It was a perfect day, −16.9°C, sun shining high in the sky and the wind blowing 3–4 knots, if that. So Dan and I thought we would take full advantage of such conditions and take a quad trip up the magnificent coastline to Low Tongue.
With our GPS locked on, and gear packed, we were away and headed off. It was not long until we were forced to stop as we came across the first beautiful Adélie penguin for the year.
It was just having a casual break out on the sea ice near the Rookery Islands. We ventured further up the coast before we just had to stop and admire the amazing Forbes Glacier, which was spectacular — and just one of the many local treasures that is a pleasure to visit when the weather is playing nice. We continued up the coast and stopped a few times to prove the sea ice by drilling it and were met by a beautiful lone emperor penguin just cruising the coast as well, awesome.
We reached Low Tongue, had lunch and with the conditions still the same (so lucky) went for a walk around and I found some penguin tracks. I needed to investigate further. I thought I would go to the highest point to get a better look and as I neared the top, lo and behold two Adélie penguins were already up there starting on their nest.
Eager to please their incoming partners, these guys went straight for the penthouse suite, and why not, the view was amazing and a large amount of pebbles and small rocks were already there in abundance and would make their life easier. Smart little guys.
The time had come for us to make a move and we headed for station, back down the coast stopping along the way to admire the coastline and cliffs in the sunlight and a few female Weddell seals that would soon be giving birth to pups (none yet so far).
We arrived back on station with a big smile on our faces.
We both knew that we had been treated to a special day in an amazing part of the world and it is just one of the vast amounts of rewards for living and working in Antarctica.
Benny
