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With the decision to take a more southerly track we woke this morning to some glimpses of sunshine with icebergs of all shapes and sizes on the horizon; from tabletops to pyramids to cathedrals. It is an amazing site with the most counted so far being more than 60 bergs within a 6 nautical mile radius of the ship. This was within a two hour watch of the iceberg observation program. Needless to say the cameras have been busy and few shots of the odd Adelie penguin have also been taken. For the seasoned Antarctic traveller, there were signs last night that today might bring a change in scenery with the crew watching out for ‘growlers’. These are small mostly submerged pieces of icebergs that are much more blue than the green-hued sea-ice, and their mass and hardness have the potential to damage the hull of the ship. Hence a close watch is kept overnight on the ship’s radar and lookout from the bridge. On the social front, the darts competition is hotting up while the number of people still ‘alive’ in the Murder game is diminishing. The movie-watching also continues. There has been a diverse selection this voyage ranging from pure entertainment to more thought-provoking films such as ‘Home’ - a free download from the web about the impact humans are having on the natural world and some of the technologies that could help break the nexus between global population growth and our impact on the environment. Awesome aerial photography and a reminder to everyone of the privilege it is to be going to Antarctica. We are currently making good passage heading towards an optimal location to undertake the sea-ice research project and expect to arrive there later today.
REGARDS: Karin, Sharon & Lance
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.