Cape Washington - home of the Emperors
Thursday, 24th December - garaged at Cape Washington: We’re pushing through significant sea-ice when I get up. It’s Christmas Eve – what a wonderful time to visit Emperor penguins. The weather is still clear although cloudy and windy, and our early arrival at Cape Washington includes a “greeting team” of Adelies and Emperor chicks, watching as the Captain drives the ship up into the ice.
He needs to create a particularly sturdy garage so that we can step off the ship onto the ice to meet and walk amongst the local penguins. It takes 3 or 4 “goes” and we’re in. As soon as we’ve stopped, the Adelies are waddling their way towards the ship while we get changed to step down onto the ice. With the recent snow that we’ve been receiving, the snow on top of the ice is reasonably deep, with a strong sea-ice base. Walking is tricky, particularly stepping over the small pressure ridges. But it’s wonderfully rewarding!
Part way through this visit, my camera is not allowing me to take a shot and is beeping after I press the shutter. I know the card isn’t full, but it’s hard to see the screen in the bright light to work out what’s wrong. So I climb back up the gangway and once inside, realize that I’ve somehow turned on the timer, possibly while stumbling across a pressure ridge.
Although slightly annoyed with myself at the time, this turns out to be a gift. When I’m back down on the ice, I see a large group of our yellow-parka’d guests gathered around a group of Emperor chicks (think Happy Feet). Walking carefully across, I see an opening that I can slide into and where I can sit on the ice to watch these cutest of cute animals.
The chicks are now well and truly out of their nests and just starting to moult. Once they lose their feathers, they will take on the regal look of their parents. For now, they remain grey and white and very fluffy, staying in their “crèche” groups, walking around the ice and waiting for their parents to return from the sea with food.
I’m intently watching the Emperor chicks, when I notice Bob (cetacean man) trying to attract my attention. Slowly looking over my left shoulder I see a group of Adelies walking towards and around me. They are so comfortable with our presence that they come close enough for me to see individual feathers on their coats – I really could reach out and touch one, but I hold back. They stay for a short while and then wander along on their intended route.
Although it’s hard to leave the Emperor chicks, I really do have to get up off the cold icy ground. During lunch, Shane tells us that there’s an opportunity for a helicopter ride out to an Emperor colony on the other side of the Cape. The helicopters will land about 1.6km from the colony. Since we’re warned that the walk will have similar snow to that we’ve been on this morning, I decide not to go – just too hard to negotiate, and quite a long distance for me. And as it turns out, not going has its benefits!
Back out on the ice, John (cetacean man) and I walk to an area directly in front of the ship where we see a small group of Emperor chicks hiding in the irregular ice chunks of a pressure ridge. We sit and wait, and through the binoculars, I see a chick with a heart-shaped pattern on his chest, and one with a whale pattern. These come about during molting – as the soft grey down is replaced by the white of the adult penguin, and the penguins peck at them, various shapes are formed.
The chicks slowly come out of their hiding place and start moving towards the two of us. Our camera shutters are clicking constantly. They watch us from a distance, come a little closer, and just wait in their group. Eventually they decide to move off, but not before providing opportunities for fantastic shots - what a joy.
As we wait for the helicopters to return, we spend the remainder of the day watching the penguins coming to visit the ship. And then all too soon, we are reversing out of our garage and heading north to Cape Hallett where we will visit an Adelie colony tomorrow.
It’s now a calm and sunny afternoon with little wind, and Adelies are spotted on ice-floes. When they see or feel us coming, they take off, tobogganing as fast as their little feet and flippers will carry them, leaving characteristic markings on the snow until they finally flop into the water.
We see six Emperors on an ice-floe, their white chests shining in the sunshine. Ice-floes pass by with large chunks and blocks of snow lying jumbled at irregular angles, some with deep blue colourings inside. What a glorious visit it’s been!