gorgeous skies and flat calm water. After the short ride to shore we walked to the small cemetary, toasted Captain Ernest Shackleton who is buried there and hiked a long, steep hill to the ridge next to the reservoir. The views are spectacular and well worth the scramble but it is not an easy climb. There's a rock scree to scramble over right at the end but a staffer was there to hoist us up the final few feet.

 

The staffers did small lectures on history, geology and animals seen there. I just stood in awe, turning around and around looking at craggy snow-capped mountains, gentle slopes and sparkling turquoise waters.

 

After a time we went into "town" to see the church and museum. Two of our passengers snuck off the ship and into the church to be married! They'd tried to keep it a secret but word leaked out and when they came out of the church half the ship was there waiting with cameras - as was the ships photographer. They did not have any friends or family on the ship but asked a couple they'd met to stand with them at the ceremony.

 

The curator of the museum was the officiant at the wedding and told me later it was the third wedding in the church and the 7th wedding on S. Georgia. After the wedding, decked out in their formal attire, they had a specially decorated zodiac driven by Russ of the Antarctic to whisk them back to the ship. She wore an incredible deep red silk dress with a long cream brocade coat and a white fur hat. He wore a suit and I'm sure was freezing on the ride back to the ship.

 

The museum has lovely pieces for sale made by the husband of the curator along with t-shirts, postcards, maps, photos etc. The exhibits are wonderful, loads of photos and items from the whaling and exploration days. This is also a postal station so you can mail things here. They take credit cards and cash, American dollars or British pounds. There's nothing other than souvenirs for sale, that is no batteries, film etc.

 

There's a lot of old whaling paraphenalia around the town, several old whalers and a heavy anchor chain used to mark the path. There's some work going on but I never asked what other than research.

 

27 Dec Afternoon - Stromness

We left Grytviken and sailed North to Stromness where there is a former whaling station. Everything is derilict, making for great pictures. We saw a number of blond seals, staff told us that there's one for approximately 1,000 seals so we estimated over 8,000 fur seals.

 

We hiked up from the beach to a waterfall where Shackleton and his men slide down before being rescued following his 16 months in pack ice. The hike out was through a heavy bog with a headwind - there were a number of grumpy voices and one woman headed back. As there are a lot of fur seals this required a bit of coordination between staffers to ensure her safety.

 

There's a large herd of reindeer, staff told us that they were here resting after the Christmas rush. Kids loved that. There were also King and Gentoo penguins and some birds that kept dive bombing us. That was pretty funny as long as you weren't the one being dive bombed.

 

The hardier souls hiked up the hill next to the waterfall and along the ridge to get a better view of what Shackleton had climbed. I wasn't one of them, the waterfall was sufficient. At the fall the kids were romping, backpacks shed and even the ever present life preserver came off for a lot of folks.

 

The hike back was much easier. It's an estimated 4 mile round trip to the base of the falls with roughly another 2 miles if you go up the hill.

 

28 Dec Morning - Gold Harbour

The group that went out first had a 3am wake up call followed by a 4am landing. The naturalists landed at 3:30 to scout the location and get the fur seals to let us through. Lucky for us there weren't many. There were however huge numbers of elephant seals, they are very curious and not really dangerous.

 

Huge mountains surround the beach and the Bertrab Glacier is at the head. Gold Harbour is incredibly beautiful and the reason for the ungodly hour was to be there soon after sunrise for photography.

 

There were King penguins and Elephant seals in abundance, passengers wandered freely. It had been recommended that we relax, breath and try not to rush around. It was suggested that we find a location, plop down and wait for wildlife to come to us.

 

Believe me, it works. The ship photographer, got on his tummy and inched towards a couple of seals when another one came up out of the surf and just motored on over to him, eventually laying on top of him. He handed the camera to the Captain and just waited.

