February 24, 2006: Our last day in Antarctica also began with wind but we had hopes for a landing at Port Lockroy later in the morning if the wind abated. After cruising down the Neumeyer Channel for several hours, we anchored just off Port Lockroy. Consisting of Jougla Point and Goudier Island, Port Lockroy is in a very exposed position and somewhat bleak. However, we received a warm welcome from the three staff who man the station and were able to send postcards and purchase souvenirs – as well as seeing even more gentoo penguins plus relics of the whaling station that persisted into the middle of the 20th century.
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February 24, 2006: Our last day in Antarctica also began with wind but we had hopes for a landing at Port Lockroy later in the morning if the wind abated. After cruising down the Neumeyer Channel for several hours, we anchored just off Port Lockroy. Consisting of Jougla Point and Goudier Island, Port Lockroy is in a very exposed position and somewhat bleak. However, we received a warm welcome from the three staff who man the station and were able to send postcards and purchase souvenirs – as well as seeing even more gentoo penguins plus relics of the whaling station that persisted into the middle of the 20th century.  Looking towards Port Lockroy from the sea shows just how isolated this station is. This picture was cropped from a shot taken from the ship with the Nikon D200 as we anchored nearby. Designated as a Historic Site since 1995, Port Lockroy contains the only post office in Antarctica and also doubles as a museum that shows typical living conditions for researchers in the 1950s to 1970s. In the past, the station has been involved in surveying, ionospheric research and studies of geology and botany but today its primary role is researching the impact of tourism on penguin colonies. The island on which it is located has been divided into a control area (from which tourists are excluded) and the study area that contains the station/post office building. (Currently, the penguins seem to be coping well with the influx of thousands of visitors in the “summer” season that runs from November to mid-March.)  An Ixus 750 shot showing just how comfortable the penguins at Port Lockroy have become with humans. This penguin had staked out the boot-scraper at the end of the ramp into the station as its special territory, making it impossible for anyone to keep the mandatory 5-metre distance from the wildlife! As well as posting postcards and buying souvenirs, while anchored at Port Lockroy we were also able to indulge in selected adventure activities like sea kayaking and ice climbing. The latter was a hit with many, especially the younger members of the party, who were keen to show off their prowess with ropes and ice axes. Leader, Milton Sams and his assistants rigged up two ropes on wall of compacted snow at nearby Jugla Point and provided equipment and tuition for those who wanted to participate.   These two shots, taken with the Nikon D200, show one of the more challenging adventure activities available to participants in our Antarctic cruise. Overcast skies allowed me to record detail in the snow surface that would otherwise have been lost due to excessive contrast, had the sun been out.
Some people (including me) became so involved they missed out on the “polar plunge” from the ship’s gangway at 12.30. Only four hardy souls attempted this dive into the icy (about one degree C) water and nobody lingered more than a minute or two!   Two shots taken on the Zodiac cruise among the Melchior Islands with the Ixus 750. The first gives an impression of the icy barrenness of this island group, while the second shows a curious fur seal that approached our Zodiac when we slowed down for a closer inspection of the rocks. Because the weather was unpredictable – and we had to be back in Ushuaia by 7am two days later, we were back on board by 5.30 pm, after which the crew quickly made the ship ready to sail. As we steamed away from the islands, several pods of humpback whales began spouting all around us, a display that continued for approximately 45 minutes as the land slipped away behind us.  This shot, taken with the D200 and lens set at 200mm, shows a couple of humpback whales “blowing” near the ship, while the Antarctic coastline recedes in the distance. The following days were spent crossing the Drake Passage once again, en route to Ushuaia and the flights back home. Once again, we were remarkably fortunate with the weather, which remained fine – although somewhat cloudy and occasionally misty – throughout the trip. The sea was also very smooth and our ship’s speed reached more than 13 knots at times. This meant we had to fill in time at anchor just inside the Beagle Channel while awaiting the arrival of the pilot in the small hours of Sunday morning. We docked at Ushuaia on schedule, after travelling a total distance of 1,510 nautical miles in all.  Another D200 shot, showing the Professor Molchanov docking in Ushuaia harbour early on Sunday morning. The ship in front of us (“Ushuaia”) was one of two other cruise ships that docked around the same time. Some 26 cruise ships were steaming around the Antarctic peninsula during the time we were there, giving an indication of just how popular the area is becoming as a tourist destination. Margaret Brown is technical editor for Photo Review Australia Magazine.
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 1: The Preparation
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