Category Archives: Nature

After leaving Brown, we spent the evening on our way back west, towards Port Lockroy. We made our acquaintance with a range of ice forms on the way; I’m not sure which is which, but I believe that brash ice, … Continue reading →

Base Brown, named after an improbable Argentine national hero, is of particular interest as being on the continent itself rather than one of the islands. It was burned down in 1984 when the station’s doctor went a little crazy and … Continue reading →

On our second-last day in Antarctica, we woke to find the ship nosing down towards Cuverville Island, 64°41′S 62°38′W: Temperatures were lower here, although still just around freezing, and the lack of wind meant it didn’t feel particularly cold: The … Continue reading →

After leaving Deception Island, we had a few hours’ sail south and across the Bransfield Strait to Trinity Island, which lies just off the peninsula. This meant our second landing was in the early evening; the light was fantastic: One … Continue reading →

Day two in Antarctica began with Deception Island. Visitors are no longer allowed to dig their own hot tubs in the volcanic sand, but I could still happily have spent several days here: touring the bay, visiting the remnants of … Continue reading →

After leaving Arctowski, we sailed down the South Shetland islands, admiring the views: Our next stop was the tiny Half Moon Island, a scrap of land off the largish Livingston Island. Here some went off kayaking: While I went in … Continue reading →

Arctowski Station, on King George Island, is named after the Polish explorer, meteorologist, and inventor of the wind chill factor, Henryk Arctowski. It’s very Polish: At the landing site, we found 100% of the flowering plants of Antarctica, though neither … Continue reading →

Our three days sailing from South Georgia to Antarctica proper were enlivened by several sightings. Having passed a small iceberg on the way to South Georgia, we now found ourselves confronting the more substantial tabular bergs. These are fragments of … Continue reading →