PORT CHARCOT

In the afternoon we embarked on another short zodiac trip to Port Charcot home to three varieties of penguin.

CHINSTRAP PENGUINS

WELCOME BACK

FEED ME  PLEASE

GET OFF MY LAND

ADELE PENGUINS were the least numerous

Gentoos were still making a racket,note the backward sloping hooks in the bill for grasping fish.

FUR SEALS

PALE FACED SHEATHBILL

The sheathbills clean up any dropped food so perform an important function in keeping things clean and tidy

ON THE MARCH.

THIS WAY TO THE ZODIACS SIR.

BRUSH ICE was closing in and it was difficult for the zodiacs to reach the landing point,but everyone got back safely.

PLANCIUS
After dinner we were treated to a glorious antartic sunset.

ZODIAC CRUISING

This was the view that greeted us in the morning,we were travelling slowly through the LEMAIRE CHANNEL where the first loose pack ice was encountered.

After breakfast it was all hands on deck for the first zodiac cruise amongst the numerous ice berghs,what a fantastic experience,let the pictures do the talking.

 TRAPPER JOHN AND JOLLY ROGER.

 CRABEATER SEALS do very little but laze around all day.

 THE OCCASIONAL YAWN

A BIT OF A SCRATCH-Not a bad life until the leopard seals want to eat you.

 LOVE ON THE ROCKS

I only took my compact camera with me as I wasn`t sure how wet we would get,as it happened it was fine but just as the first HUMPBACK WHALE surfaced close to our zodiac the battery went flat,just managed to coax this one last shot out of it.If it had been the only one of the trip would have been seriously pd off,but there were to be one or two more encounters.