[ivory-search id=”2759″ title=”Search my Work”]
A large male Type C Orca checking out the ice edge. We had sailed from the Ross Ice shelf into McMurdo Sound. We visited the historic huts of Scott and Shackleton (outstanding experience!) and then headed to the ice channel created by the icebreaker Polar Star to...
We arrived in the early morning getting our first glimpse of Ross Island and Mount Terror and soon after the ice shelf could be seen. This was named “The barrier” by the early Antarctic explorers since it represented an impenetrable barrier to their progress. The ice...
Antarctic Minke Whales. As we sailed along the Ross Ice Shelf we spotted the distant blows of Antarctic Minke Whales feeding just in front of the ice cliff. As we approached we realised there were about 30 of these animals and they were feeding on the upwelling of...
As we rounded Cape Bird en route to Cape Royd (Shackleton’s hut) and Cape Evans (Scott’s hut) with its large Adelie Penguin colony, we ran into some dense pack ice. The Captain took the Spirit of Enderby gently and skillfully through the ice. We enjoyed the...
Crabeater Seals lounging on the pack ice. After sailing south for four days, we arrived off Cape Adare early in the morning. The sea was calm and the sun was shining. The ship was surrounded by ice bergs glistening in the bright sunshine. The peaks of Antarctica were...
Numerous Adelie Penguins occupied the ice floes: everyone’s idea of the archetypal penguin. After sailing south from Macquarie Island for four days, we arrived off Cape Adare early in the morning. The sea was calm and the sun was shining. The ship was surrounded by...
After sailing south from Macquarie Island for four days, we arrived off Cape Adare early in the morning. The sea was calm and the sun was shining. The ship was surrounded by ice bergs glistening in the bright sunshine. The peaks of Antarctica were visible ahead of us....
Sailing south from The Auckland Islands we were heading to one of the jewels of the Subantarctic Islands: Macquarie Island. Australia’s Macquarie Island is home to a wealth of wildlife which is now flourishing since the eradication of introduced species like rabbits,...
Sailing south from The Auckland Islands we were heading to one of the jewels of the Subantarctic Islands: Macquarie Island. Australia’s Macquarie Island is home to a wealth of wildlife which is now flourishing since the eradication of induced species like rabbits,...
Sailing south from The Auckland Islands we were heading to one of the jewels of the Sub Antarctic Islands: Macquarie Island. Australia’s Macquarie Island is home to a wealth of wildlife which is now flourishing since the eradication of induced species like rabbits,...
We had sailed from Bluff on the south coast of New Zealand’s South Island heading towards the Subantarctic Islands. Enderby Island is one of the northerly islands of the Auckland Islands. This archipelago was formed from two volcanoes and the remains of the calderas...
We had sailed from Bluff on the south coast of New Zealand’s South Island heading towards the Subantarctic Islands. Enderby Island is one of the northerly islands of the Auckland Islands. This archipelago was formed from two volcanoes and the remains of the calderas...
We had sailed from Bluff on the south coast of New Zealand’s South Island heading towards the Sub Antarctic Islands. Enderby Island is one of the northerly islands of the Auckland Islands. This archipelago was formed from two volcanoes and the remains of the calderas...
The Antarctic Petrel is often gregarious and will form large flocks. They are often seen near the pack ice and icebergs. They have a wing span of abut 1m and weigh 675g. Performs distinctive stiff winged glides.
Gibson’s Albatross weigh up to 11kg and a wing span approaching 3m. There is a huge scientific debate about the genetic relationships between all the Great Albatrosses. In any case they are very difficult to identify!!
These birds have a wig span of 3-3.5m and weigh in at a impressive 6-10kg. They stand 1-1.2m tall. Whilst Enderby Island has a small breeding population, it is Campbell Island that has the majority of breeding pairs: perhaps up to 8600 pairs. They form life-long pair...
This unmistakable, pigeon sized bird has distinctive markings. A very manoeuvrable flyer has stiff and shallow wing beats followed by short glides. They are well known to follow ships.
The vast majority of these birds breed on the Auckland Islands but they will disperse into the Southern Ocean towards the west coast of South America. They are easily confused with the Shy Albatross and young Savin’s Albatross. It ahs a wing span of 2.2-2.5m and...
One of the small albatrosses, breeding is mostly restricted to Campbell Island but they disperse widely in the non-breeding season. They have a wing span of around 2m and weigh in at up to 3.8kg. They are very similar to the Black-browed Albatross. Remarkably little...
These stocky little birds have a wingspan of about 75-95cm and are very similar to the Lesser Snow Petrel. That feed mostly on fish, crustacea and cephalopods by surface diving, surface seizing and contact dipping. They are monogamous and form long-term pair-bonds.
Salvin’s Albatross are medium-sized albatross. They weigh in at 3.3-4.4 kg and have a wing span of about 2.5m.
With a weight of up to 5kg and a wingspan of 1.5-2m Northern Giant Petrels are albatross-sized birds. They can be either predators or scavengers. This bird can be solitary of found in small groups. It is monogamous and forms longterm pair-bonds
The South Polar Skua is large gull-like Skua with very striking white primary flashes. They would glide effortlessly around the ship.
Bubblenet feeding Humpback Whales. As we approached the end of our trip, we called in at Klemtu to take on more water. As we approached the dock, to our amazement we found two Humpback Whales bubblenet feeding. The water was flat calm so it was easy to spot the...
The sight and sound of Humpback Whales. We had anchored for the night in Scow Bay just off Klekane having encountered probably more than 100 Humpback Whales as we did so. The follow morning as we left the bay, our small boat was surrounded by these massive and...
Triplet Polar Bear yearlings. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We had the most...
Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We had the most amazing encounters. We first...
These graceful rays were filmed with a GoPro from a small boat and then our guide dived with the rays taking the GoPro with him. In 2014, Indonesia brought in a fishing and export ban as it realised that Manta Ray tourism was more economically beneficial than allowing...
Our almost annual trip to Baja is a highlight of our year. Here is a compilation of some of the highlights from 2017
These molting Northern Elephant Seals looked very messy indeed.