Cape Adare: Leaving With Wonderful Memories

Sunday, 1 February  2015 (Part V)
In the Ice — Ross Sea
Current Position: 71°12’ S / 170°20’ E

Back on the ship after our scenic flight from Cape Adare (post here), Mui and I stayed outdoors to continue enjoying the marvelous day on the Bridge Deck.

As our chopper returns to shore to give another batch of passengers
a thrill ride, we stop to take a “postcard” to remember this time and place.

The sun kept us warm; and Captain Ernesto entertained us by pushing through thick ice.  Fellow-passengers came and went, but for the most part we had the deck to ourselves.  It was quiet enough to hear the popcorn-crackling of the brash ice surrounding the ship.  Could it be anymore perfect?

Tucked up against the ship, the gangway looks quite forlorn.

Unless there is a surprise landing tomorrow, it will be several days before
we have to put our footwear through the decontamination process again.

Air operations were to have ended and the choppers secured by 8:00p, but that didn’t happen.  Some said it was because only two helicopters were shuttling passengers back to the ship; some said it was because a couple of passengers ashore had pulled a disappearing act to maximize their time on land.  Whatever the reason, we didn’t really care except for the inconvenience the delay caused the hotel and galley staff as they had to keep postponing dinner, which was finally served at 8:30p.

The last chopper heads off to bring back the team that stayed behind to lock up the hut.

Shipmate Didier, with whom we have been enjoying many a meal on this voyage.

Reflection fun!

Chatting with Captain Ernesto about the pleasures of today.

After dinner, we were invited back up to the Bridge Deck to enjoy dessert — and a surprise.  The latter turned out to be an ice cream social, with mulled wine to take the chill off.  A lovely end to a fantastic day.

Even as the ice cream social was wrapping up, the ship was heading north.  Time to leave this wondrous place behind.  We stayed on deck for a while to enjoy the summer ice wonderland, but as time passed bit by bit — and the breeze picked up — the chill drove us inside and to our warm beds.

We shouldn’t be smiling; after all, we’re leaving the region.  But how can we not
do so in the face of such wondrous scenery on such a beautiful day?

At this moment, I have no idea what we will be doing tomorrow, let alone in the days ahead.  I do know that Don will try to take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves, but everything will depend on the ice that we have to get through to make our arrival date in Bluff on 10 February.  Can’t worry about it … que sera sera … what will be will be.

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Plog: Cape Adare … Heli Flightseeing

Sunday, 1 February  2015 (Part IV)
In the Ice — Ross Sea
Current Position: 71°12’ S / 170°20’ E

After our visit with the Adélies was up (post here), we boarded a chopper for the flightseeing portion of our day.

Aldo gave us an amazing ride, flying over tabulars frozen in the sea ice; landing on one such tabular; flying us over and around Ortelius; and landing on an ice floe for a different perspective of the ship in the sea ice.

Our choppermates are already seated; Mui’s next, heading to the seat behind the pilot; I’m not far behind.

As a crewman helps us buckle up, German Su immortalizes the moment ;-)

Our flightseeing over the Ross Ice Shelf when we first arrived in the Ross Sea Region was spectacular … and ranks as a wonderful, not-to-be-forgotten-soon experience.  So does this last aerial opportunity to see the icescape of the region before we leave the continent behind.  WOW!  WOW!  WOW!

Plog: Cape Adare … The World’s Largest Adélie Penguin Colony

Sunday, 1 February  2015 (Part III)
In the Ice — Ross Sea
Current Position: 71°12’ S / 170°20’ E

After visiting Borchgrevink’s Hut (post here) on Cape Adare, our landing was far from over.  We were at the world’s largest Adélie penguin colony, and we were going to walk amongst the thousands of penguins that remained ashore even though it was well past the breeding season and most of them had already dispersed to go foraging.

To and fro … to and fro the Adélies go along the penguin highway from their nests to the sea and back … again and again they go.

Cape Adare: Borchgrevink’s Camp Ridley Hut

Sunday, 1 February  2015 (Part II)
In the Ice — Ross Sea
Current Position: 71°12’ S / 170°20’ E

[If you missed it, the story of our day at Adare Peninsula starts with the previous post.]

We had a wonderfully calm day for our helicopter landing at Cape Adare — blue skies, comfortable temperatures, no wind to speak of.  Just an incredible day.  Certainly nothing like the blizzard that caused operations to be cancelled in 2013 — the last time Ortelius was here.  And that was after the expedition team had already landed to open up the hut.

Admiralty Mountains are the only high point on the otherwise flat Cape Adare.
The Adélies follow a “penguin highway” along the pond to get from their nests to the sea.

Cape Adare: Before the Landing …

Sunday, 1 February  2015 (Part I)
In the Ice — Ross Sea
Current Position: 71°12’ S / 170°20’ E
Temps: 34F (1C) @ 7:30a (UTC +12)
Distance Since Ushuaia: 4,593 NM (5,285 miles / 8,506 km)

Computers of the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh only 1.5 tons.
Popular Mechanics Magazine, March 1949

Ortelius was moving slowly along the Adare Peninsula when Don made his wake up call at 7:30a.  Huh?  What happened to Cape Hallet?  Well, turns out heavy, multi-year ice kept us more than 12 nautical miles (14 miles/22 km) offshore.  The wind wasn’t too friendly either, so the decision was made in the wee hours of the morning to try our luck further north at Cape Adare instead.

  Expedition Day 24 … early plans are a bust; but the rest of the day is spectacular.