19 Jan 2025

A stunning Zodiac cruise near the Drygalski Ice Tongue

Our In the Wake of Scott & Shackleton voyage saw us awake to yet another day of fantastic sunshine and calm conditions. The impressive stratosphere volcano of Mount Melbourne, at 2733 metres, was visible on our Starboard side.

After coming into position near the German Gondwana Station, we launched the Zodiacs and headed ashore. The site offered incredible walking opportunities, with some heading to scenic viewpoints and up to 5 miles covered. There were numerous pairs of South Polar Skuas close to the landing and Weddell Seals on the ice floes in the bay. Back onboard, the joy of a polar plunge in the ocean was announced, with most of those onboard plunging into the -0.2C water.

Following lunch, we passed alongside a stunning tabular iceberg, which brought us outside, looking in awe at such a large expanse of ice almost as high as Heritage Adventurer. Soon after, the wind rapidly increased, and we started to experience the katabatic winds (over 45 knots) that Inexpressible Island is renowned for. As we departed from the wintering site of Scott’s Northern Party, we passed yet another scientific station - the new Chinese Qinling Station, which was a hive of activity. This brought our total to four for the day, having also viewed the South Korean Jang Bogo Station and the Italian Mario Zucchelli Station.

Later in the afternoon, we arrived at an incredible expanse of ice jutting out to sea at the southern end of Terra Nova Bay, the Drygalski Ice Tongue. Heritage Adventurer cruised in and out of the different embayments of this 70-kilometre-long floating protrusion of the David Glacier, which has an impressive thickness of around 300 metres.

Expedition Leader Christian shared that we would go on a Zodiac cruise after our evening meal in the calm conditions along the ice tongue. As we embarked on the Zodiacs, a fog bank rolled off the ice tongue itself, providing spectacular lighting for views of the ice cliffs and the bergy bits along the coast. The experience was made even more special by a fogbow appearing and the mulled wine being delivered to the Zodiacs.

Images © C. Finch & S. Tranmer, Heritage Expeditions