Antarctica

During the austral summer of 2014-2015 I was fortunate enough to spend 2 months at Cape Bird on Ross Island (red circle).

This indescribably beautiful place is home to over 80,000 Adelie penguins.  The sensory experience is three fold – the smell of guano and fish, the sounds of penguins squabbling and socializing, and the sight of the magnificent backdrop of icebergs, orcas, and snow-capped mountains.

I was immediately enamored with Antarctica.  For such an inhospitable region of the earth, the community at Scott Base (New Zealand’s base) felt homely and welcoming.  During the summer, the population at Scott base sits around 70, with only 20 lucky individuals wintering-over.  The Ross Sea is one of the most productive oceans in the world – which is why it is home to abundant sealife, from krill to penguins to whales.

I could go on, but I’ll let the photos speak for themselves (click on thumbnails to enlarge).

Flying into Cape Bird

First glimpse of Cape Bird, and she’s a stunner

Looking across the Ross Sea

A penguin queue

A tender moment between parent and chick

Rock theft is prevalent in Adelie penguin colonies

Claiming a territory

Cape Bird Ice cap

Skua parent and chick

A traffic jam on my way home from work

Skua dive-bomb

On a throne of feathers

A true polar plunge!

A chreche

Sleepy chicks

Weddell’s Seal

Snack time for a baby skua

Even skuas need a cuddle

Awkward developing years