With the weather last night as calm as it was probably going to get at this place and deemed too dangerous to land we jumped again in the zodiacs. A wind shift resulted in ice flows (mixture of pack ice and greasy ice) coming around Cape Adare and into the Bay. It was quite a spectacular zodiac as we weaved amongst this ice to see the wildlife.
There were several penguins on an ice before out of no where a pod of orcas showed up. Heading West they were on a mission travelling down the coast but I saw them surface a few times right near the boat. As we came up to the thick wall of pack ice a leopard seal jumped from the water onto a piece of ice where it grabbed an adelie penguin. The penguin was frantically trying to get away but this prehistoric looking dinosaur dragged it under water and played with it. There was another leopard seal nearby that took a penguin in its mouth and ripped it to bits on the surface of the water making a bloody mess. It was great to see the leopard seals do what they do.
The wind shifted again and the pack ice created a big wall coming southwards towards the boat so we navigated through the grease ice back to the boat. There would have been a few dents on the prop as we hit a piece of ice every few metres. This was divinely extreme zodiacing and great fun.
It was a little sad when the anchor was pulled up and we set sail for the 5 days to Campbell Island. Antarctica has been unbelievable with once in a lifetime encounters with wildlife, a range of exciting stops and a chance to see this last untouched continent really worth protecting. While having not completely achieved my goals down here I will take this trip as a taster and try everything I can to get back on the big white continent further in my lifetime.
Nathan said at the start of the trip once this place gets in your blood its hard to stay away and now I know what we means.
I sat on deck as we passed through iceberg alley as I watched Cape Adare disappear into the distance.
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