22 Feb 2025

A Final Day on The Antarctic Continent

In the early morning, Heritage Adventurer ventured deep inside Cape Colbeck, where spectacular cliffs with layers of folded rock told a fascinating geological story. We then cruised through beautiful small icebergs in the Zodiacs to land on the Antarctic continent beside an enormous glacier, where a brief hike brought us fabulous views of snowy mountains. Some of the Zodiacs and kayakers also had an incredibly close encounter with a pod of Orca, including a huge male with a dorsal fin that towered over the boats. What an experience!

In the afternoon, we explored Cape Adare, the northernmost tip of the Ross Sea and the site of the first building in Antarctica, constructed by Borchgrevink’s expedition in 1899. Inside the hut, we saw that it provided very basic and cramped accommodation for the first overwintering on the continent. We had now visited all five historic huts in the Ross Sea region, a significant and satisfying achievement!

We finally sailed away from the Antarctic continent this evening, with our minds full of wonderful memories of our fabulous experiences. As we sailed, we looked forward to new adventures further north, back in the Subantarctic Islands.

Images © S. Bradley, Heritage Expeditions