ANTARCTICA: Neko Harbor

At Neko Harbor the Gentoo Penguins came out to greet us, swimming and porpoising around our zodiac and along the shoreline. Fun to watch, they were a challenge to photograph!

While on shore, the crackling explosions of the huge glacier descending upon the bay kept us alert. We were warned of large waves that could blast their way up the rocky beach. We we not disappointed as, near the end of our visit, a chunk of ice several times larger than our ship calved with a thunderous roar creating a mini-tsunami that washed more than 100 feet up the beach.

South Polar Skuas bathed in a shallow pool, a few of them taking the opportunity to dive-bomb a couple folks who strayed from the designated paths.

A few penguin chicks were still being fed by adults. The chicks begged continuously until the parent choked up a wad of half digested fish.

This Gentoo appeared to be in a stand-off with a skua that was waiting to catch a chick off-guard.

Still as a sentinel, a Gentoo found a position at the top of a rock and barely moved for the next 30 minutes… he made a great subject with the glacier as a backdrop!

After a polar plunge by some of the group (I chose to photograph the wildlife rather than the, um, wild ones!), we headed back to the ship and enjoyed the scenery as we motored on to our next adventure.