ZECO TRAVEL TALK

Zegrahm travelers recently had the privilege of traveling with French Captain Étienne Garcia aboard Le Diamant on our Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands itinerary. Below is an excerpt from his farewell speech that was so well received by passengers, staff, and crew that they hoped we would publish it for all to read:

Good evening dear passengers, this is your Captain speaking from the . . . the stage. I don’t have the eloquence of Peter [Harrison] but I will do my best! Tonight I wanted to come personally to give you a few words of farewell. These 20 days have linked us with memorable and warm souvenirs. Read more

As our 2010 Antarctica, South Georgia, and Falkland Islands’ trip comes to a close, we thought it was the perfect time to learn more about the important climate work being conducted in this remote area of the world. Below is a post written by Spruce Schoenemann, a Glaciology graduate student in the University of Washington’s Department of Earth and Space Sciences.

It’s a pleasure to be sharing some of my Antarctic experiences with you! I’m sure some of you probably wonder why or how one ends up working in Antarctica anyway? Here is the why. The intricacy of climate science is what fascinates me, particularly the multiple interactions and feedback processes which interrelate between the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the biosphere, and the cryosphere. I am drawn to those icy, snowy, remote, and dramatic places on this earth, and I feel a responsibility to protect the intrinsic value of these unique environments. How? After learning about a job posting by the UNH Science Coordination Office, I applied to work as a Science Tech on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide Ice Core Project during the 2008/2009 austral summer. The ice core project was in its second season of drilling, and our goal for the season was to drill 1,000 meters of ice. The WAIS Divide Ice Core would be 3,500 meters long once the drill reached the base of the ice sheet scheduled for 2011. The WAIS Ice Core is unique in the high resolution of annual layers preserved in the ~125,000 years of ice. Read more

We set out today to hike and retrace the steps of the last four miles of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic 22-mile (that is to say . . . 22 “as the crow flies” miles) journey of 1916. Ninety-one passengers and expedition leaders hiked across the path Shackleton took after he landed his lifeboat at South Georgia and then tried to get to Stromness, a Norwegian whaling station.

Our hike was in a spectacular location—dramatic glaciers and steep granite mountains surrounded us—and the snow was gently falling when we began. Setting off from Fortuna Bay, we were afforded exceptional views as we walked over picturesque sandstone and shale, past snow and icefields, and around Crean Lake. The hike up was aerobic—a great workout after being on the ship a week. Read more

With smooth seas, tropical temperatures, and sunburns, it’s hard to believe that we are in the Southern Ocean en route to Antarctica. Our first landing in the Falklands was celebrated as ‘A Zegrahm First’ because never before had the expedition been able to make first landing on day one—typically, we spend a full day at sea sailing from Ushuaia to the Falkland Islands. We celebrated by stepping ashore early evening at New Ireland and enjoyed sunset over a menagerie of black-browed albatross, rockhopper penguins, and imperial cormorants perched on cliffs high above the cold waters of the Scotia Sea. Read more

This recently published book by Rodney Russ & Aleks Terauds is a comprehensive study of the seven oceanic island groups to the south and east of New Zealand. Each chapter features a different island with descriptions of the flora, fauna, geography, geology, human history, and glorious color photographs. More than just a coffee-table book, the authors leave no stone unturned when it comes to describing the wonders of these unique islands. Read more

Amy Campbell, a loyal Zegrahm traveler and avid wildlife photographer, first traveled to Antarctica in 1994. Like so many of us, the penguins and the great white continent captured her imagination and Amy has continued to return on an extraordinary menu of expeditions.

Amy introduced her husband and three children to Antarctica in late 1999, ringing in the Millennium on the Antarctic Peninsula. Since then, she and her husband Bob have taken an Icebreaker expedition to Snow Hill Island to see the emperor penguin colony—or as Zegrahm cofounder Peter Harrison prefers to call them “the impossible penguin.” Amy and Bob have also taken our Circumnavigation of South Georgia expedition, experiencing the wildlife wonderland of South Georgia in the company of our expert leader & lecture team. In late 2009, Amy and Bob will be traveling south once again, on our Wild Edge of the Pacific voyages. During their explorations of the New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and New Zealand’s Sub-Antarctic Islands they hope to see erect-crested, fiordland, blue, Snares, yellow-eyed, and royal penguins. It’s no coincidence that Peter Harrison, ornithologist and sea bird expert, will be on hand throughout the journey to help achieve these goals.

