Port Lockroy, Jougla Point, Gerlache Strait
Today we awoke to find ourselves in the protected harbor of Port Lockroy along the western coast of Wiencke Island. This harbor was discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition of 1903-05 and is named for Édouard Lockroy, a French politician who provided government backing for the expedition. During the Second World War the British government established a small base here on Goudier Island as part of a secret mission to spy on German ship traffic in the South Atlantic Ocean. Now the base is an historic site and is maintained as a museum by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. The base's post office and well-stocked gift shop gave us all a chance to get in our last minute Christmas shopping and mail Christmas post cards from Antarctica. The many Gentoo penguins nesting around the hut and Blue-eyed shags at nearby Jougla Point made for great photography. In addition, a hike through the deep snow and spectacular sunshine made for an adventurous morning.
In the afternoon we came across a pod of Orca whales in the Gerlache Straight. This pod consisted of at least 14 Orcas, including mothers and their calves. A closer look revealed that these were type "B" or Dwarf Orca. While these are the smallest of the three orca types they are ferocious predators of seals and other marine mammals. These magnificent beasts remained near the ship for almost an hour, spy-hoping and passing repeatedly beneath the bow of the ship. This evening we celebrated Christmas Eve and enjoyed our final Antarctic vistas before starting home across the Drake Passage.
Today we awoke to find ourselves in the protected harbor of Port Lockroy along the western coast of Wiencke Island. This harbor was discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition of 1903-05 and is named for Édouard Lockroy, a French politician who provided government backing for the expedition. During the Second World War the British government established a small base here on Goudier Island as part of a secret mission to spy on German ship traffic in the South Atlantic Ocean. Now the base is an historic site and is maintained as a museum by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. The base's post office and well-stocked gift shop gave us all a chance to get in our last minute Christmas shopping and mail Christmas post cards from Antarctica. The many Gentoo penguins nesting around the hut and Blue-eyed shags at nearby Jougla Point made for great photography. In addition, a hike through the deep snow and spectacular sunshine made for an adventurous morning.
In the afternoon we came across a pod of Orca whales in the Gerlache Straight. This pod consisted of at least 14 Orcas, including mothers and their calves. A closer look revealed that these were type "B" or Dwarf Orca. While these are the smallest of the three orca types they are ferocious predators of seals and other marine mammals. These magnificent beasts remained near the ship for almost an hour, spy-hoping and passing repeatedly beneath the bow of the ship. This evening we celebrated Christmas Eve and enjoyed our final Antarctic vistas before starting home across the Drake Passage.
