Weddell Seal, Antarctica - photo by Laurie Allread

December 3, 2011

We arrived at Macquarie Island about 7am. The sea was calm and the weather was foggy with light mist. We were met by park rangers from the ANARE station for a walk around the Isthmus. The Isthmus was teaming with wildlife including huge male elephant seals, king penguins and rock hoppers. We spent about 2.5 hours on the Isthmus and then took a quick zodiac ride to view Shags before returning to the Ship for a quick lunch. After lunch, we visited Sandy beach, where Royal Penguin colonies sprawled across the landscape. This part of the island is known for the 100,000 pairs of Royal penguins who breed only on Macquarie Island.

December 4, 2011

We arrived at Lusitania Bay at 7am to view the King Penguins colony which was clearly visible from the bow of the ship. We watched the King Penguins and the view of Macquarie Island fade as we headed north toward Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. This is Laurie’s final post from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

photo by Laurie Allread

The days were spent cruising north to Macquarie Island. The time was spent attending lectures, cleaning our gear for our anticipated visit to Macquarie Island. The sea was rough with swells up to 20 -22 feet which was enough to cause some passengers to stay in their cabins. Other passengers boldly ventured outside on the fly bridge.

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

Antarctica Icebergs

November 27, 2011
The Ross Ice Shelf came into view about noon. Size of France and is about 600 miles The vastness cannot be captured in with any lens. The icy cold winds coming off the shelf stirred my imagination about the explorers that had to tackle this massive piece of ice before beginning their journey to the south pole.

November 28th, 2011
Sadly, we continued to head north out of the ice. The day was mostly spent outdoors on the bow enjoying the ice and watching for wildlife on passing ice floes. Other passengers attended multiple lectures.

November 29, 2011
Another wonderful day was spent traveling through pack ice and among icebergs. The salmon colored evening sky made a stunning backdrop for the icebergs.

November 30, 2011
It was our last day in the ice. We celebrated Kapitan Khlebnikov’s final farewell to the Ross Sea on the stern as we passed the last iceberg. Next destination is Macquarie Island. We intend to have two landings and one zodiac rides around the islands. Thousands of Royal Penguins, King Penguins and Seals await us but there are two more sea days before we arrive. But now, we prepare for swells of the open sea during the next 700 miles.

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

Antarctica at sunset - photo by Laurie Allread

Much to our surprise, the winds increased to 44 knots which again prevented the helicopters from flying to Ross Island for sightseeing. The expedition leader gave up on the weather and decided we should head north, approximately 140 miles northeast to the Ross ice Shelf. Then, as soon as ship started backing up, the wind speed decreased to 30 knots, just enough for us to take a quick flight to visit Cape Evans. We weren’t able to visit either base or hike Observation hill, but visiting Scott’s Discovery Hut at Cape Evans was worth the wait. Seldom, are passenger ships able to get through the ice to see the famous hut.

After dinner the Captain headed the ship north east toward our next destination, the Ross Ice Shelf. The evening sun shining over Mount Erebus was magnificent. The top of Mount Erebus was finally in total view!

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

The Kapitan Klebnikov in Antarctica - photo by Laurie Allread

Our plans for visiting McMurdo and Ross Stations, Scott’s Discovery hut at Cape Evans and hiking Observation Hill were delayed by the weather. Here in Antarctica, “weather is our master”, our expedition leader, Shane Envoy, has reminded us many times. Whiteout conditions and 40 knot winds lasted throughout the day with temperature of 30 degrees below zero when considering the wind chill factor. During the afternoon, the whiteout lifted but the winds continued to blow. Nevertheless some of the passengers ventured out to view the partial solar eclipse. The solar eclipse was only visible from Antarctica and Southern New Zealand. What a surprise. This rare event was not even on the itinerary!

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

Our visit to the Adelie Penguin Colony was cut short by white conditions with 40 knots per hour winds. All passengers were on the island which was a ten minute helicopter ride from the icebreaker. After one hour on shore, the wind and snow flurries increased until the icebreaker was no longer visible from shore. By that time, we were spread out over a one mile stretch of beach. We hurried back to the three tents at base camp for warmth until the helicopters were able to return to the island to pick us up for our safe return to the ship. After returning to the ship we all were thankful for our brief but real Antarctica experience!

