The day started at 5 am when I groggily woke, somehow sensing there were icebergs outside (as you do).  I climbed out of my top bunk, opened one of the portholes and can you believe it – icebergs!  Icebergs everywhere, big and small, floating by as we slowly cruised through the smooth blue-black waters.  Not just icebergs but mountains covered in glaciers, ice cliffs, stunning blue skies, penguins swimming everywhere, unbelievable.  We were in Antarctica!

I woke Julie, quickly layered up and we climbed to the huge outside viewing level on the top of the ship.  It was substantially colder than we had experienced before and breathtakingly beautiful.  The morning light was good with only a few distant wispy clouds while all around us slowly drifting by was magnificent Antarctica.  It was too breathtaking to be true, surrounded by dramatic steep harsh mountains covered in snow and ice, many with glaciers, with huge ice cliffs above water level.  This was award winning documentary stuff at 360 degrees.

We inched our way thru the De Gerlache Straight into the Neumayer Channel between Wiencke Island and the larger Anvers Island.  This was a narrow channel clogged with brash ice (the term for slushy chunky icy bits) and magnificent vertical walls defining the edge of water and land.  We reluctantly went down to brekkie at 0730 while they dropped anchor and we prepared for our first excursion.

The plan was for a Zodiac excursion in the Straight, exploring whatever it offered.  First they used the crane to lower the Zodiacs, then loaded us by the dozen via the wobbly steep gang plank down to the water and into the waiting Zodiacs.  We then went slowly out on the water, enjoying our first close up look at the icebergs, big and small, all shapes and colours, two leopard seals lazily basking on ice, glaciers down to the water, amazing birds.  We bounced thru slushy brash and hundreds of Gentoo penguins swimming, porpoising (jumping out of the water momentarily as they swim along), feeding and generally playing all around our craft.  We took a gazillion photos and were out until 11.30, just fantastic stuff on this calm beautiful morning.

We changed locations to be near the British Port Lockby near Dorian Bay where Julie and I watched them transfer this poor old lady, at least in her late 70’s, who had been flung across her cabin in high seas and had a suspected broken hip (not ankle).  They tied her stretcher to a Zodiac and then used the huge crane to lift her off the ship and into the water.  From there they motored her over to the other much smaller ship for her ride home.  Her equally elderly husband didn’t go with her; perhaps they didn’t have room or maybe he just didn’t want to miss  Antarctica.

We dressed up after lunch for our first big kayaking trip.  The water-tight funny suits which squeezed up to our neck, down to our wrists and over our feet were hot and uncomfortable at first but we anxiously got dressed, picked a paddle and at our turn loaded into the special Zodiacs for the kayakers.  They took us closer to shore where we carefully loaded into our kayaks from the Zodiacs one by one (or in our case, two by one as Julie and I were in a double).

We began to paddle as a loose group to shore for fantastic up-close views of Gentoo penguins, some on their famous rock nests, a lazy Weddell seal and some amazing iceberg shapes.  We could see the others on shore getting up close and personal with penguins but we were doing it from a completely different angle.

Along the coast we slowly paddled, taking photos and enjoying the immense moment – paddling in Antarctica with penguins hopping all around us, almost playing with us while we moved between the garage-sized glaciers with the stunning mountains surrounding us.

We kept going, found penguins hopping on and off these little icebergs and circumnavigated a huge berg with moraine stripes that was so big that on this sunny day it had a waterfall pouring off its back.

Our kayak leader Zack suddenly claimed to have heard whales in the distance so off we paddled over calm open waters with heart-stopping views all around.  Are we chasing whales in our kayak in Antarctica?  Oh man, catch your breath and grab the moment.

Eventually we could see in the distance whales breaching the surface and blowing water from their blow hole.  Are you kidding me?  Off we paddled as quickly as we could, Julie and I proving the fastest of the group.  We eventually caught the three Humpback whales as they lounged in the bay and for the next 90 minutes enjoyed one of the most unique and special events of our lives.

We would paddle up to where the whales were last seen before diving.  Then we would try to anticipate where they would come up for air next by reading how they dove and the water surface movements.  Sometimes we were right, sometimes wrong but always it was an indescribable experience when these mammoths would rise up, arch their back, blow vapour from their lungs and dive again.  There was one large Humpback, perhaps the mother, and two slightly smaller ones.

What became obvious was that they were playing with us, leading us one way, disappearing, then popping up somewhere else.  It was a game as we tried to anticipate where they might surface.  Julie and I were good at it and on a number of occasions they would surface within 20 metres of our kayak.  The excitement and adrenaline and emotion of the moment was indescribable.

Our teamwork technique was that when whales were playing with us Julie would do the paddling and I would be taking the photos, then quickly try to safely put the camera back into the dry bag and help her paddle to the next spot.

Two memorable moments stand out.  On one occasion Julie and I guessed right and the big playful whale popped up right next to us within four metres, lifted his flipper and flapped it at us as if to say ‘hello’ or ‘you found me’.  One of the other whales rolled over and showed us his white belly less than ten metres away, the two of them just playing with us.

Another time we intentionally crossed over one of their dive paths and could consciously feel the water movement as he swam under us – even lightly scraping our kayak.  Then he surfaced and bellowed out with fishy vapour and his deep guttural call.  And on more than one occasion we smelled their bad fishy blow hole breath, even getting sprayed by it when unluckily being downwind.

This game went on and on until after 6pm when we sadly had to leave – I’m sure the whales were sad too.  We paddled back to the mother ship via the Zodiac, took off our sweaty and salty suit and had a quick change of clothes before the bar and dinner.  Do you think we were in high heaven?!

The others sounded like they had a fantastic time with the penguins and we swapped stories all night.  But there was an unmistakable buzz amongst the kayakers who had all shared the most unbelievable afternoon.

Julie described the day as having all of Antarctica in one day which feels about right.   Can this day be beaten? Well, I hope to live a long time but I know this day won’t come again.