We were to have our last landing to Georges Point. The day was overcast with snow on and off throughout the landing – big flakes of snow along with wind. After dressing to go on the Zodiac, we were delayed because there was a humpback whale and a calve swimming in the area. The other Zodiacs spent time for passengers to view it up close.
On Georges Point were Leopard Seal, Gentoo Penguin,
Chinstrap Penguin and Skua birds. At
first, it was hard to distinguish between the seal and rocks until the seal
would move. It snowed so much during our
short visit to the Island that it was soon easy to distinguish between the
seals and rocks. The seals were having a
good time playing with on another and playing in the snow.
The Skua bird kept an eye to the penguin colony. If they saw a young or older penguin that was
struggling, they would claim them as a meal.
During breeding season, these Skua birds like to steal the penguin eggs
for a meal. Once again, circle of life.
Male and Female penguin look similar. This makes it easy for them to share parental
care. One parent will stay with the egg
then the baby while the other searches for food then vice versa. By the parents looking alike, the baby will
feel comfortable and secure with whichever parent they are with.
In the afternoon, we would be cruising Fournier Bay. This is a good area to view whale, ice
cliffs, ice bergs and glaciers. The
weather was overcast, windy with on and off sleet. This cut short the number of Zodiacs which
were able to cruise. Our Zodiac pilot
was Jean-Roc, the lead Expedition Guide.
No matter how much we searched, no whale was to be found.
Because of the lack of whales, we learned more about ice
cliffs and icebergs. Jean-Roch explained
the difference between glaciers and ice cliffs.
Ice Cliffs melt from the bottom.
The water erodes them by splashing at the bottom. This makes them safer than glaciers
calving. The dangers of swells and waves
do not occur with ice cliffs melting.
We found an iceberg floating with a huge rock on it. This occurred when ice would be melting into
crevices and pulling stone and rocks with them.
Then the glacier would freeze with the stones and rock in it. The clearer the ice, the older it is. This is due to the air being compressed out
of the ice.
In a small bay, we came across two young Chinstrap Penguin
hanging out together on a rock. Everyone
was concerned that they were by themselves away from the Colony. Jean-Roch assured us that penguin travel
together so finding them in a pair was normal.
The weather quickly turned with minimal visibility and
sleet. Jean-Roch called all of the
Zodiacs back to the ship and cancelled the last group which was set to go
out. Disappointing for those who did not
get the last cruise in. We were
fortunate to get the early landing in on the second day of the expedition.
At dinner, we celebrated Jerry and Virginia’s 35th
Wedding Anniversary and Gary and Sheridan’s 42nd Wedding
Anniversary.
A special treat for the passengers after dinner was a Ship
Crew Talent Show. Performances included
a native Bali Dance by Dewi, the server at Paula’s Pantry, singing by Llewellyn
from Guest Services, opera by Chase Chandler the piano player, guitar solos
from Rodrio (Expedition Guide) and Thomas (Laundry). Throughout the night, a raffle was held for
various items from the gift shop. The
proceeds from the sale of the raffle tickets goes to the Crew Fund – funding
parties, supporting their families and other needs.
Another fundraiser was an auction of the navigation map highlighting
the path of the ship. Two passengers
were in a bidding war, and each bought a map for $1650 each.
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