In Antarctica there is no such thing as a “typical” day. Flexibility is the key and sometimes the entire day’s schedule will be changed so as to maximize your experience. Each day holds something new; below are some extracts from a previous log from the MS Island Sky which will provide you with an idea of what to expect if you choose to join this Antarctic adventure.

Anvers Island & Port Lockroy:

 “During the evening the swell diminished as we approached and rounded the southern end of Anvers Island and by early morning the ship was barely moving in the waves. During breakfast we made an approach to our morning location of Börgen Bay, an inlet of the western side of the Neumayer Channel into Anvers Island. Once loaded, the Zodiacs headed off into the snowy landscape and soon encountered floating ice – brash and bergy bits. On the lookout for wildlife, we had glimpses of seals and Gentoo penguins. However, the sculpted ice in myriad shapes and shades of blue was the highlight of this Zodiac cruise, with the fringing ice cliff blanketing the land.

During lunch the ship moved a few miles to Port Lockroy and our event of the afternoon. The weather continued to brighten during the afternoon while the representative from the charity that looks after Port Lockroy and the other British historic sites in Antarctic, the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust, came aboard after lunch to give us a brief introduction to the work that is done at Port Lockroy. Throughout the afternoon there was a Zodiac shuttle between the ship, Port Lockroy, its shop and museum and the penguins and whale skeletons at Jougla Point. The weather continued to improve throughout the afternoon and both the 4400 feet high Fief Mountains (aka Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), and the 2825m high Mount Français were visible as a spectacular backdrop as we left the anchorage and headed towards the Gerlache Strait.”

Cuverville Island & Orne Harbor: 

“Just before 0630 the Expedition Leader roused everyone with the news that we had humpback whales near to us. We were treated to an adult and calf very close to the ship intent on gorging on the krill soup in which they were swimming. In fact, as we looked around, it was obvious that this pair was not alone and that several whales could be seen in the vicinity.

At the start of breakfast at 0700 the ship continued the few miles towards Cuverville Island which could be seen just to the south of our position. At 0830 everyone was ready for the fleet of Zodiacs to transport them to the rocky beach on the island. The main attraction of Cuverville Island were the large numbers of Gentoo penguins. These birds were distributed at either end of the stony beach and indeed up on the crest of the hill well above the beach. We had plenty of time to stop and admire the lives of these enchanting birds as the snow gently fell. On the return to the ship, we went on a short Zodiac cruise round grounded icebergs in the vicinity, with several boats having an encounter with a curious leopard seal that wanted to get a closer look at us.

After lunch, the ship motored into Orne Harbour with light snow falling and a scout boat was put into the water to check a possible landing. This was a chance to land on the continent of Antarctica properly, by actually setting foot on something other than an offshore island. The steep walk up the hill commanded amazing views of the surrounding area and we also spotted a chinstrap penguin or two and even a fur seal. On the return to the ship, we were surrounded by humpback whales – about 8-10 whales could be spotted within a short distance of the ship.