Peterman Island has some of the most beautiful scenery we saw in the Antarctic. Beautiful rocky peaks covered with snow, multifaceted rock outcroppings, colorful layers of ice and snow, melt water streams and pools, freeform shaped icebergs, and, of course, penguin rookeries.
We wandered over the snow and through the rocks in order to get closer to the penguin colony.
Like most penguins, Gentoos return not only to the same colony, but also to the same nest each year. In addition, since penguin vocalizations are unique and easily identified by other penguins, individuals can easily find their mate or their chicks in the crowd.
Adelie penguins live the farthest south of all the penguins and can be easily identified by the white ring around their eye.
Although they live most of the year on the pack ice, they need to return to land in order to breed. While swimming in the ocean, the Adelie can build up enough speed to jump almost ten feet out of the water in order to land on an ice floe.
This video shows some male Adelie penguins attempting to attract a mate by engaging in a courtship display.
Penguins have short, tough, webbed feet that are perfect for propelling them through the water. They also have sharp nails that help them grab onto rocks or dig into the snow when walking on land.
It is not unusual to see penguin "highways" in the snow on frequently used pathways, especially between the colony and the ocean.
The Shag rookery on Petermann Island is right next to the Gentoo and Adelie nests. None of these birds seems to be concerned about the proximity of the others, although the presence of predatory Skuas or gulls is worrisome if the chicks are very young or if there are eggs present.
It is interesting to note that shag chicks are the only birds born in Antarctica that are not born with a protective coat of down feathers to keep them warm.
A former British base at Port Lockroy has been made into a post office, museum, and souvenir shop. Half of the island is opened to tourists and the other half is reserved for penguins.
When we arrived off the coast near Port Lockroy, the winds had picked up and were blowing at about 45 knots, which is nearly 52 mph. While it was considered unsafe for us to ride the zodiacs to the port, a couple of crewmen did take one boat over to drop off a sack of mail. Guess it's true when that say that nothing prevents the mail from going through.
As we departed from Port Lockroy, we continued down the beautiful sixteen mile long Neumayer Channel. The channel had majestic cliffs and lots of icebergs that looked like hand carved sculptures.
After dinner, we sailed into Dallmann Bay to see if we could find some whales. The long shallow ice shelf in this area is known to be a great habitat of juvenile fish, so it often attracts whales that want to feed on those small fish.
Beautiful rock and ice cliffs and numerous glaciers surround the Bay and the scenery was enjoyable as we searched for whales.
