10 Feb 2023

A Whale of a time en route to Balleny Island

We spotted our first iceberg early this morning on the horizon as Heritage Adventurer sailed en route to Balleny Island.

It wasn't long either before we sailed past another iceberg and, this time, had everyone out and ready to get nice views and photos of this impressive and picturesque body of ice.

Soon after, as we were approaching the Balleny Seamount where shallower waters suddenly rose up from very deep waters, a number of Humpback whales were sighted as well as a couple of the rarer Sperm whales.

As the Captain positioned the ship for whale watching, a few Humpback whales came right to the ship, diving and surfacing very close to us several times. From the outside decks we could hear them breathing. What an extraordinary moment!

In the evening we reached the Balleny Islands, all covered by glaciers. As we started to cruise down the northernmost island a number of Orcas could be seen, while Snow Petrels and Antarctic Fulmars were flying around the ship.

But the day did not end there: At midnight we crossed the Antarctic Circle! We gathered on deck to celebrate our first truly Antarctic Day.

Image (c): C.Finch