We started early with a Zodiac landing on a little island called Cuverville, named after a Belgian admiral (who might be an ancestor of my cousins with a variation of the same name!) It was a small island with lots of rock outcropping, the rest covered in snow, of course. It was only 7:40 am when we boarded, which seemed early, but was the middle of the day here. At the first rookery, we met up with Lars, the bird expert and congratulated him on spotting the Emperor penguin yesterday. He was still glowing after a long career at finally having his first sighting ever—after twenty trips to Antarctica! We were told not to let the word out because they don’t want future trips to expect the same impossibility! (So don’t tell, ok?) Then, off to look at Gentoo penguin rookeries, see a few chicks (!), climb to the top of a very slippery hill and safely back down, then off to the point— lots of penguins walking the penguin highway near us, some walking right up to us! Loved every minute!
When we boarded, there was a big push to have people sign up for another SOV tour immediately following our landing. I spoke up and said that we’d rather have a kayak tour. The people behind us, very kindly, offered us their spot for their second kayak tour! We thanked them and marveled at how kind everyone aboard is.
Later, came the moment John was fearing—getting into the dry suit! Kayaking is not for the weak or fearful soul. It takes a lot of physical strength just to put on the dry suit and once inside it, you are stuck until the end of the voyage because it is an essential lifesaver in case of mishap. In these waters, a person would last five minutes and would not have any motor skills to wave, shout, or even kick underwater. With the dry suit, we are assured of one hour of motor skills— so the fun began. (See photos separately).
We did not board the kayak from the Octantis, but rather boarded a speedy Zodiac which zoomed off around Cuverville Island to a place around the backside where the channel was narrow and the water a bit calmer. Nicki (who worked in this freezing weather completely without gloves for the entire trip), instructed us on how to board the kayak. John and I did great (no man overboard drills!) and were soon mastered the gear shift and rudder so that we could keep up with Nicki. We were soon dive-bombed by Arctic terns (a little bird that makes the very longest migration of any other bird on the planet!) who were protecting their nests from both Skuas and us! We were being attacked. Paddle, peddle (these were a new kind of kayak), peddle peddle, and soon we were boating through fabulous glaciers with rock outcropping, Gentoo penguins everywhere. I was only able to take pictures but clicking the shutter with my nose! (It was way too cold to take my gloves off—and yet Nicki was still barehanded!) John was not allowed to bring his big camera aboard and was having difficulty with his phone. In fact, I only got half a trip of pictures with my phone—battery life is very short in extreme temperatures.
The best part was kayaking through fairly shallow water and icebergs called “bergy bits”—the size of cars and trucks, in very sculpted designs, often tropical-beach-blue near the waterline, a function we learned of the density of the pack ice they came from. Just gorgeous, but you’ll have to take my word for it— unless I can obtain some photos.
Reboarding the Zodiac was a challenge because our Zodian driver was actually the hotel manager aboard and knew nothing at all about the operation! Nicki (still no gloves!) had to teach him while helping us—what a hero. We all boarded safely and did not lose one kayak in the operation! We sped back to the Octantis, hitting only one rock (ka-thwap! Dead motor- moment of panic. Varoom, and hurray for the hotel manager!!
Later on board, I needed to recover from the severe cold and so tried the hot tub (fabulous), the snow shower (refreshing), the pool (very very warm), more snow shower, and the warming chairs. Finally, back to normal and ready for a lovely dinner with Deb and Gene, followed by a guided tour to the Hide— where we had a little nightcap. Good night!
