After a pleasant overnight crossing of the Bransfield Strait, National Geographic Explorer cruised into the Antarctic Sound at breakfast time. The anchor was dropped and the scouting team went ashore to assess the landing site. Half of the group went ashore, while the other half attended a presentation about the Swedish Expedition of 1901, then the groups changed over. The shore party saw a very large colony of Adelie penguins, as well as a smaller colony of gentoos. Also seen were the associated predators, skuas and giant petrels.
During lunch the ship repositioned, passing through Antarctic Sound into the Erebus and Terror Gulf, then on to Devil Island. Here, three quarters of the group elected to tackle a challenging landing and hike to the top of the island, while the remaining quarter were treated to a wonderful Zodiac cruise around the island. They saw some amazing icebergs and cruised along the north beach, which is home to thousands of Adelie penguins.
