highplanesdrifters

Thanks Drron! For those interested here is a link to Drrons C2C journey. Always worth a look see! https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2467121-from-cape-to-cape-on-the-explorer/

At your service Ms. Nom

*cacophony It's a slippery slope with me, but perhaps one correction. 😅

Gough Island Part of the Tristan Archepelago. One of the most remote island groups in the world. Hawaii being the competition. Another one of those days where superlatives fall short. The colors, sounds, rocks, kelp, birds, plants, Rockhoppers, subantarctic fur seals thrown at you all at once. Into the land that time forgot. We landed in Quest Bay named after Shackleton's last ship. He left our world before this spot. His men carried out the expedition and named this peak after his financial sponsor, Rowlett. Hit the Google machine for the fascinating story. Mea culpa for the photos. Challenging conditions, waves, swell, and spray - and after all it is just a cell phone doing all the work. Photos can't convey the sheer cliffs as we experienced them. Imagine looking up a skyscraper coverd in plants. The volcanic mountains rise straight up from the sea floor, 5000 feet. The zodiacs with red parka clad guests give a small example of scale. Our first Northern Rockhopper Penguin of the excursion. Turns out they are good at hopping up and down rocks. Unlike all our previous excursions these Seal Pups are not used to seeing floating black things full of red. Sound on for the full cachiopy experience. 20240313_081410.mp4 20240313_082156.mp4 20240313_082926.mp4 Basalt columns in every shape and size and configuration. Twisted and turned by the ultimate artist. The more perfect the columns, the slower they cooled. A cave with a bridge. Even our Zuber drivers couldn't wait to explore this one. The entire excursion we were dive bombed by Petrals. I was sure they were going to leave a present or snatch a hat. This Petral was unphasd by us. They take an extensive bath after eating to clean away all the blood and guts. We were happy to pass by at the end of the ritual. 20240313_084326.mp4 It was hard to get near to shore for a closer look due to.massive boulders lurking about. . Nonetheless we enjoyed all the Rockhoppers dotted up the cliffs. Getting back to those colors. A lower tide exposed the kelp and related sea treats. 20240313_084231.mp4 20240313_084302.mp4 Look up, look left, look right but dont forget to look down for the kelp and the color of the water. 20240313_084700.mp4 Gough Island did not disappoint.

This has been the last 3 days. 20240311_132915.mp4 And just like that, it's time to shed the parkas and order tropical drinks! Beam me up Scotty. Well maybe a nice red. Sorry no food porn. Lighting in restaurant makes pictures awful. Sixty degrees, calm seas, where am I? Certainly not the South Atlantic or Southern Ocean. Gough Island here we come. 20240311_191440.mp4 20240311_191440.mp4

Drron, you have the best stories. Thanks for sharing. I'm calling your shove off a landing! Worth it for a seafood Chef Pia feast. BTW, word is she has left cruising for a land based life. Will see if I can get more info.

Thanks for the well wishes. I have no expectations for the next few days. We'll see if we get lucky. There is going to be some very Angry Birders if we don't get something! Captian is worried about the fog. Time for a little Xanax in the water. The Wind has once again found itself in less than ideal conditions. But she did eek out a few things in SG so perhaps worth it. Captian Freddie and EL has apologized numerous times for the early departure from SG. We are all grateful he did. Fantastic iceberg show and an extra day in Tristan area. Smart move. We also had almost no bergs on our last trip here. Captian and crew have all remarked its been a while since they have seen this much. It's what got Shackleton and many others in trouble, not listening to the whalers who knew what was out there. Dork alert. These are pics from Dan Olsens presentation, sorry for the poor quality. The slide on left shows historical tracking of icebergs in red. There is a current around Antarctica that runs counter clockwise which they track and then spin off to South Georgia. The slide on the right showes the circumpolar in purple which runs clockwise. As the bergs head north of the South Shetlands they go into a spinning pattern and head to South Georgia. They are given a letter designation based on where they come from. Then numbered and more letters as they break apart. A satellite from the D28 smash. Tracking of A68 red. And the position of D28A, the one we did the drive by. D28 came from the Avery ice shelf. I am wondering if the Avery ice shelf is responsible for a large numeber of the jade icebergs. Time to find Dan!

You are so kind, thank you!

