Life Trove: penguins

Tanya's Diary

We’ve had another fun-filled day of activities, today! Christian, the expedition leader, wakes us up early with a gentle call over the tannoy – breakfast will be served from 7:00am. Before we know it, we’re heading to the mudroom, pulling on our muckboots, and carefully stepping into the awaiting Zodiac. We’re taken towards Hydrurga Rocks and we all fall silent in awe as we approach the rugged shoreline filled with penguins and seals. The penguins we see around us are called Chinstrap penguins – they get their name from the distinctive black line along their chin, which resembles a chinstrap. They clamber about the rocks around us, making their way in and out of the water. These are the most common penguins in the Antarctic, they are amazing swimmers and can swim up to 25km per hour.

We approach the land and climb out, careful to avoid the fighting fur seals nearby. In a small enclosure, surrounded by rocks, two fur seals approach each other and begin play fighting. They are fairly young and the fighting isn’t so serious, but it is crucial as preparation for becoming an adult in a very competitive world. Matt Iuliano of Wildhearts Creative Media sets up his recording gear and we record a short video with Pat, Aurora Expedition’s marine biologist, about the life cycle of a fur seal. With the seals providing the perfect backdrop, Gavin McCormack and Jordan C Brun also record a video about using animals as the inspiration to designing a book cover.

In the afternoon, we explore Cierva Cove on a Zodiac, taking in the wondrous and epic ice sculptures as they float on the water. Gavin McCormack and Jordan C Brun film a few more educational videos with John, the ornithologist, about the importance of sea ice, the humpback whale and orcas. Jordan C Brun spoke on landscapes, tone and colouration and we finish the day watching the sun sink into the horizon.

As an after dinner treat, Dr Karl speaks on the subject of ‘Weird Science’ and after much fun and laughter, it’s time for Team Frosty Five to rest, ahead of the voyage towards South Georgia across the Scotia Sea.

My Account

Landing at Hydrurga Rocks

Chinstrap penguins

I was thrilled by our encounter with Chinstrap penguins at Hydrurga Rocks, the third species of penguins we got to meet up close.

Here are some interesting facts about them:

Chinstrap penguins are easily identifiable by the black strap-like marking under their chins, which gives them their unique name. They have black backs, white fronts, and distinctive black faces.
They are medium-sized penguins, standing around 28 inches (72 cm) tall and weighing between 9 and 14 pounds (4-6 kg).
Chinstrap penguins are found across the Antarctic Peninsula, South Sandwich Islands, South Orkney Islands, and South Shetland Islands. They prefer rocky and ice-free shorelines for nesting.
These penguins mainly feed on krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean, but they also consume fish and squid occasionally.
Chinstrap penguins form large colonies during the breeding season, which lasts from November to March. They build nests using pebbles and stones and lay two eggs, which both parents take turns incubating.
To thrive in the harsh Antarctic environment, Chinstrap penguins have several unique adaptations, such as a layer of insulating feathers, a countercurrent heat exchange system in their wings, and the ability to store large amounts of body fat.
The main predators of Chinstrap penguins include leopard seals, orcas, and skuas. To avoid predation, these penguins have developed a tight social structure and often travel in groups.

A Chinstrap doing an ecstatic display

Seals

Lots of play fighting and frolicking on the ice

"Yes, you do have bad breath!"

Birds

Snowy Sheathbill

Skua

Gavin and Jordon doing an art lesson

Cierva Cove zodiac cruise

Beautiful icebergs sculptured by nature

I loved this arch with the iceberg behind

Leopard seal

This leopard seal was skinning a penguin it had caught by shaking it violently.

Little birds were flittering above the fray, hoping to catch some scraps.

Gentoo penguins

Swimming Gentoos

Leaping from rock to rock

Sunset from the ship

Original, single photos

Original, single photos

Tanya's Diary

Each day we awaken early to a new adventure awaiting us and a wonder within us, as we await the day’s activities. Today, planned for us, is a visit to Port Lockroy, Jougla Point and Orne Harbour.

First up, we head to the mudroom to suit up for our first outing on the Zodiac boats to cruise around the calm waters of Port Lockroy. Within the port is Goudier Island, and we make a landing there to check out the colony of penguins that live there, and some buildings and structures known as Base A.

Base A was set up in 1944 by the British, as part of an operation to survey German activities on the peninsula. Scientific staff took over the base in 1948, until 1962 when it was decommissioned and maintained as a museum, operated by the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

On Goudier Island is also Bransfield House, one of the Base A buildings, filled with relics from times past – including old food stores, ancient sealer memorabilia & paintings of early 20th century explorers.

Outside, with the backdrop of the buildings, the Gentoo penguin colony pottered around – the perfect backdrop for our next Young Art USA recording. Matt Iuliano directed Gavin McCormack and Jordan C Brun into position to begin recording as Graeme Myburgh snapped pictures from the sidelines. The penguins in the background were very cooperative in demonstrating the techniques we were attempting to convey through art – how to create caricatures from the animals around us, that they will then incorporate into later lessons on fictionalising these characters into stories. We also learned about how baby penguins shed their feathers before entering the ocean for the first time.

A little further around the corner, past the penguins, we ran across juvenile blue whale skeleton bones – remnants of the 1900s whaling past of the area, when whalers used to haul the whales onto the land to strip them of their blubber, which was used as oil for lanterns, grease for machinery, and even wax for candles. Bia, the marine biologist on board with Aurora Expeditions, showed us the eye cavity, and we filmed a lesson on the history of whaling.

And now… the time has finally arrived… it’s the polar plunge!! All through the morning, we had been buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Would it be colder than the Arctic waters of July 2022?! Yesterday we passed through many a cloud, the snow and hail softly falling on the decks, picking up with the wind. But today we’ve got beautiful, clear skies, the sun occasionally peeking through the clouds.

Over the tannoy, we get the call. Polar plunge time. We rush to ‘suit up’ in our swimwear and head down to the lower deck. Team Frosty Five cautiously step onto the mat and approach the edge, where the water laps, lining up to take the plunge together. Above us, from the sidelines of the ship, we’re cheered on, camera’s at the ready. We countdown…three…two…one…JUMP!

It’s all over in a matter of seconds and we’re scrambling back onto the mat! The shock of the cold doesn’t really register till we’re half-running towards the sauna, to thaw out our frozen toes! Antarctic plunge, done and dusted!

The afternoon’s activity took us to Orne Harbour, where we were given the opportunity to make a real continental landing! We approached the icy continent and as the Zodiac pulled up, the Upschool team felt an extreme moment of elation as we realised how fortunate we were to have this opportunity to deliver lessons across the world from one of the most remote locations on the planet. We stepped out onto the land – one of only about 400,000 people to do so.

In Orne Harbour cruising around we did a lesson on how warm and cool colours are incorporated in art, under a cliff filled with shags – the birds that help guide sailors towards land, because they are never more than 50km from shore. We also recorded a lesson with Jeff, the historian, on bubble net feeding techniques of humpback whales.

When we got back to the ship, we were greeted with the smell of a delicious BBQ, enticing us up onto the level 8 deck, where we enjoyed a beautiful evening of food, fun and festivities. Beautiful moments surrounded us as we enjoyed our BBQ, with humpback whales joining us alongside the ship to enjoy their own feed; we witnessed the beauty and magic of the bubble net feeding technique, that we had just learned from Jeff! It was such an amazing sight to behold and we can hardly wait to see what tomorrow will bring.