25 March 2011

Whales and Big Bergs at Neko...ANTARCTICA (13 March)


Having "suffered" the glaciers flanking the Almirante Brown station in the morning we were expecting to have to come down from that high in the afternoon, but instead we launched to new highs as we entered the mind-blowing Neko Harbor (64° 50'S, 62° 33'W).


The scene that we beheld was simply breathtaking, absolute calm conditions meant the bergs were perfectly reflected in the glassy deep blue waters (that have a color like nowhere else on Earth free from the pollutants of elsewhere).


The bergs would have been ample to keep us busy as we shot them again and again, although a disturbance in the waters just off the zodiacs took us aback as a small group of Antarctic Minke Whales showed little concern for the human intrusion to their idyllic bay, and even cruised just a meter or so under the boat when we could see it perfectly through these beautifully clean polar waters.


We reveled in this wonderful whale for a while and then went off for a tour of the icescapes of the harbor, only to be interrupted this time by a pair of Humpback Whales, that included a mother and calf that swam for a while around the boat before seeming to lose interest in exercise and just rested on the surface of the water. A serene scene and a stunning close to our day.

More Whales and Seals on Ice to come...

1 comment:

Lee Dingain said...

First shot is particularly good! Is it the right way up?