Life Trove: Day 1 - 3: Crossing the Drake Passage

Tanya's Diary

It’s Day Two of our expedition! We’re all up early because the excitement of this trip is keeping us energised! We can hardly believe it, but we’ve already spotted our first whale, and basically… there’s no words to describe these wonders unfolding before us and as always we feel so honoured and privileged to be here on this journey, representing Upschool.co and sponsored by the wonderful team at Aurora Expeditions.

Last night, before we settled in for dinner, we got to meet some of the amazing crew that are on board the Greg Mortimer with us on this trip – and what a lovely, experienced & knowledgeable bunch they are! With luck on our side, we’re hoping for the chance to spend some time with each and every one of them, so we can tap into their expertise, and mine their minds for the nuggets of knowledge to enrich our Upschool lessons.

In the lecture hall, each crew member introduced themselves and spoke a few words on their particular expertise.

Eduardo is the kayak guide and also a biologist.
Anna is on board as assistance.
Eloisa is also a kayak guide and a marine biologist.
Serge is the zodiac master – zodiacs being the little boats we head out on to cruise around to and from shore.
Pete is a kayak guide and also seal whisperer!
Hannah is a naturalist and expert on wildlife and seals.
Pia is a marine biologist.
Ella is a snorkelling guide and environmental scientist.
Staz is a snorkel guide.
Renato is the ship photographer.
Jeff is a historian.
Reba is the onboard expedition manager.
Linda is the expedition medic.
Matt is a kayak guide.
Pat is a marine biologist and oceanographer.
Isabelle is the assistant expedition leader.
Dan is a kayak guide.
John is a marine biologist and zodiac master.
Christian is the expedition leader and ornithologist.

For much of the rest of the 12th and 13th, we familiarised ourselves with the ship and crew members, caught up with some of the staff who we remembered from our previous Arctic expedition, and readied/steadied ourselves for the cruise down the notorious Drake Passage!

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Reunited with the Greg Mortimer, the same ship that took us around The Arctic

Take a tour of the ship and its facilities here

Navigating the Beagle Channel at the start of our sea journey

After bidding a fond farewell to the town of Ushuaia, we embarked on a captivating journey through the Beagle Channel. As our ship cut through the water with its hydrodynamic bough. The breathtaking landscapes of Tierra del Fuego, which we'd visited the day before us, unfolded before us. We marvelled at the sight of majestic albatrosses gliding gracefully overhead and exclaimed in delight when dolphins suddenly appeared at the front of the ship, surfing in our wake. Added to the spectacle were amazing cloud formations in the sky. What a way to start our adventure!

Meeting the captain and the staff

Briefings with our intrepid expedition leader

Eating like kings in the ship restaurant

Ok, in my defence, they weren't all mine!

Chilling at The Elephant Bar

Matt entertaining the ship with some beautiful piano playing

Getting reacquainted with the wonderful jacuzzi

Watching birds and whales from the ship

Land ahoy!

Our first sight of land emerging from the mist after our two day crossing of The Drake Passage. We hit The South Shetland Islands, a sub-antarctic island, then passing Half Moon Island on the way through the Bransfield Strait. Needless to say, there was much excitement on deck. For all intensive purposes, we were now in Antarctic territory.