Antarctica Things to Do Tips by MikeAtSea

The area south of South America and north of Antarctica where the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean are meeting is called the Drake Passage. It is one of the stormiest and roughest sea stretches on earth. It is also called the Drake Shake... no explanation needed - or the Drake Lake... and this is how I experienced the roughest stretch on earth.... calm as a lake. Well let me hope the way back is as calm.

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Travelling south in the Drake Passage it was only shortly before arriving to Elephant Island that we saw our first ice berg – though the first sighting of Antarctic ice was exciting for everyone – even though it was such a tiny piece 

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Elephant Island is part of the South Shetland Island. This is the notorious and desolated place where 22 of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s men were stranded for 135 days after their ship the Endurance was crushed in the ice of Antarctica.

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In comparison to the South Georgia Islands where I had been the previous week one thing is striking as one sees the first bit of land of the Antarctic mainland. No Green – no grass, no mosses, no bushes… it is all rock and ice!

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At Point Wild is where the 22 men of the crushed Endurance waited for rescue. Frank Wild was the man left in charge of the group of men whilst Shackleton took on the enduring voyage to drum up rescue on the South Georgia Islands. The voyage from here to get help was already a miracle since the voyage of 1290 kilometers to South Georgia was done in a lifeboat named James Caird. The vessel Yelcho picked up the remaining men on August 30, 1916. With binoculars one can make out a statue on the side of the beach to honour the Captain of the Yelcho.

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Here on can get the first glimpse of what one could expect in Antarctica. One is still 540 km away from the Antarctic Peninsula separated by the Bransfield Strait. Frequent glacier calvings and avalanches can be seen here.

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I just had to add this picture here since it displays how massive and huge these glaciers actually are. If you look at the photograph you can see a zodiac collecting ice just below, one really has to look hard to make out the zodiac with the towering glacier above!

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As huge pieces of ice tumble down from the glacier creating huge waves, the ice breaks up into smaller pieces. Ice water covers the sea right below the glaciers, though here the water temperature was a "sizzling" 1 degree hence the ice starts to melt. In between one can see penguins and seals swimming around.

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Crystal clean blue water, just above freezing point, as we are heading towards Elephant Island the sea comes alive and seals hurry away from the bow of the ship.

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Slicing though the ice cold crystal blue water like torpedoes were hundreds of penguins. Chinstrap Penguins that are at home in large colonies on the Antarctic mainland. Returning from their hunt to feed their young or simply to rest back in their colonies. And as they swam alongside the ship it was astonishing with what speed they followed us.

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