We are on our third sea day. It's been a hectic trip and the chill time has been wonderful. The Sea has been calm with mostly rain and fog. A patch of blue appeared briefly yesterday. Gough Island is the plan for tomorrow. In the meantime how about a few more Icebergs. They have been particularly plentiful and spectacular this trip. Many are from D28 which smashed into the continent a few times and broke off a few more. Dan Olsen, explained that icebergs are a very important part of the eco system. They carry nutrients, disburse them to the Phytoplankton which feed the krill, which feed almost everything else. They also create upwelling as they melt which brings even more nutrients to the surface. These lovelies were on our way to Fortuna Bay. What a backdrop. Add to this the Penguins, seals, Albatros feeding and fliting about. Sensory overload. A long moment of Zen 20240308_133757.mp4 Leaving South Georgia Captian Freddie slowly made our way our way to D28A, 13x15 mile biggie while passing hundreds and hundreds of bergs. A most relaxing sea day until one attempts to go outside and photograph in the wind and sleet. 😄 These neon colors are as we saw them. 20240309_150651.mp4 D28A 20240309_151240.mp4

Colour, take that spellchecker . I've long since stopped caring about my spelling mistakes and typos. I'd never get a post up. Sorry to all those who are stickers, I'm probably nails on a chalkboard. We're really just getting in to the true C2C part. It's already been quite a trip. As mentioned we were reluctant to come back to Antarctica and South Georgia because the first time was so perfect. This time has been even more incredible. So much so, we will never be able to return. Except maybe in 2027, don't have anything planned for that year yet. 😁

After hightailing it out of SG we sailed through Icebergs extrodinare. One of the most fascinating was the Jade Iceberg. Dan Olsen gave a great talk on Glacier Ice. He is a crowd favorite. Intelligent and one of the funniest people on the ship. Here's the latest science. Hope you enjoy. Jade icebergs are formed under very different conditions, when mineral-rich seawater freezes to the underside of an ice shelf in layers, then eventually breaks off and floats away. These jade bergs contain layers of the pure blue-white ice from the glacier and greener ice below, formed from frozen seawater. Some icebergs of blue glacial ice contain green stripes of marine ice, formed by seawater freezing up into basal crevasses. A number of theories have previously been put forward about why frozen seawater turns such a remarkable shade of green, including the presence of dead phytoplankton or dissolved organic carbon. The researchers found that these materials were not present in large enough amounts to explain the colour. The scientists also believe that these mineral-rich ice blocks could play a role in promoting biological activity in the Southern Ocean, by transporting nutrients to areas where iron is in short supply. Iron is an essential trace nutrient for the growth of marine phytoplankton, which are the tiny plants at the base of the Antarctic food web. Here's the eye candy!

Just heard Wind got two zodiac cruises in on the North part of SG. YAY for them!

Grytviken and Bootgate What and eerie and surreal place. Due to bird flu, Shackletons grave and the whaling station were closed. The church, museum and gift shop were open. A nice hike was offered. It was a bit of a bust for us as someone had pilfered one of each of our boots. Staff helped us search high and low. Nothing. We were the last excursion, time was running out we had to find something that could work. Lovie got one boot that was wet inside and I got one that was too small. We did a hobble to the Museum and just enjoyed the glorious scenery and sunshine. Luckily we had been here before. This was in the touch section of the museum. The Penguins have been everywhere. Its hard to resist the urge to give them a pet. Now I know what they feel like. One of our friends got chased by a bull fur seal. Glad she didn't have this sunk into her backside! Ironic, mom and nursing pup enjoying the day under the vestiges of a past best forgotten. . Shackletons Grave seen from the Zodiac. Lucky for us we had our tipple last time we were here. Matt did arrange a toast before the briefing. Nice touch.

Would love to know if your friends are able to get any excursions. Grytviken harbor is blocked by icebergs. Not as much protection to launch zodiacs. The Captians decision to leave SG early was fully supported by the guests. The area is chuck full of icebergs. Hard enough to navigate and pick your way through with calm seas, imagine a storm tosing them at the ship. As mentioned Captian has his team working double duty. They have done an amazing job. We are past the ice for the most part. Although the weather is miserable we are staying ahead of the worst.

We often joke with friends and our TA - " I didn't know it existed, and I didn't know I needed to go there". We'll see if mother nature decides to let us in.😅 As an example, Shag Rock South Georgia. I didn't know it existed. It was a wildlife extravaganza, one of the highlights of the trip.

