We arrived at Petermann Island this morning, and the weather had definitely taken a little turn. A brisk wind and a mixture of rain, hail, sleet, and snow greeted us as we embarked on our Zodiacs, passing through icebergs on the way to our first landing of the day. Petermann Island is home to a huge Gentoo penguin colony, and here we witnessed some of the amazing nesting behaviors displayed by these tough little penguins. Finally! The snow and wind gave us a real taste of what our feathered friends face in this extreme environment.
This afternoon, we made our second landing of the day at Pleneau Island, also home to a very large Gentoo penguin colony. Happily, the weather improved greatly, allowing us to summit the nearby hillside for some fantastic panoramic views, including the incredible sight of an iceberg graveyard. Many of us took the opportunity to take a Zodiac cruise within this iceberg graveyard, where we were treated to views of massive pieces of ice, porpoising penguins, elephant seals, and even a huge leopard seal snoozing on a small chunk of floating ice.
This evening, we transited through the Lemaire Channel, an unforgettable cruise!