 

In another instance one of the little girls sat down, a baby elephant seal came over, nudged her until she was laying down and then lay next to her - with his flipper over her! Sadly, I wasn't at either of those locations so didn't get pictures but did see pictures!

 

There was ice littering the shore, snow in the air and elephant seals making nice with people. Penguins were coming and going through the surf, Albatross waddling along shore and running to get into the air. A few fur seals would show up now and again.

 

It was cold but not unduly so. I found that I never really noticed the temperature while on shore. When I returned I'd waddle down the hall, strip off all the cold weather gear and note that my skin was very cold to the touch. I'd redress in something more presentable and often shower to warm up before re-joining the passengers.

 

After each landing the reception area had hot beverages, naturalists and excited passengers comparing notes. I found that while I never got cold on the ride (except my face) or on shore I would get very cold after returning. Probably because I didn't partake of the hot beverages.

 

We then set sail for Antarctica in the early afternoon.

[minke]

Great review, wish I could have been on that trip especially as it included South Georgia. A beautifull place, I visited in the 1950's on a RN ship & we brought the first King Penguins back to London zoo. Would love to go back but wife will not go & cannot justify spending that much maney on myself alone.

[NewCruiseFan]

Minke,

 

You have to go. Ask a friend to travel with you to split the cost. We had a woman on board whose husband had served with the BAS at Port Lockeroy prior to his passing, she brought some photos to the base and they sat down with her to go through some books that had his picture. She returned home with stories and more photos from his time there.

 

If you're still in the UK check with Noble Caledonian, they had more than half the passengers on our ship and might know a way to hook you up with a cabinmate.

[NewCruiseFan]

sorry to be taking so long in getting to what I assume most folks are interested in. Antarctica.

 

Morning Landing - Half Moon Island/Isla Medialuna

There is a sheltered bay in which we anchored, surrounded by the curve of the small but beautiful Half Moon Island. Behind our landing location we can see Livingston Island - with huge glacier cliffs and old, blue ice. The water between the two islands is filled with icebergs, we can hear glaciers calving but can't see them. The beach was littered with whalebones speaking to an age when those wonderful creatures were hunted into near extinction.

 

We landed on a cobble filled beach near a chinstrap rookery. Also evident are skuas waiting for a chance to make off with some poor baby chinstrap, Antarctic Terns, and Kelp gulls with babies looking like balls of brown fluff. The chinstraps have a "highway" that starts at the base of what seems a rather steep cliff on a rocky beach where they head in and out of the sea for meals. From the beach they hop up rock after rock to make their way up to another steep rocky nesting area.

 

Our naturalists warned us about getting too close and reminded us of the IAATO regulations but again the penguins hadn't paid attention to the lecture. Time after time I'd stop because I didn't know whether the approaching penguin wanted my spot or was going to find a way around me while they went from rookery to sea and back again.

 

I was in the first landing, we had excellent visibility during most of our landing. Just before we were to reboard the Zodiacs the fog moved in leaving only 10-15' of visibility, the ship slowly disappeared in the fog and the sounds of zodiacs cruising back and forth seemed unreal. Off in the fog I could hear the sounds of the rookery and fellow passengers chatting quietly.

 

This island is home to an Argentine research station. This summer it was staffed with a number of geologists. There is some discussion amongst crew/staff/passengers that the station is only staffed in the summer for the time required for Argentina to keep the station. If a station is left empty for some amount of time it is considered abandoned and will not be re-inhabited.

 

A lone weddell seal lounges on the snow a few hundred yards from the bay. While walking from the rookery to the base station everyone stops for photos while the seal scratches and eyes us curiously.

 

The station is very warm, my camera fogged up and my photos from inside have a surreal soft focus feel. The inhabitants seem very happy to see us and tours are offered as well as allowing us to wander on our own. Some rooms have been tidied up (one assumes this as it's fully staffed by men living alone and working nearly all the time. We can see into the base commanders quarters and the quarters of 4 crew who bunk in the same room. The kitchen is small and basic with an attached large room for dining and gathering. Everything is very basic, research stations are not luxurious they are for scientists to do research.

