Tuesday, 10 February 2026

Day 19 Monday 9 February Paulet Island Antarctica

Our ship was originally scheduled to go to Tay Head, but due to weather conditions, we ended up at Paulet Island.  Named after a Captain in the Royal Navy.  This small island is part of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group.  The island is made of lava flows, and there is a cinder cone with a small crater summit.  Geothermal activity keeps part of the island ice free.  The island supports a very large colony of Adelie penguins.

It was an action-packed day with a Special Operations Boat voyage in the morning, and a zodiac trip in the afternoon.  
What did we see?  Penguins, penguins and more penguins.


               First sight of Paulet Island

     
                Viking Octantis near Paulet Island 


                Lots of interesting ice formations 


               Penguins riding the ice floes 


              Thousands of noisy Adelie penguins along the shoreline




             
Weddell seal asleep on an ice floe.  Which end is up ?  (Head is on the right.)



                                Adelie penguins



               Very cold in the zodiacs (minus 4 degrees C, and then the wind chill factor)






No comments:

Post a Comment