Crystal Sound, Detaille Island
Early this morning National Geographic Explorer crossed the Antarctic Circle at 66 ¢ª 33’ south and continued towards the narrow channel that separates Adelaide Island from the Antarctic Peninsula called simply, The Gullet.
Our Expedition Leader Lisa Trotter had proclaimed today to be an expedition day in Crystal Sound and all the staff as well as guests-in-the-know anticipated the luxury of truly exploring this relatively unknown and always changing ice-strewn area. Icebergs, bergy bits, growlers, and lots of brash ice covered the calm waters as off we went in our Zodiacs in search of wildlife. We soon were rewarded with an abundance of seals of many sizes, shapes, and even colors. A male leopard seal basking in the suns’ warmth posed for our cameras, groups of crabeater seals lazily dozed on passing floes, an occasional Weddell seal would gaze in curiosity at the strange group of creatures floating in front of it. Cameras worked hard to record the blubbery bounty, as many memory cards were filled to capacity.
Our afternoon brought further pinniped delights as we encountered even more of these mesmerizing marine mammals at Detaille Island. In addition to Weddell and crabeater seals we were treated to Antarctic fur seals, far from their breeding colonies much further north. The afternoon also brought our furthest south latitude reached on this expedition at 67¢ª 12.5’ south.
In addition to all the seals, Detaille Island houses a former research station called British Base W, built in 1956. When conditions required the immediate evacuation of the base personnel only a few years later, all items of everyday station life were left behind, awaiting an immediate return. The return never came, and so the research station now serves as a glimpse into an Antarctic lifestyle of a bygone age. Currently the station is being renovated and repaired with the purpose of preserving this glimpse for future visitors to this remote part of Antarctica!