 

They sell small souvenirs, tie-tac pins, post cards and other small gift things. They offer coffee, tea and cookies for all the guests and a chance to sign a guest book. They were very, very nice in opening their home to allow us to tromp on through. Outside there are more buildings with research facilities and power provision. There's a large sign with the latitude and longitude that a number of us used to pose for photos.

 

There's a climb up through snow and ice to get to the station and it's not an easy path, at the bottom you're likely to clomp through water.

 

Back on the ship, after shedding my landing gear, I walk through the ship. It's pretty quiet as half the ship is ashore and most of my group is eating or sleeping. I realize I could easily get used to this. The library has a number of people reading and napping.

 

Afternoon - Deception Island

This is where the Antarctic "hot tub" resides. The island blew it's top during a volcanic explosion in 1967 and the volcano warms the rocks, water seeping through the rocks then gets warm enough to lounge in. When my group landed the "hot tub" dug out by the crew had disappeared and we didn't know any better so we stripped down to our bathing suits and hopped in. It's very cold, I'm guessing that right at the shore line it's colder than the water of the Pacific Ocean in N California by about 10 degrees. I stood in water up to my thigs for a very long time before getting fully wet. One guy bravely waded out furthur and actually went swimming! Someone scrunched down in the pebbly sand next to me told me to dig myself a hole, hop down and use my feet, legs and bottom to get to warm sand.

 

I did as he suggested and made myself a little hole, sat down and made it a little deeper. A large wave washed over me ending my hot tubbing. It was fun and I'd do it again but I think I'd take the goggles and be courages and go deeper. Heck you only live once and there's plenty of warmth awaiting on the ship.

 

The crew has provided thick, dry towels. When you prepare to go in, take your parka off laying it outside down on the ground. Take your clothes of layer by layer folding and stacking in your coat. Fold the coat shut so your clothes stay dry. for my pants I just pulled everything down around the wellies and stepped out of the wellies with the pants laying around them - was super easy to get back into. I brought a pair of tennies that seem to have shrunk over the past 20 years, removed the laces before going ashore and waded in wearing them. You need to have something on your feet, that can be walking sandals, dive booties or whatever. There's no sharp rocks.

 

I had brought a large ziploc baggie to put the wet shoes into for the return, left them to dry in the cabin and collected the sand in them for someone who's a nut about sand/dirt collection. This is your one and only opportunity to trek something back with you - you cannot take anything from any landings but this stuff just gets into your shoes and sticks there when wet.

 

It didn't really feel all that cold when I got dressed. I wrapped a towel around my waist and used another to dry off the top half, when I put on shirts I finished drying the bottom half and stepped into the wellies, pulled up the pants and was done.

 

Everyone who had gotten wet was asked to give their names to reception and later presented with a certificate of dipping!

 

To get to the inside of the caldera you must pass through Neptunes Bellows, it's a relatively narrow opening and can be quite dangerous. There have been times when the water is so hot it takes the paint off the ships!

 

New Years Eve festivities began after everyone was back on board. Chef prepared a special dinner, we all got poppers, party hats and the dining room was fully decked out. The crew presented a show after dinner in the main lounge, with lot's of singing and dancing including some numbers that were rather, uhm, inventive. There was a coconut dance complete with coconut bras for the male dancers.

 

At midnight our youngest guest, 7 years old, was on the bridge to announce the welcoming of 2006.

[NewCruiseFan]

Morning Landing - The continent

During the wee hours we sailed through the scenic Gerlache Strait which separates the archipeligo from the continent - I slept, so much for you only live once. :-)

 

We made our first landing of 2006 on the pebbly shore of the Antarctic continent. My group was second today so we were all on deck to watch the first group's landings and see where they went and what they did. There's a small emergency hut surrounded by gentoo nests and skua's fly in wait.