Antarctica - photo by Laurie Allread

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

Antarctica - Photo by Laurie Allread

During the early morning the captain moved the ship south toward Cape Evans on Ross Island. The ship was at its furthest point south on this expedition. Temperature was minus 4 degree C, with wind making it a bit chilly, but the sky was mostly blue. It was a perfect day for our flight to Cape Evans to visit Robert Falcon Scott’s hut until whiteout conditions appeared during the afternoon. The flights were started and stopped numerous times, but eventually all passengers were able to visit the Terra Nova hut on Ross Island.

Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery expedition stayed in the Terra Nova hut on Ross Island during 1911-1912. From this hut Scott and four members of his expedition team began their journey to the South Pole on November 1, 1911. They reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912 just one month after Roald Amundsen had already claimed the South Pole. None of the members of Scott’s Polar party survived the expedition.

Yet, the hut and its artifacts have been so well maintained by the New Zealand Heritage Trust, it is as if Scott’s expedition team is still living there. At any moment Scott and his men could have walked through the door with snow covered boots. As I entered the stable I imagined explorers Cherry Garrard, Bowers and Wilson talking about their journey to Cape Crozier. To think that I stood in the very spot with likely the same weather conditions where Scott’s team embarked on their incredible journey 100 years ago.

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

Emperor Penguin - Photo by Laurie Allread

Last evening, we headed toward an area further close to Taylor Valley in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in hope to make a helicopter operation. About 2am the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s engines were shut down as the captain could not get the ship closer to the valley due to the thick ice. The goal was to park as close to Taylor Valley as possible to make the helicopter ride shorter to the valley.

Visibility was poor so the departure time of 8 am was delayed until the skies cleared until about 3 pm. It is quite an operation to get 100 people off the ship for a 60 minute excursion. The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free region in Antarctica. Parts of the Dry Valleys have not seen rain for over 2 million years. It one of the world’s largest desert with a approximate mean annual temperature of -19C. During our excursion we will land to walk around on a designated area and view the mummified seals that are over 1,500 years old.

During our waiting time, we’ve been off the ship walking around on the pack ice and watching penguins jump and in out of the water near the ship. The Emperors walk among us and gaze up at the ship with curiosity. They seem to be quite entertained by our presence.

Anyway my group is scheduled to fly to the Dry Valley about 11 pm tonight so it will be another late night in the midnight sun!

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

Photo taken by Laurie Allread Nov. 21, 2011 from McMurdo Sound

Last night, we left Franklin Island about 10 pm and continued our journey south to McMurdo Sound. Mt Erbus came into view during early afternoon. What a lovely sight as we cruised along side Ross Island. The ice was amazingly thin for this time of year which allowed the Captain to park the Kapitan Khlebnikov a few miles from Cape Royds. It is extremely unusual to get into the ice so close to Cape Royds.

Suddenly after securing a position for the ship to begin the helicopter operation to Shackleton’s hut, whiteout condition appeared from nowhere. The operation was delayed but we all made it off the ship to visit the hut within the next few hours. The hut was constructed during Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition 1907-1909. It was used again during his later expeditions. The 7 x 8.5 m hut housed 14 occupants. It also contains a laboratory and darkroom.

The Antarctic Heritage Trust maintains the hut and its artifacts so that this part of Antarctica history will never be lost. They allow only few people at a time into the hut for 15 minutes. Still, for those for those few minutes, I traveled back into time.

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)

Emperor Penguin - photo by Laurie Allread

Again we were reminded of the old Russian saying “the best way though ice is around ice.” The day was spent weaving in and out of ice through the patches of sea ice. Cape Washington was no longer in reach due to the ice conditions but we did make it to a wonderful emperor penguin rookery on Franklin Island. The lighting was beautiful on the huge tabular iceberg that made the perfect backdrop for any Antarctica postcard with the stars being the Emperor Penguins.

(This is Laurie’s fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)