Margaret’s Antarctica Post 7: Arrival in Antarctica

February 19, 2006: We had our first sight of Antarctica late yesterday afternoon when, after hours of cruising through fog, Elephant Island loomed out of the mist. The Island rises in steep cliffs from the sea and you wonder how Shackleton’s men survived their long months of isolation there – and where they were able to camp. There’s a huge glacier pouring into the only harbour we could see, covering any beach that might have been and making it dangerous to approach. Icebergs frequently calve off the glacier cliffs down here and fall into the sea with a resounding crash, sending shock waves across the waters.

Our first view of Elephant Island looming out of the mist. Taken with the Nikon D200, the 18-200mm VR lens made this shot possible because it counteracted the motion of the ship and allowed use of an appropriate shutter speed and ISO setting.

Glaciers are also very noisy, creaking and grinding over the rocks and developing huge cracks and crevasses as they flow. Even the ice from a glacier will crackle and pop as trapped oxygen is released while it melts! Add to that the constant noise of penguins braying, sea birds crying and seals barking and the ‘frozen continent’ is a far from silent place.
Choppy waves, a significant swell and the lack of suitable landing spots prevented us from landing on Elephant Island but everyone was loaded onto Zodiacs (inflated rubber boats) and whisked about for a close-up look at seals, chinstrap penguins and the small monument erected to the Chilean sailors who finally rescued Shackleton’s men. We saw the only Macaroni penguin in the trip here; it being late in the breeding season most birds had returned to the sea. It was a pretty “hairy” ride and several passengers had their cameras and binoculars drenched by icy sea water when waves smashed into the Zodiacs. Fortunately, no permanent damage appeared to have been done.

Passengers on our Zodiac inflatable boat used mainly digital still and video cameras to record the event. Choppy seas put the equipment at considerable risk.

On the camera front, the majority of cameras in use are digital, with most being digicams of varying levels of sophistication, although there are a surprising number of DSLRs. Many of these have been purchased specifically for this trip and I was interested to see two other passengers using the same18-200mm VR Nikkor lens as I was. One of them even had it attached to a D200 body.
Most DSLR owners have opted for entry-level models, although one passenger has a Canon EOS 20D. The general level of camera satisfaction is high and most photographers have come with sufficient memory for a full day’s picture-taking. Many of them have brought notebook PCs so they can download and view shots at the end of each day. There are also numerous video cameras, again with varying levels of sophistication. However, all are amateur models and most record to MiniDV tape.
After about 45 minutes of cruising, we returned to the ship and left Elephant Island, heading directly across the Prince Charles Strait and down the Bransfield Strait towards Half Moon Island. Our passage was delayed by an overnight storm, which halved the ship’s speed from around 12 knots to less than six knots. Most passengers spent a sleepless night – for one reason or another – as a result of the ship’s constant pitching and heaving. The morning was also foggy and, with nothing much to see, many people opted for a bit of additional “shut-eye” during the morning.

This shot, taken with the D200 at the 200mm focal length setting, shows a typical Peninsula coastline and provides some indication of the overcast weather we experienced after the storm. Note the lenticular cloud above the hilltop. Such clouds are relatively common here.

The clouds lifted just after midday and we arrived at Half Moon Island in perfect conditions for our first sea kayaking experience. Imagine the thrill of being able to paddle on calm water (with a gentle swell) around a bay that is flanked with ice cliffs, rocky beaches and jagged headlands, with a benign blue sky above. Unfortunately, the only camera I had for documenting the experience was an Ixus 55 in a waterproof housing. This set-up was barely adequate as the lens was only a 3x zoom and if the front panel of the housing got wet (which was difficult to avoid), the results were visible in subsequent shots.

This shot was the only successful image taken with the Ixus 55 on our first sea kayaking trip as droplets of water that splashed on the front of the waterproof housing affected all subsequent shots. An object lesson on the difficulties of taking good pictures in challenging environments!

The delay caused by the storm prevented us from visiting Deception Island, the caldera of an active volcano, which is a popular landing spot. Here, visitors can “swim” in water warmed by volcanic activity. However, whereas in the past people were allowed to swim in a plume of heated water that extends into the bay, nowadays this is considered too dangerous and visitors are restricted to wallowing in pools that are dug out of the beach. As this cannot be considered environmentally beneficial, we were not too disappointed at having missed this experience.
Tomorrow we have a very full day visiting Danco Island, the Errera Channel and Paradise Bay. That is, if weather permits! Yesterday’s rapid alteration in conditions between the morning and afternoon were a good reminder of how changeable the weather can be around the “Frozen Continent”.

Margaret Brown is technical editor for Photo Review Australia Magazine.

Margaret’s Antarctica Post 1: The Preparation
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 2: Buenos Aires
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 3: El Calafate
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 4: El Chalten
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 5: Tierra del Fuego
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 6: Drake Passage
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 8: Antarctic Cruising
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 9: Farewell to the Frozen Continent
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 10: Wrap-up