 

The first group had two choices, climb a steep snow covered hill, in parallel to the penguin highway but separated by about 10' or land and visit the different areas of the place we'd landed with informative lectures by our expedition staff. A long stream of red parkas could be seen climbing to the ridge, it seemed to take a very long time and a lot of us promptly elected to visit the birds rather than head for the view. On the way down it appeared one passenger had gotten into trouble and was rolling down the hill. The red parka would stop, get up and try to manuver - it seemed like the climb back to the rest of the group was just too much. Another red parka climbed down and eventually the two slide all the way down. Then others joined the tobbagan run until about 10 parkas were sliding. I'm pretty sure the first was unintentional as it looked like they were tumbling head over heel.

 

After the first landing it was clear to us that the place they'd landed would not be open, brash ice and bergy bits filled the water. There was a lot of expedition staff walking back and forth along the beach and at one point it seemed they were packing to leave altogether - we were pretty disappointed. Then things looked up and staff began unpacking the landing site again. They'd found an alternate location to land us!

 

Never did find out about the tumbling of the first group, once we landed all thoughts of the previous group vanished.

 

We landed on a rocky shore with brown sand. Numerous gentoo's wandered amongst us not paying us a bit of attention. One chinstrap wandered around lost, probably wondering who the heck those other guys were.

 

It was a sunny, glorious day and we relished our first continent landing, the sun warmed my face and the views were spectacular. The photographer was there to get a photo with the location and name of the bay. The gentoo colony was in two areas, up on a rocky cliffside and surrounding the emergency hut. Huge balls of grey fluff were poking out from under parents. In many cases the babies were so huge only their heads fit under. Penguins were busily stealing rocks from each other for their nests and huge, fat penguins lay on their stomachs.

 

The ice nudging up on shore made for great photos.

 

We left Neko Harbour and sailed south. I did enjoy the hot soup at lunch quite a bit.

 

Afternoon landing - Paradise Bay

 

The first group, mine, had two choices. A one hour zodiac tour that got into some of the smaller areas not accessible to the ship or a climb up the hillside next to the abandoned Argentine Almirante Brown station. I opted for the zodiac tour. It was a good choice, there wasn't much to see on shore but for those with active kids it was a great choice to get them climbing the hill and sliding down - I think it wore them out. In the afternoon the winds picked up and the second group was unable to do the zodiac tour - some of our members had gotten soaked as waves smacked them around. For my tour it was very calm in the beginning and slightly bouncy towards the end.

 

We toured close to the rocks seeing blue-eye shags, crazy gentoo peguins nesting on cliffs, snowy sheathbills and Antarctic terns. Chris, our driver got completely wiggy when he found a tiny patch of grass growing next to the lichen. A large copper deposit was evident from the brilliant turquoise green on one cliffside. As we rounded the corner we saw ice, snow capped peaks and glaciers everywhere. It was astounding. Chris took us into a little harbour with a bunch of bergs, each looking for all the world like it had been carved. We saw mermaids, two headed monsters, a huge whale (ice whale) and what surely looked like houses. Gentoos raced alongside in the water, flying out of the water for air and back into the water, whale bones littered the bottom of the bay. An albatross ran along the surface of the water trying to get its huge body into the air.

 

I'm pretty sure it was very cold but the excitement and occasional patches of drifting seemed to keep me warm enough. A number of my photos appear to be blown out with mostly white - I'm hoping I can play in photoshop long enough to get the pictures.

 

Once everyone was back on board the band began to play on the aft deck - Jimmy Buffet tunes never had it so good! Surrounded by massive, snow capped peaks with amazing sun and puffy clouds in Antarctica. The band had all their warm weather gear on and wore Hawaiian shirts on top, it was pretty darn funny. We sat on deck and filled our plates with wonderful bbq but the wind picked up and it was so cold we scampered inside. Eventually everyone came in. My plate was like ice when I brought in but we'd given it our best shot.

