Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Chinstraps at Half Moon Bay

Our final stop in the South Shetland Islands was at Half Moon Bay, home to a large colony of Chinstrap penguins. It had been so windy that we had given up hope of a final landing but it appears that our captain is special and he manages to find a little protection for us.
We are greeted not only by penguins but a group of fur seals.
This is the remains of a life boat that was used to bring early tourists ashore.

Lots of Chinstraps.They are very inquisitive and if you stand still they come over to you.
At the top of the hill there are still lots of penguins
Why was the beach pink? Why is the rock pink? The Chinstraps eat krill just like little pink prawns. Why did we get pink waterproof pants?
A pink hill with penguins.
Does this mean that the pink salt fields around Lake Eyre and the Murray River flats were once home to lots of penguins?

We sailed for Ushuaia. It was just as rough as our trip across but we were fine...or at least better! Only one window was broken by the seas last night! We had a cocktail party, Captains dinner (not formal) lots of lectures and sleep and reading.

We had made some great friends and as we farewelled some in a coffee shop we sighted these penguins. They must have come up with us on a cake tray!

Antarctica..Our seventh continent. We had kept a special place for last.





1 comment:

Elizabeth Burns said...

Hi Gail & Rob, We have browsed through much of your Blog, and enjoyed reminiscing our Antarctic experience. Welcome back to Australia! You will be busy planning your next trip I imagine. We are still stuck in Ushuaia, can you imagine, with clutch problems. Actually, it is Customs problems. The clutch has been there for a month!! Bureaucratic nonsense. Lucky you can travel by "tour"!!
Was great to meet you, and hope we catch up one day in Australia!
REgards, Elizabeth & John