email
Antarctic Peninsula: Greenwich Island

Antarctica: Greenwich Island, Drake Passage
February 2024

Greenwich Island The Drake Passage
Gentoo and CHinstrap Penguins, Greenwich Island

 

Some beautiful glacial landscapes on Greenwich Island, Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins on our final excursion before returning, via the notorious Drake Channel, to South America.

Greenwich Island

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island

 

After visiting Deception Island, we set out for Greenwich Island a little to the north. Both of these are part of the South Shetland Islands, just off the Antarctic Peninsula.

Greenwich is home to large colonies of penguins. The Zodiacs landed first at Fort Point, a great rocky landscape and a spit of land with many Gentoo Penguins, fur seals and a few Chinstrap penguins.

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Chinstrap Penguins
Chinstrap Penguin
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Gentoo Penguins
A Gentoo chick.
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Genott Penguins
Gentoo chick feeding.
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Fort Point
Fort Point
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Fur Seals
Fur Seals
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Gentoo Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Fort Point
Fort Point
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Chinstrap Penguins
Chinstrap Penguin

 

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island

 

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Fort Point
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island


Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island

After walking amongst the penguins and seals we got back in the Zodiacs and headed around the coast to Hardy Cove which is separated from Fort Point by a beautiful glacier.

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island
Glacier separating Fort Point from Hardy Cove.
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove
Hardy Cove

 

 

 

Hardy Cove is backed by a snow-covered glacier - we heard several booming noises of avalanches, out of sight.

The landing at Hardy Cove is on a beach covered with large, rounded cobbles, quite difficult to walk on.

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove

 

 

 

We made our way across the to the seaward side and a beautiful landscape of a blue-tinged glacier reaching down to the grey cobble beach.

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove

 

 

 

 

There were Adelie and Chinstrap Penguins and seals here too, but it was much more about the landscape.

 

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove

 

 

 

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove
Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the ship and all congregated on deck to toast Antarctica as it was our final night here before heading north for the Drake Passage.

Antarctic Peninsula Greenwich Island Hardy Cove

The Drake Passage

Drake Passage
Calm seas at the start of our crossing.

 

The next two days were spent crossing the notorious Drake Passage but it was forecast not to be too bad with only 3.5m swells.

Drake Passage

The first night the swells were actually around 4m and it became quite turbulent.

Drake Passage
Approaching South America and Cape Horn.
Drake Passage
Our position off Cape Horn.

Cape Horn is the southernmost point of South America, on Isla Hornos.

Cape Horn Drake Passage
Cape Horn Drake Passage
The southernmost point of Isla Hornos, Cape Horn.

We had made good time and seas were calm. Our ship was given permission to approach within 3.5 nautical miles of Cape Horn.

Isla Hornos lighthouse
Lighthouse and weather station on Isla Hornos.
Isla Hornos lighthouse
Final shot of a black-browed albatross.

 

We then moved off, heading for the Beagle Channel.

That night, our final one on board, we had Captain's Farewell Cocktails and an auction in support of Penguin Watch and the South Georgia Heritage Trust, which looks after the buildings etc. on South Georgia, including the manager's house where Shackleton arrived after his incredible journey and had his first bath! I made a successful bid for a Penguin Watch T-shirt, tote, literature and a glass engraving of penguins! The ship's Antarctica flag went for $3,000!

Quark Ocean Adventurer
Courtesy of Keith Thompson, photographer with Quark Expeditions.