 

After dinner we went through the Lemaire channel, 7 miles long and 1 mile wide it's gorgeous and dramatic. It's been called Kodak alley because of the breathtaking views. At various times it seemed we would be forced out but the Captain made it through, the views decreased as the fog increased.

[SqueakyDust]

Wow!

I just happened across your review and it's just amazing - I'm there with ya!!

 

Do you have photos anywhere to view?

My son is penguin potty and that would be some cruise to take him on.

[NewCruiseFan]

Our last day in Antarctica started with overcast, grey skies and a light wind.

 

Morning Landing - Petermann Island

Petermann Island is one mile long just below the Lemaire Channel. We had two choices upon landing, a short 20 hike to the top of a gentle slope followed by penguin watching or wandering along the edge of the island to check out the penguins. My cabinmate opted for the hike but due to the overcast skies it seemed she wasn't as happy as I was by wandering amongst penguins.

 

We were very carefully warned about sticking to the path provided, there were numerous areas where the snow could collapse and drop an unknown distance. Frequently, even on the selected path, you could punch through over your knee. Luckily for me when that happened some nice guy was around to help me out of the hole.

 

We went to an Adelie rookery which also housed more of the wonderful blue-eyed shags. Here's where the world class poopers really strutted their stuff. As I arrived I saw streams of white flying through the air, I had no idea what it was and as it was also snowing I somehow thought it was related to the snow. Eventually I saw a penguin emitting the stream, nearly fell over laughing and was delighted I was not in range. Again we were honored with the stealing of the pebbles - one guy was stealing from a sleeping penguin - another neighbor woke the sleeper and the next time the thief showed up a yelling match took place. The thief bowed its head in shame but sure enough when the opportunity arose it grabbed a rock and waddled off.

 

I walked to the other end of the landing area to another colony, here penguins were bending over and peering into the water. We were informed that they are nearly blind and must look closely at the water to see if danger lies within. When satisfied they'd jump in and take off gracefully. some were rolling over and over flapping their wings as if in joy at being in the water. The water was so clear you could see the penguins easily and it was a treat to watch.

 

It was pretty cold here and snowing most of the time but that did not dampen anyones spirits and the red coated penguins waddled back to their zodiacs happy.

 

Afternoon Landing - Port Lockeroy

We turned to head back through the Lemaire but quickly learned from a passing ship the Professor Multanovskiy that the Lemaire had closed up and we would not be able to pass back through. Instead we headed furthur South to exit through French Passage. This alternate route proved to be a bonus as we found a large pod of humpback whales all feeding. I was lucky enough to be on the bridge at the time so could, in relative comfort run back and forth to either side. Our Captain loves whales so he would do what he could to get close and watch them. We saw flukes, fins slapping the surface of the water and groups hunting. It was amazing.

 

It was during our detour that we made our southern most part of the voyage getting to lat 65deg 12.1' - the furthest south the Explorer II has been!

 

Port Lockeroy is in an amazing bay on the tiny island known as Base A - a British Antarctic Survey station. The original station has been turned into a small museum complete with old bathroom, kitchen, bunk room and a small shop. In the shop is a wall of messages being passed from people on one ship to those on another - and a gift of a bottle of wine waiting for it's recipient. Here you can purchase t-shirts, hats, stamps, postcards, puzzles and a wide assortment of other Port Lockeroy branded stuff. The proceeds of the sales are used to finance the station. I gave my postcards to the postmistress who warned me that the cards might not go out until March, the next time a ship, the Explorer II, was expected!

 

The museum is surrounded by gentoos nesting, right under steps and everywhere you go. Again, not a chance to obey the IAATO treaty but people were well behaved and did not touch or bother the penguins.

 

The landing is on flat almost step like rocks, the easiest landing by far. After the landing we got a short tour of the harbour, the water is very clear so whalebones were easy seen in the water as well as on shore. There's grafitti from the last century of explorers and penguins everywhere. We also saw more happy, lazing weddels.

