Danco Island & Paradise Harbour
Day Four - Antarctica - 2022
Morning first landing on Antarctica, followed by a beautiful afternoon scenic cruise … until the snow showed up.
Editor’s Comment: This travelogue, unlike the rest on this site, doesn’t dive much into the logistics, planning, and execution of the tour itself; this topic was so expansive I covered it in a separate page, About Ocean Endeavour & Sailing with Intrepid Travel / Chimu Adventures on the Best of Antarctica, which I highly encourage you read as a companion piece to this one.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
1. Early Morning ice #1
Giddy as a schoolchild (Do cool people still say that? Yes, of course they do - it’s the children who are out of touch), I took my travel companions up on the opportunity to walk the decks early on the morning of the fourth day. The clouds were swirling blues and purples, and the water in cove was only disturbed by slowly moving ice floes and the wake of the ship. The scenery was absolutely, positively stunning and I sincerely hope these pictures do it justice.
Two more ice floe photographs follow.
2. Early Morning Ice #2
3. Early Morning Ice #3
4. Exiting the Ocean Endeavour
After breakfast and a quick update meeting, the time had arrived. We were going to board the zodiacs and take our first steps on Antarctica!
Our target for the morning’s activity was Danco Island, a small, well, island off the Antarctic peninsula and home to a newly-arrived penguin colony.
I’ve included the video below, which covers our preparations in the mudroom, the boarding of the zodiac boat, and our arrival on Danco Island.
Editor’s Comment: Please ensure the video is playing back at the highest available resolution for the best experience.
5. Small Boats, Big Ship
The waters surrounding Danco Island were still and the zodiac cruise was a pleasant experience!
6. Danco Island Ice #1
In the background is Danco Island, and you can see fellow travelers walking up the hill to visit the penguin colony.
I discuss this in more detail in my companion article about Antarctic travel, but regulations only allow for 100 passengers ashore at a site at any one time. So my half of the ship had a scenic cruise around the island before swapping places with those on land. This gave us the chance to see some of Danco’s magnificent ice floes.
Three ice photographs follow.
7. Danco Island Ice #2
8. Danco Island Ice #3
9. Danco Island Ice #4
10. Danco Island Penguins #1
We were also able to get up to the water’s edge to see the gentoo penguins from the colony jump down to the waterline.
11. Danco Island Penguins #2
This little guy thought about it too long, and our zodiac had moved on before he decided he’d go for a swim!
12. We’ve Landed!
Danco Island is named for Belgian geophysicist, a member of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition who died when his ship became stuck in pack ice.
Soon enough, it was our turn to step foot on the continent. We were given the opportunity to walk up to the gentoo penguin colony as the other group had. As we moved up the hill, snow started to fall to give us the true Antarctica experience. It was lovely!
The gentoos were funny little creatures to watch, and I enjoyed the time we had there tremendously (even if the snow completely covered my eyeglasses, which I quickly jettisoned!)
Six more gentoo penguin photographs follow, including one of my favorite photographs of all-time (you’ll know the one!)
13. Danco Island Penguins #3
14. Danco Island Penguins #4
15. Danco Island Penguins #5
16. Danco Island Penguins #6
17. Danco Island Penguins #7
18. Danco Island Penguins #8
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Now back to the travelogue!
19. Lemaire Island Ice #1
Stepping back onto the Ocean Endeavour, I was fully able to take in what had just happened - we just stepped foot on Antarctica! For many, this was their seventh continent (even if they saved their celebration for the mainland); while this wasn’t true for me (Australia still called), it was all the same the realization of a lifelong dream. I felt -and still feel- incredibly fortunate to have been able to take this journey, but it wouldn’t be until our trip back that I’d really have time to fully explore these emotions (#spoilers).
After the cruise, I snuck back out onto the viewing deck to catch some more views of the ice as the ship effortlessly glided along past Lemaire Island.
Four more ice photographs from around Lemaire Island follow.
20. Lemaire Island Ice #2
21. Lemaire Island Ice #3
22. Lemaire Island Ice #4
23. Lemaire Island Ice #5
24. The Bird of Good Omen
This little guy stopped by during my photography session to say hello.
Soon enough, it was time for lunch and another zodiac cruise. This time, we were off to Paradise Harbour. No landing this time, just a scenic tour, but magnificent all the same. As before, I took a video of the adventure … while a bit shorter than the one from Danco Island, it is 360-degree so you can take in all the sights and sounds.
Editor’s Comment: Please ensure the video is playing back at the highest available resolution for the best experience.
25. Paradise Harbour Chinstrip Penguin #1
Chinstrap penguins may well be the most abundant type of penguin with over 7.5 million breeding pairs.
Quickly, we came upon this lone chinstrap penguin resting on a small floe of ice. I was a big fan of this guy, nothing really seemed to bother him.
Three more photographs of the chinstrap penguin follow.
26. Paradise Harbour Chinstrip Penguin #2
27. Paradise Harbour Chinstrip Penguin #3
28. Paradise Harbour Chinstrip Penguin #4
29. Paradise Harbour Cruising #1
There were a few extraordinary circumstances about our voyage to Antarctica: the first, as discussed, was the unseasonable abundance of whale life we saw on the Drake Passage; second, the incredible depth of the snow on land; and, third, the amount of floating ice was much greater than expected. While it made landings way, way more unlikely (you certainly can make landfall at Paradise Harbour in these conditions), you can’t say it isn’t pretty.
A few more Paradise Harbour photographs follow for which words are unsatisfactory.
30. Paradise Harbour Cruising #2
31. Paradise Harbour Cruising #3
32. Paradise Harbour Cruising #4
33. Paradise Harbour Cruising #5
34. Paradise Harbour Cruising #6
35. Paradise Harbour Cruising #7
36. Paradise Harbour Cruising #8
37. Paradise Harbour Cruising #9
38. Paradise Harbour Cruising #10
Brown Station is one of thirteen Argentine research stations on Antarctica; its original facilities were burned down by the station’s doctor in 1984 after he was instructed to overwinter. That’s one way to get out of work!
39. Paradise Harbour Cruising #11
Within a matter of minutes, the weather went from crystal clear to a near-whiteout snowstorm with tremendous wind. Just goes to show how unpredictable Antarctica can be!
40. Paradise Harbour Cruising #12
We attempted to make our way back to the ship, but the weather deteriorated so quickly that we couldn’t even spot the damned thing. Thankfully, our zodiac driver knew exactly where to head and we were soon onboard … but not before one last picture in the weather!
Several folks (myself included) were signed up for the overnight camping experience. Upon return to the ship, we were told (to no one’s surprise) that this activity was not going to happen because of the deteriorating weather and the inability to make landfall at Paradise Harbour. Shame, but Antarctica is unpredictable. Instead, I ordered a bucket of beer and talked about the day’s events with my travel companions before heading to sleep.
