Photography is about capturing the moment, freezing a piece of time and hoping it will impart a sense of place, or better yet an entire story. Images from this trip will be viewed on screens faraway, shared with friends and family, and even in that high definition splendor will not capture the detail that surrounds us an instant of our expedition. All the panoramas and 360° videos can’t convey the scale of humbling wonder that exudes from travelling through this magical landscape. An experience is defined as an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone and our days on and off the National Geographic Explorer are packed full of them.
Port Lockroy, despite its small size, offers several highlights onshore, not including the now ubiquitous sight of penguins in close proximity. Gentoos, largest of the brushtail penguins, nonchalantly wander around the handful of structures, (including a Post Office!), that are maintained by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and were built by Britain in 1944 as a base of operations to monitor enemy shipping movements. Several Heritage staff remain on the tiny island over the course of the summer to manage the historic museum and even more popular gift shop, which was left significantly less stocked than when we arrived.
Across a small stretch of water lies Jougla Point where the venerable remains of several species of cetaceans, left from the bygone days of whaling, can be explored close up. The massive bones and skulls, now strewn along the shoreline, give us a glimpse into the sheer size of the animals that we have been so fortunate to observe over the course of our journey. The weather picks up, and we are escorted to Paradise Bay by a large pod of killer whales that are unaffected by the winds that fail to keep all onboard from crowding onto the bow for an up close view. Good to its name, our afternoon destination is calm and protected, surrounded by towering peaks with glaciers that run down to the water. Humpback and minke whales playfully surface around our Zodiacs while leopard seals regard us curiously from atop drifting icebergs they make look entirely comfortable. Each moment is delightful on its own, but when woven together with the rest of the day that forms a chapter of our voyage, it is even more remarkable as a whole. Like the postcards mailed from the end of the world that will slowly make their way to destinations far and wide, it is not the photo that is the most meaningful, it’s the journey it took getting there.