Amy’s travels and photography were recently featured in the Arts & Entertainment section of VillageSoup.com. Sadly the article is no longer available online.

We awoke to find ourselves approaching Elephant Island in thick fog and swells, but the fog soon lifted to reveal Cape Valentine and the towering cliffs of this island made famous by the 1914-1917 Shackleton Expedition. Captain Lemaire brought us right into view of historic Point Wild where twenty-two crew members from the Endurance spent four and a half months until Shackleton’s welcome return upon the Chilean navy cutter Yelcho. Zodiacs were launched and, although the swells prevented a landing on the narrow spit where the men survived under their overturned boats, we enjoyed a tour of the coastline complete with dramatic metamorphic rocks, chinstrap penguins, and even a lone macaroni penguin on the cliff. Once back on board, our historian, Scott Pearson, revisited the expedition story, taking us from beginning to end and helping fill details “in between the lines” of this dramatic adventure.

In the afternoon, we attempted a visit to Cape Lookout on the island’s south coast, but were thwarted by strong winds and swells. Our disappointment in not making this landing soon faded, however, as we were joined by fin whales, swimming right alongside and lunge feeding. Thanks to JD and the captain for slowing Le Diamant, we had a magnificent “bonus afternoon” of whale watching.

Our next morning was spent at Paulet Island, the site where 21 men from the 1903 Nordenskjöld expedition wintered over after the loss of their vessel, Antarctic, to sea ice. The walls of the stone hut that once provided shelter to Captain Larsen’s party now shelter fuzzy Adelie penguin chicks, part of a colony of more than 100,000 breeding pairs.

Scott recounted the story of the expedition’s field parties while other leaders explained the geology of this volcanic island and guided walks to the penguins and nearby Antarctic shag colony. Before returning to Le Diamant, a Zodiac cruise along the berg-littered coastline revealed Weddell seals hauled out on the beach.

Back on board, we headed for Devil Island and Prince Gustav Channel in search of some serious ice. With snow on its way, a cloudy sky provided the perfect backlighting to crystal blue and white icebergs that filled the channel. Our ice tour in the Zodiacs was made complete by crabeater and Weddell seals, not to mention Adelie penguins that porpoised and leapt from the water onto artistically sculpted bergs as we wove in and out of a fairyland of ice. The late evening found us well fed and on watch as we cruised even further south in the Weddell Sea for the elusive emperor penguin. So far, the majesty of this southern realm is beyond even our grandest expectations.

We began our day of exploration at Carcass Island, named after the Royal Navy ship HMS Carcass which reached the Falklands in 1766. We set out on a pleasant walk, noting Cobb’s wren and Falkland steamer ducks, found only in the Falklands; striated caracaras; snipes; upland and kelp geese; meadowlarks; and finches. We also saw our first penguins of the trip, gentoos and Magellanics. Today Carcass Island is owned by Rob McGill, who treated us to a delightful tea at the end of our morning explorations before the Zodiacs whisked us back to the ship. Some lucky travelers were treated to a Zodiac escort by Commerson’s dolphins.

Back on board and en route to New Island our captain deftly navigated the narrow “Wooly Gut” passage between West Point Island and West Falkland, giving us spectacular views of the 400 million-year-old quartz sandstone cliffs. Our arrival at New Island was celebrated with a Peale’s dolphin Zodiac escort and a short hike past the Captain Barnard Museum ending at a magnificent rookery teeming with rockhopper penguins, imperial shags, and black-browed albatross, all with downy, hungry chicks in the nests.

Adult albatross entertained us with their sometimes graceful, sometimes ungainly launches and landings. Long lines of penguins hopped up and down the cliffs in a never- ending effort to keep their young ones fueled. Cameras didn’t stop clicking until it was time to return for a quick tour of the museum and conversations with the local artists. Then it was on to the ship for a little relaxation at the end of another fabulous day.