Paulet Island
Our morning call over the public address system by our Expedition Leader Larry described quite a gale outside. Our intended landing on the continent of Antarctica at Brown Bluff would have to be cancelled, for the moment. We pushed on towards Paulet Island, home to more than 100,000 pairs of breeding Adelie penguins, the southernmost penguin in Antarctica. The decision was made to do two rounds of Zodiac cruises before lunch along the shores of the island to get a water level view of the comings and going of thousands of birds. The penguin highways, as they are called, reminded some of rush hour on the 405 in Santa Monica. It was an impressive sight as penguins came down from nesting sights hundreds of feet up the volcanic slopes.
After lunch, all who wanted to go ashore and get a rock level view of the birds were brought over to the beach. It is only when you get on land that the sound and smell of the colony is really able to fill your senses. Just as the first boat landed, a rare sight was beheld. A leucistic Adelie was seen among the others, this rare form of pigmentation makes a white or creamy penguin instead of the usual two tone. It is rare but when there are tens of thousands of penguins all on the same beach the chances of seeing one are quite good.
Once ashore there were chances to do a long hike and see the expanse of the colony, or make a journey along the beach to see the birds heading out to sea and those coming back from feeding. The long hikers made it to the stone hut built in 1903 by members of the Swedish Antarctica Expedition. Many men had to over winter here awaiting rescue the following spring.
The day was amazing even given the windy conditions under which it was enjoyed.
Our morning call over the public address system by our Expedition Leader Larry described quite a gale outside. Our intended landing on the continent of Antarctica at Brown Bluff would have to be cancelled, for the moment. We pushed on towards Paulet Island, home to more than 100,000 pairs of breeding Adelie penguins, the southernmost penguin in Antarctica. The decision was made to do two rounds of Zodiac cruises before lunch along the shores of the island to get a water level view of the comings and going of thousands of birds. The penguin highways, as they are called, reminded some of rush hour on the 405 in Santa Monica. It was an impressive sight as penguins came down from nesting sights hundreds of feet up the volcanic slopes.
After lunch, all who wanted to go ashore and get a rock level view of the birds were brought over to the beach. It is only when you get on land that the sound and smell of the colony is really able to fill your senses. Just as the first boat landed, a rare sight was beheld. A leucistic Adelie was seen among the others, this rare form of pigmentation makes a white or creamy penguin instead of the usual two tone. It is rare but when there are tens of thousands of penguins all on the same beach the chances of seeing one are quite good.
Once ashore there were chances to do a long hike and see the expanse of the colony, or make a journey along the beach to see the birds heading out to sea and those coming back from feeding. The long hikers made it to the stone hut built in 1903 by members of the Swedish Antarctica Expedition. Many men had to over winter here awaiting rescue the following spring.
The day was amazing even given the windy conditions under which it was enjoyed.
