This morning we arrived at Petermann Island, the weather was calm and a little overcast, but the perfect conditions and light for the photographers amongst us. 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. We are incredibly lucky to have seen so many young chicks, and many penguins still sitting on eggs.
This afternoon we had our second landing of the day at Pleneau Island, also home to a very large Gentoo penguin colony. The sun came out for our visit, so we summited the nearby hillside for some amazing panoramic views, and the incredible sight of an iceberg graveyard. Many of us also took the opportunity to take a Zodiac cruise within the iceberg graveyard, where we were treated to massive pieces of ice, some of which had magnificent arches; lots of porpoising penguins; elephant seals molting on shore, Weddell seals laying out on the snow, and even a huge female leopard seal snoozing on a small chunk of floating ice.
Not to end it there, this evening we transited through the Lemaire Channel alongside our sister ship the National Geographic Resolution. The light across the landscape was spectacular. What a way to end the day!
