16 Feb 2025

Lunge feeding whales and dazzling frazil ice

Today was an incredibly varied adventure on our In the Wake of Scott and Shackleton expedition. Firstly, we explored a large beach dusted with snow at Cape Bird, the most northern point of Ross Island. Weddell Seals and many groups of Adélie Penguins occupied the beach. The Adélie chicks chased any adult that passed, begging for food. A high lookout also gave us a fantastic panorama of the entire snowy scene.

In the afternoon we sailed down the west side of Ross Island into McMurdo Sound, passing the looming active volcano of Mount Erebus and then McMurdo Station, the largest US research base in Antarctica, to land at New Zealand’s Scott Base. Here we visited the Trans Antarctic Expedition Hut, built by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1957. It was like walking back in time, and inside, it was preserved just as it was when used.

Finally, we ship-cruised along the McMurdo Ice Shelf in beautiful evening sunlight to witness a fantastic concentration of wildlife. All along the ice edge were large pods of Orca, many very close to Heritage Adventurer. Among them were lunge-feeding Minke Whales, while groups of Emperor Penguins and Crabeater Seals rested on the ice. At midnight, the sun was still above the horizon, its light sparkling off fresh frazil ice forming on the sea's surface. 

What a fabulous scene and an unforgettable experience at the most southern point of our expedition, closest to the South Pole.

Images © K. Sutherland, Heritage Expeditions