 

The evening briefing was cancelled so we could enjoy our passage through the Neumayer Channel. Absolutely spectacular.

 

And then, our trip was esentially over, only the Drake to contend with. And, as throughout the trip, we were treated kindly. By now no one cared, the seas could do with us as they would - we'd had a spectacular trip. There were some swells over the next two days that had us bouncing but nothing resembling serious waves.

 

We sadly finished our trip and arrived in Ushuaia well ahead of schedule in the evening before disembarkation. Numerous passengers and crew (including our Captain) went ashore to investigate Ushuaias pubs. Rumor has it there were folks returning to the ship at 4am!

[franu]

Reading your review was my "treat of the week". You have the talent to make me feel like I was there with you. I even shivered as you dried yourself and put your clothes back on.

 

What a service to those who are trying to decide whether or not to spend the money that the trip costs.

 

Thank you, thank you and thanks again

Fran

[Lisette]

Hi Newcruisefan, Thank you so much for such a wonderful review of your trip. I am now extemely happy that we booked explorer 11 but now we have to wait until this December before we can experience the wonders that you did. You have a wonderful way of making everyone that reads your review feel like they are there with you. Thank you again, the imformation that you have given will be invaluable.

[NewCruiseFan]

you guys are so thoughtful and kind!

 

other review bits unrelated to the dreamy landings.

 

* In the library are three computers with an application you can use to craft email to friends and family. this is not internet but an app which collects your message for bulk ship to your addressee. it costs $5 per address, I sent messages to my Pop's who then forwarded to the folks on my "hey, I wanna know" list. They print your message out after send and it shows up on your bed or under your door. Messages sent to you from friends/family are free to you and are also printed out and left in your stateroom - very nice, like getting mail!

 

* The night before you land in S Georgia the Government of S Georgia supplies a very nice package of information including a map and information on the islands. Really top notch package.

 

* During sea days there are roughly 3 lectures by expedition staff, most of whom are PhD's or Doctors. We had 12 PhD's, one Veterinarian who left her practice to engage in management of remote scientific posts and one former BAS Base Commander.

 

* The trip out from the USA wasn't bad, I stayed in BsAs a couple of days and an overnight in Ushuaia. Next time I would stay a couple of advance days in Ushuaia. The return was a killer, I had booked my own travel and ended up (stupidly) sitting at the airport for 4 hours. The airline, unbeknownst to me, decided to fly to the domestic BsAs airport instead of the international. Several of us had to make our own arrangements to hurry over to EZE - it was over an hour in rush hour traffic.

 

* There's an airport departure tax out of EZE, I don't know if the amount was based on who I was or where I was going - it amounted to $54.72 pesos (roughly $15 US) so not much but annoying at that point.

 

* The line at BsAs for check in is brutal, I had upgraded at the same time I purchased my ticket so I got luckly. The ticket counter claimed I had not properly paid for my upgrade and wanted to charge me the full amount. I finally talked them into charging me only the return and opted to go to AA here in the States to clear it up.

 

* There are two bars on board, one is towards the bow (Shackleton) with images of Shackletons journey and a view out the starboard side. This is where the piano is and at night a pianist tickles the ivories - during the day she could be found speed walking on the Promenade. The other bar is adjacent to the buffet restaurant just below Promenade with a great view on the Port side. This bar has a fabulous espresso machine.

 

* The buffet restaurant has a really fun "grind your own" coffee machine, you select the type of coffee (espresso, latte, capucino...) put your cup under and press a button. Yummy, very popular at breakfast and throughout the day.

 

* You're not showing much on landings so if you like to express your personality through clothing go for fun (and warm) hat and wrap around sunglasses - everything else is basic and functional - as well as hidden.

 

* Hang out in Shackleton early evening and after dinner if you want to talk to expedition staff - they're a partying bunch!

