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| Gentoo penguins cruising the rocky beach |
Thursday, November 16 - Mikkelson Harbor, Antarctic Peninsula
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| You can see the gentoo penguin colony at the top of this island in Mikkelson Harbor |
This afternoon, we moved to the southern end of Trinity Island where there is an arching bay at the end of the island called Mikelsson Harbor. There is a small island in the middle of the bay with a large colony of gentoo penguins and a good Zodiac landing site. We also will be able to go kayaking in the bay depending upon the wind and ice conditions.
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| Out for a stroll with the penguins, and a sleepy seal, laying on the snow over Michael's shoulder |
In the afternoon, we had two options for excursions. We would visit the gentoo penguin colony, and would be able to kayak in Mikkelson Harbor as well. First, we took a Zodiac ride and landed on the island to visit the penguins. We climbed a short, snow covered hill to reach the colony. There was a small, abandoned rescue hut on the island. At the landing site, close to the beginning of our climb were 2 Weddell seals, sleeping peacefully. We asked MacDuff, our Nat Geo photographer to take some pics of me and Michael - one of them is posted above We didn’t have a lot of time at the colony, because the second half of our afternoon was for kayaking, and we wanted to maximize that opportunity.
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| Sleepy Weddell seal |
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| Abandoned research station on the island |
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| Gentoos are recognized by the white patch of feathers above their eyes |
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