Cuverville Island
It doesn't get much more "Antarcticy" than this: penguin colonies on a snow-covered island with assorted bergy bits jammed up against the shore by strong, cold winds (strong, cold winds not pictured). Zodiacs make surprisingly good icebreakers and this fact, combined with a collective enthusiasm that belied the weather, allowed us to make a delightful landing at the gentoo penguin rookeries of Cuverville Island. We forced our way ashore through the shattered remains of old icebergs that clogged the beach, only to encounter unseasonably deep snow on the island itself. Of course, the penguins made fools of us all as they casually tobogganed past, too light to sink into the white blanket that covered the island and into which we sank to our waists when we stepped off the one, formed trail. Penguins site their nests on the small bumps and hillocks that protrude from this mantle because these areas lose snow earliest in the season and thereby allow them to get a prompt start with nesting. After several hours of enthralling viewing, we trundled back to our own snow-free environment, and sailed south in search of further adventures.
It doesn't get much more "Antarcticy" than this: penguin colonies on a snow-covered island with assorted bergy bits jammed up against the shore by strong, cold winds (strong, cold winds not pictured). Zodiacs make surprisingly good icebreakers and this fact, combined with a collective enthusiasm that belied the weather, allowed us to make a delightful landing at the gentoo penguin rookeries of Cuverville Island. We forced our way ashore through the shattered remains of old icebergs that clogged the beach, only to encounter unseasonably deep snow on the island itself. Of course, the penguins made fools of us all as they casually tobogganed past, too light to sink into the white blanket that covered the island and into which we sank to our waists when we stepped off the one, formed trail. Penguins site their nests on the small bumps and hillocks that protrude from this mantle because these areas lose snow earliest in the season and thereby allow them to get a prompt start with nesting. After several hours of enthralling viewing, we trundled back to our own snow-free environment, and sailed south in search of further adventures.
