Thank you to everyone who took such amazing photos of the kayaking group. It was a little difficult for us to take photos when we were trying to avoid icebergs, wind gusts and whales!
I love this photo! The water is so glassy and perfect. The kayaking group wore yellow suits that made us stand out. Kayaking on the trip was an add-on that had to be pre-purchased before boarding and it was limited to 16 participants. We had 12 in our group on this trip and if you're considering going to Antarctica, I would say kayaking is a must!
I love this photo because it captures the size proportions and makes me think we were insane for kayaking near these animals!
The infamous Leopard Seal spectacular.
Vicky holding up her bergy bit!
I think I spotted something.
Sully & Jordan in Wilhelmina Bay after we had an incredible late afternoon paddling with whales.
This is one of the beach launches- I think we only did two beach launches on the trip.
Me holding up my bergy bit!
Look at my game face.
Someone caught me taking a selfie with the bergy bit!
I love this photo because we hit rough patch of water around the shore and had to learn how to back paddle into waves with the kayaks perpendicular to the waves to avoid rolling. We thought it was a blast but our guides were clearly concerned!
Oh hey there seal!
A rather large marine mammal rolling up...
Towing the kayaks to launch after our visit to Neko Harbor.
On March 21st, we had our continent landing at Neko Harbor. This was by far my most memorable excursions and I'd love to post all the amazing photos I took in my fabulous yellow kayaking suit as I stepped foot on the continent of Antarctica. Sadly those photos are sitting at the bottom of Wilhelmina Bay with my Olympus that went overboard during our afternoon excursion that same day. Fortunately I have GoPro footage and the photos take by some of my new and amazing friends from the trip. Separately, one of these new friends loaned me her backup small camera to use for the remainder of the trip so my selfies with bergy bits could continue! (More on the role of selfies on our trip later!)
GoPro clip of the continent landing:
For those of us that chose to kayak this morning, we only had about twenty minutes on the continent before we left to launch. Those who stayed behind were treated to an amazing hike. I'm so thankful that I chose to kayak this morning as I had a really incredible experience kayaking into some really remote and almost never visited inlets.
Gentoo Penguins marching across the beach at Neko Harbor on the most perfect morning.
A closer look at the Gentoos marching along. The one on the left looks like he needed a bath- they are often filthy from sliding around in their own feces!
I love this photo captured by Vicky. She chose to do the hike instead of kayaking at Neko Harbor that day and captured some great images like this one. I love how on a clear day like this the black and white penguins stand out against the blue water. I also love that our ship is in the background.
Another shot of the marching Gentoos.
A few more photos from our shared collection:
Close up of one of the friendly Gentoos.
I love this picture because it comes closer to capturing the amazing colors in the sky that day. Also that strange looking guy in the red is Joe, another new friend who happens to be an actual pro photographer and scotch drinker. More on all of the amazing people I met in a later post though...
Another Gentoo. They're so adorable in spite of their stench.
GoPro clips of the friendly Gentoos in Neko Harbor:
A lonely Gentoo heading in the opposite direction.
We left the continent and launched our kayaks far away from the landing site. We paddled through some of the most beautiful and untouched inlets. I was completely awestruck by the size of the glacier walls and mountains surrounding me that day and I discovered how mesmerizing ice can be. The really old ice is easily recognizable by it's clear and dimpled appearance. I remember taking tons of selfies with ancient bergy bits- it really would be awesome if someone found my camera in 20 years or so and discovered all my photos of which half were selfies with various icebergs.
Calm and reflective water and enormous walls of ice surrounded us.
We felt so tiny next to these walls of ice. The deep blue crevasses were incredible.
