From Jougla Point we were zodiac’ed over to Port Lockroy. Port Lockroy was established in February 1944 as part of the British secret mission operation Tabarin. The base was used for ionospheric research during the 1950s and closed in 1962. Restoration took place in 1996 and the base now turned into a tourist spot, showing tourists how Antarctic research looked like in the early days. The base staff today is still involved in environmental monitoring programs.
Author Archives: Björn
Penguins at Jougla Point
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In the late morning we arrived in the waters around Port Lockroy (at 64° 49′ S, 63° 30′ W), a former British Antarctic Research Station, now serving as Antarctic Heritage site with a small museum, gift shop and (most important) … Continue reading
Neumayer Channel
After making it back to the ship from camping and breakfast, we made our way through the Neumayer Channel – heading for Port Lockroy … with mountains and glaciers in abundance on the way.
Camping – far South
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Camping in Antarctica may sound like an odd idea, nevertheless 30 of us booked that option, which gave us a night onshore. We were sleeping straight on the floor without tents. Proper equipment (sleeping bags, inner and outer liner) was … Continue reading
Icy Paradise
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Believe it or not – it got more icy … Today it was a mountaineering day again; the plan was to get onshore to do some proper ice climbing. So once the gangway was down, we (the mountaineers) were the … Continue reading
How to get to Paradise (Harbour)?
The plans for our second day around the peninsula were set, but ice conditions forced our expedition leader and the captain to constantly replan. Originally the plan was to head for the Lemaire Channel; however as the entrance was blocked by icebergs, there was no way to go ahead. So we headed back North, Paradise Harbour (at 64° 51′ S, 62° 54′ W) being a new destinatin. Our first attempt to enter the bay through its Southern entrance was once more thwarted by ice conditions. So the captain changed course to enter North of Bryde Island. We – the passengers – obviously had the option for great iceberg viewings and still had a good time.
BBQ in Paradise?
I made it back to the ship on one of the last zodiacs heading back. On the ship we were welcomed by a proper BBQ – set up on ship’s bow with all sorts of grilled meats, fresh salads, mulled wine / Glühwein and hot cocoa with or without rum – and all that with glaciers and icebergs in the background. Definitely one of the most memorable BBQ for me ever … and very likely hard to beat.
In Penguin Country
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For this landing I was just a normal passenger, no mountaineering here. We left the ship on zodiacs to land close to a colony of gentoo penguins. We were lucky this time – the sun was shining and the birds … Continue reading
Navigating to Neko Harbour
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The ship changed position, while we had lunch and warmed up again. Our next landing was at Neko Harbour (at 64° 50′ S, 62° 32′ W), just about 20kms South of Spigot Peak. However due to ice conditions we had … Continue reading
Climbing Spigot Peak
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After two days in the Drake (and one in waiting position) we finally made it into Antarctic waters. We passed through between Anvers and Brabant island and finally stopped around Orne Harbour. We woke up early the next morning, gangway … Continue reading