 

* Some of the staff do the Holiday cruise every year, if you meet Chris, Patricia & Marco, JJ, Russ of the Antarctic, Henry (and his lovely wife Lana), Carol, Michael, Tim, Sally, Suzana, Karen or Peter give them my love - tell them I was the one with the illegally introduced foreign pest. (I had a small stuffed weasel along for the ride - long story, not my real pet)

 

* Captain Moulds is a character

 

And, have an awesome good time!

[2552phxcrzr]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on the Prof Molchanov for our cruise, which is scheduled for a Dec 31, 2006 departure. Can't wait -- but I guess I will have to.

[minke]

Thankyou for a superb review, lots of memories for me, wish i could make the trip but did investigate Noble-Caledonia, however cannot justify that cost on myself alone. For anyone interested the site http://www.sgisland.org gives loads of info on South Georgia with some good links etc. My own old BW photos from 1950's are on webshots at http://community.webshots.com/album/145541595rZHKxK

[freddie]

NewCruiseFan - Thanks for your wonderful review of this very, very special cruise. We are booked on the Hanseatic for a similar itinerary, Jan. 20 - Feb. 7, 2007 (wow, just a year from now!!). We were already majorly psyched about the trip; but your review added to our excitement by another magnitude. If we can get a single image as touching as that of the little girl lying next to the baby elephant seal, it will be a memory of a lifetime. Imagine how precious that image is and will forever be to her family??!! In any event, we appreciate your review and your having removed any doubt whatever we may have had that this rather complicated (and expensive) cruise will be absolutely worth every Euro. Cheers, Fred

 

PS - You should post your first name, so that those of us who want to respond to you can use a real name, rather than the screen name.

[NewCruiseFan]

I'm really happy to hear that this has been helpful. When I was planning it was really hard to find info so I'm very happy to help out.

 

Minke! Thank you for the link to S Georgia! What a great reminder of the trip. I'm so glad they posted a note about our wedding party.

 

I hope to finish my slide show this weekend and then next week think about posting some photos.

 

warm regards to all who pull on those wellies, buckle up the life preserver and waddle ashore!

 

lisa

[freddie]

Lisa - I've posted a link to your wonderful review on the "other" cruise site for the people who are going to join us on the Hanseatic cruise next January. They are absolutely delighted with your descriptions of the places we will visit. It is a shame that you don't have a photo of the little girl with the baby elephant seal - everyone wants to see it. And we are all eagerly awaiting your posting of your photos. We are thinking good thoughts of baby elephant seals and fragrant penguin poop. Cheers, Fred

[linda47]

WOW!

 

Lisa, you did a great job here! But, I'm not suprised having been one of the lucky people who received your emails from the ship. As a matter of fact, I printed those emails and keep them with me, so when people inevitably ask "Why Antarctica", I can pull them out and read excerpts from them. Then they know why. :D

 

It's going to be a long year waiting for my trip next January. But I have lots of reading to do, weight to lose, and exercising to get in shape! I have this vision of myself being all bundled up and toppling over, unable to get up again! I certainly don't want that to happen! :rolleyes:

 

I can't wait to see your pictures!

[amyr]

NewCruiseFan,

 

Thank you so much for popping back in and writing such a wonderful review!

 

We had hoped to go in Jan 2007, but we're going to the Galapagos in Dec 2006 and so will put off Antarctica until 2008.

 

Anyway, did you research the Corinthian II at all? I know you did that spreadsheet, and I had just about decided on Explorer II with A&K, but I've noticed that all the cabins on Corinthian II are suites with at least 235 square feet for the same price as Explorer II. Do you know anything about the ship at all? I can find plenty of brochures, but no reviews. It looks pretty nice.

 

I'm going to print your review and keep it in my Antarctica planning folder. Thanks again.

 

Amy

[dileep]

Great review. We are considering this in 2008.

 

Looks like we are practically neighbors!