A typical day in Antarctica usually involves three huge meals, taking off and putting on many layers of clothes many times, a couple of fun Zodiac rides, a land excursion, usually a paddle in our brightly-coloured kayaks, a selection of seals, penguins and whales followed by an evening in the little bar with fellow travellers.  For the next few days we got all that plus a rare and special chance to spend a night camping in the snow.  As you do.

Down the gangway to the Zodiacs on a typical Antarctic weather day – cold, grey, low clouds, strong breeze choppy water.  Anywhere else it would be a day to stay inside.  But not here, we crashed through the ocean chop and around the icebergs to a rocky landing on the large Petermann Island right amongst Gentoos with their fat grey fluffy chicks, sometimes two per mother.  Gentoos rock!

The snow was soft under our Antarctic boots as we trudged up the hill, passing exposed rocks with nesting Gentoos and crossing their many pink paths.  At the top ridge there were beautiful views of some great bergs trapped in a little bay just below us, almost like children who had decided to play together in a small room.  We continued on to the top along the ridge, a walk of more than one kilometre.  From the final ridge there were more views and more penguins. You could see our ship safely anchored in the harbour but despite our isolation we always had a safe, if somewhat cold, feeling.

We retraced our steps back to the landing spot and then pushed on to get even closer to the nesting Gentoo and Adelie penguins mixed together with their chicks.  The birds were all over this track and we even had to stop while they crossed in front of us.  They would sometimes pause in the middle of their waddle to curiously look up at us. Yes, the rule was to stay at least five metres away from the birds but its hard when they want to come up to check us out.

The two types of penguins were easy to distinguish.   Adelie penguins are smaller than Gentoo penguins with a black beak and only a small white circle around their eyes.  Gentoo penguins have the red beak with a slash of white behind the eyes. The Adelie chicks were fluffier and a bit browner. Gentoo penguins have the more traditional butler costume and so far on this trip are by far the most prominent.  We heard later this is the southern most colony of the Gentoo penguins.

We were scheduled for a paddle that afternoon but the weather turned foul and the wind came up to dangerous levels so we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on board, followed by Happy Hour with Max the Barman and the usual suspects, including Motorcycle Bill on his third Antarctica trip, our Canadian friends Sean and Brenda, the paddling Dutch quartet on their second Antarctic trip and the retired but everlasting Bill (nicknamed Stud Bill) and Bob.

After dinner we went to the front deck all rugged up for the light snow breeze to drink hot red wine while the ship went thru the beautiful narrow Lemaire Channel.   This tight channel had it all, highlighted by the magnificent steep cliffs and glaciers to water’s edge.  The Captain even did a neat pirouette figure 8 in the channel while blowing his horn.  We spotted whales at the other end of the channel and photographed them while the Captain gave futile chase.  That night we finally took up Brenda and Sean’s offer to join them in the Sauna – good fun and very sociable!

The next day we woke in paradise, or Paradise Harbour, to be exact. The plan was for two mainland landings (rather than islands), two kayaks and camping tonight. 

In the morning we suited up for a paddle at Neko Harbour.  Julie was doing her first solo paddle ever (she never even considered such a thing in Australia) and it was a perfect morning with glassy waters and icebergs everywhere. 

Very soon we found a Minke whale (or he found us) and within minutes he was playing with us, swimming underneath us and all around us.  He would disappear and we would wait for him to pop up again, then suddenly, there he is, surfacing, blowing from his blow hole, swimming around us, inquisitive, playful. 

He then got bolder, swimming right up to us, even a couple of times nudging us (and on one occasion lifting one of the other kayaks up a bit) and blowing his fishy breath on us.  It was an unbelievable experience, a great hour of playing with this friendly monster and taking some great photos.

On one occasion he swam right up to my yellow kayak, almost sniffed it, just an arm reach away, nudged my boat a bit, maybe smelling it or trying to figure out what this big yellow thing was and then he would dive under my kayak and swim under it, giving it a vibration with the movement of the water.  Julie got the same treatment, on her first solo day in a kayak ever!  What an overwhelming experience!

We later found a Leopard and a Weddell seal as well as some super icebergs.  Julie did a great job, a real pro, very confident and photogenic!  I was very proud of her and how fantastic was the experience to be amongst the whales in your own kayak for the first time.

While a couple of us waited to be picked up there was a huge glacier calving into the water, sections falling off like slices of bread.  It was fantastic watching it from the water and almost feeling the power of the calving even if we were at a safe distance.

That afternoon the ship moved up into beautiful Paradise Harbour, a deep bay with black still water, large icebergs, an Argentinean-manned post and magnificent steep cliffs and glaciers.  A sailboat with six people on board also came up the harbour.  We had great views cruising into this magic place from the top deck before we dropped anchor. 

We were going to have a ‘short’ kayak followed by a landing but Julie opted out and did a cruise first, seeing glaciers, seals and birds up close.  The rest of us kayakers hit the water, being greeted by a large Humpback whale (quite a bit bigger than the more playful Minke whales) up close before we even all got in.  We followed the whale for a while but he wasn’t too curious, found a couple of seals and a group of mainly Southern Petrels feeding on a dead floating animal, possibly a baby seal.  They were pecking at it quite aggressively, the whole group.  The Southern Petrels are huge brownish birds and one took off and flew close over my head, his big body and huge wings just metres away.

The Zodiac picked us up and took us ashore, stopping to see a massive pinkish jelly fish almost a metre in diameter with 15 foot tentacles.  Prehistoric stuff just floating in the water near the surface.  Julie was waiting with some others by the Argentinean huts – our first step on the actual Antarctic continent itself. Even though technically all the islands are part of the Antarctic continent that might be good enough for a geologist but for us explorers we needed to touch the mainland.

We took off our skirts and lifejackets, donned our rain pants and walked thru these basic red buildings which were where the Argentinean scientists and support crew worked and lived.  The base, called Almirante Brown, to be honest, looked very modest, very ‘short summer season’ and not too important.  The buildings were surrounded by Gentoos with their little rock mounts of nests all around and even on the trails we walked.  We trudged thru the snow up the long slope to the top of the ridge. 

From here we had almost aerial views of the harbour, our ship, the sailboat, the mountains and glaciers, the red huts down below. The whole scene was just breathtaking.  After an extended period of enjoying the view we all used the well-used track to slide down on our bums (hence the need for our rain pants!).  Great fun and a real laugh, would have looked fantastic on video.

There was a total prohibition on drinking that evening on the ship due to the camping tonight.  After dinner we loaded on the gangway at 21.30 for our camping night on a little island which was practically wading distance from the mainland.  The island was no bigger than a football field and protected in this tight little cove surrounded by cliffs and glaciers.  The evening was cold but calm, perfect. 

Brenda and Sean joined us and side by side we dug our holes in the snow and set up our sleeping bags, having managed to zip them together to maximise our warmth.  We got out our prohibited Scotch, our borrowed plastic cups, added some of the abundant snow and socialised with others.  The atmosphere on the island and the general mood was great, a little party amongst conspirators with illicit alcohol, the weather cloudy but calm and the queue for Mr. Yum Yum, the plastic container toilet was very sociable. 

The crew had dug some snow out to make a flat area behind the slope at the back of the island and installed a large plastic container and a role of toilet paper.  From the top of the ridge where people waited to take their turns everyone could watch the top half of your body as you visited Mr. Yum Yum.  A very fun and unique experience. 

We finally went to bed at midnight, still almost perfect daylight, a setting sun and a seal resting on a rock nearby.