24 Jan 2025

Exploring Scott’s Discovery Hut and a visit to Franklin Island

The early hours of December 24th were a hive of activity aboard Heritage Adventurer. In the later hours of the 23rd, we arrived off Hut Point Peninsula, having sailed straight by the 10 km of ice that had previously blocked our path - in completely open water as calm as a mill pond.

With conditions close to perfect and the potential for more ice to break out further inside McMurdo Sound, we decided to capitalise on the opportunity and head ashore by midnight, with the last returning around 0400. We experienced some true Antarctic cold, with the splashing water freezing on contact with our parkas. Despite this, the early morning sun cast a serene light on the peninsula and Vince’s Cross. Beyond which, we enjoyed views of the mesmerizing McMurdo Sound and the memorial cross on Observation Hill, erected by Scott’s men following the demise of his Southern Party.

The rare opportunity to visit Hut Point and Scott’s Discovery Hut resulted in hitting the incredible target of 4/4 historic huts we had aimed for. It also saw the Inspiring Explorers group from the Antarctic Heritage Trust return their restored artefact, a copy of ‘The Count of Monte-Cristo’ which they helped conserve before the expedition. The book will now be on display for all future visitors to enjoy. It was a special way to wrap up our time visiting the historic huts, where the Antarctic story began for both Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, giving us all lots to ponder.

The morning was spent sailing northwards across the Ross Sea to the remote Franklin Island. We were fortunate with another weather window to make a rare landfall on the island at a large Adélie Penguin colony. The beach had a constant ebb and flow of penguins passing amongst masses of napping Weddell Seals. We walked along the back of the colony using the ice as a corridor, which offered further views of the chicks, with many now partially moulting into their juvenile plumage.

The paddlers made the most of the calm waters surrounded by powerful eroded volcanic cliffs, paddling north from the southern tip along the cliffs, penguin colony and ice edge. Watching the thousands of penguins climbing the steep-sided hills was a spectacle. Weddell Seals were everywhere as they paddled north, following the ice edge through snow and brash ice.