I asked the same question. It's been corrected. What a shame, I was looking forward to more muddling.

Yes, Captain Freddie. What a great guy. Hightailing is an understatement, clicking along at 18 kts. No swell at the moment which makes it a sweet smooth ride. There are an inordinate amout of Bergs. Double night watch. Glad he's at the helm. As for The Wind, she's been drawing the short straw in the weather department. Perhaps she's headed for shelter in the Falklands, who knows. Hope your friends are enjoying! Current position Revised itinerary. Other than an extra sea day I wonder what might happen after Nightingale. Old itinerary.

Purple is bad. We all know this. We knew it was coming. It's bad. Captain gave a special briefing. We were scheduled for 5 days in South Georgia. We got 3 of the most amazing days anyone could possibly imagine in one of the most amazing places on the planet. The bonus round really kicked in after day 2. We've got one heck of a storm to outrun and some rough days to come. Tristan here we come.

Possession Bay, South Georgia In the interest of over stimulation EL Claudia scored us an afternoon landing. We had shoreline entertainment and a short hike up a rocky stream bed to the main King Penguin colony. There was also a small Gentoo outpost and a few elephant seals. As you look through the photos and videos notice how some Kings strive to be taller. As opposed to fighting and bashing each other, this is how they show their masculinity. They have no interest in Beer Pong. Legendary Brent Houston encourages guests to stop, slow down and just observe. You might not see everything, but you will see more. Great advice. An easy wet landing with no swell. Critters everywhere. 20240307_160120.mp4 The Kings stretched all along the beach will the fur seal pups scattered amongst them. We joined the line of Kings headed up the hill to the colony. 20240307_161402.mp4 Along the way seals and their pups nestled and played in the Tussock grass. Striking their pose. When they molt, each little feather is replaced. Imagine. Worth the short hike up. 20240307_162413.mp4 What possessed them to go stand on the other side? This one cracks me up. 20240307_163310.mp4 Barbershop quartet? Actually many small groups standing around to see who is tallest. Time to make the donuts. 20240307_163450.mp4 Scratching contest. 20240307_165155.mp4 Playing pups. 20240307_170828.mp4 This pup was at war with the Gentoo. He followed him everywhere and nipped away. He would occasionally snip at a King just for fun. He has organized a Beer Pong game at 3pm. 20240307_170828.mp4 And then weather moved in. 20240307_170022.mp4

I'm a convert. The cruise at Salisbury was incredible.

Awww, thanks. Means a lot coming from the best.

Salisbury Plain, South Georgia. No words needed, except.... Penguin Soup 20240307_100224_1.mp4 20240307_102254.mp4 20240307_102751.mp4 20240307_103039.mp4 20240307_104329.mp4

Exactly! It's the only front deck space.....AND it's not always open.

After a few hours at Shag Rock an announcement was made that we would now resume our course to Salisbury Plain, South Georgia. Everyone left, save for a few. The show didn't stop. The Hourglass dolphins showed up. This brought most of the Expedition Staff to the OL. A first for many. The Tristan Albatros was now easy to identify without all those pesky whales distracting us. And then a large pod of pilot whales decided to appear. It's now 4:30 and like the gentleman earlier, I too am exhausted. Stimulation overload. Just a swim by, no close up Mr. DeMile. 20240306_163710.mp4 And like @FauxNom pointed out there is a pushy shovey lot on board.

Shag Rock - Round 2 Aftet the Killer Whale show, and BTW, that is how to refer to them scientifically, the show escalated. The waters and air were full of so many species it was hard to know where to look. One gentleman was called by his wife to come to the othere side of the ship, he said " Leave me alone, there's too much going on over here, I'm exhausted. 😅 The show went on for hours. Just a few of the species we saw. Fin whales Penfuins, Kings & Macaroni Fur seals Orcas Albatros, Wandering & Black-browed Prions Pilot Whales Rare Bonus Round Tristan Albatros Royal Penquin Hourglass dolphins Blue Whales The Fin Whales were interspersed with the largest animal on earth, the rare Blue Whale. We were surrounded by them. Blows as far as they eye could see. Unheard of calm and mirror sea conditions. Not the best videos, reflections, etc. Hopefully they will give you a sense of what we saw. 20240306_140819.mp4 VID-20240306-WA0010.mp4