After spending a beautiful evening anchored right outside Port Lockroy, National Geographic Orion came back to life the next morning in calm, but overcast, conditions. Just before breakfast the ladies who are stationed at Port Lockroy came aboard to join us for a leisurely breakfast, and give a brief introduction to Base A and its history. By the end of the briefing it was time to start the morning operations with a split landing, which sent about half the guest to Base A, and the other half to Jougla Point. Slowly the groups were switched from one site to the other so everyone would have a chance to have enough time at both landing sites!
Port Lockroy, or Base A, is a historic site for the British presence in the Antarctic Peninsula region, as well as an opportunity to do a little shopping for souvenirs, or a place to mail off letters and postcards from an Antarctic station. Over the years however, the small island that the base is located on has become a breeding colony for gentoo penguins, with nesting birds around, and under the main building itself. It is also a place to have the opportunity to have your passport stamped with an Antarctic registration!
Jougla Point is just a stone’s throw away from Base A, but does not have any buildings on it, and is more about the wildlife, and spectacular scenery surrounding the area. More nesting gentoo penguins, a Weddell seal or two, a collection of old whale bones from the past whaling activities, but the one unique feature of this landing is the opportunity to see the Antarctic, or blue-eyed shags that nest here in a small colony mixed in with nesting gentoos! It’s more than likely the only chance we will have to get a close look at these incredible birds, who are in the cormorant family, and the only representative of this group in Antarctica.
Finally, it was time to head back to the ship and start our “Journey of Adventure” south, hopefully below the Antarctic Circle, a place that very few ships visit, and maybe none yet this season! It will be a day of exploring in ice, looking for wildlife, and taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. It’s incredibly exciting not knowing—even the captain, staff, and crew—what we may find along the way!
