Kayaking around Antarctica

Antarctica is a wonderful place to behold, and maybe the best way to see it is at sea level, in a kayak.

We had the opportunity to do just that as our cruise ship stopped at various islands around Antarctica and on the frozen continent itself. Every day down there we were able to go on shore , or sightsee from little zodiacs, or climb into a kayak and paddle around by ourselves.

As I said, maybe kayaking was the very best.

Soon after our ship dropped anchor, we saw this interesting sight.

One of the ship's zodiacs was pulling a dozen kayaks past us.

Soon the little bay was alive with two dozen passengers in those kayaks.

Pat and I joined them. There's our ship in the background ... the...

Hey, Pat, there are Georgia & Ron from Scottsdale.

We rested our oars and quietly glided by a little Antarctic tern...

Two more shipmates, Carmen & Walt from Laguna Niguel, a few miles...

Take a good look on the shore and you'll see several hundred penguins...

Slowly approaching two penguins.

Coming closer.

And even closer. These are gentoo penguins, the most common species we found...

We stayed with our little friends and watched some of their fellows walking by.

Then off we paddled, taking in the stunning scenery... and even more...

This was late November and the birds were nesting. Within a month their eggs...

They seemed in a hurry to get somehere, but after waddling several...

In the meantime, we continued on and passed by a number of interesting ice...

There's another.

And another. We almost ran into this one as we admired our ship beyond.

Here we are, the two of us, on the best kayak ride we've ever taken.

And there they are, those penguins marching along on the shore.

We passed by many icebergs with the most marvelous shades of blue.

Deep, deep blue. Each of the sun's colors has a different amount...

Some of our shipmates enjoying the scenery from their zodiac.

And on we paddled. Others were probably waiting to kayak, so it's...

There's that zodiac again. Looks like they're admiring those blue...

Even though the air temperature is around freezing, that little iceberg...

So back we went, having enjoyed a marvelous hour in this Antarctic...

article published 1/17/2008

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Wow; someday I wish I would be able to what you have done. What an amazing adventure this would have been. Seeing the beauty of soemthing like that. The photos were great! (:
— Michelle Blom, September 8, 2009

A great adventure
You have not only captured the beauty of this unique place, but you have made some wonderful images of people enjoying the special experience. Your shots of the marching penguins are beautiful and so are your images of those zodiacs heading towards this magical place. Thanks, Bob, for sharing this with us.
— Phil Douglis, January 25, 2008

Bob, your pictures and the story get better and better with each succeeding edition. Keep it up (if you have any more to share). Go Wildcats!
— Watt Clinch, January 18, 2008

Excellent
Hi Bob, more great pictures of your trip to the bottom of the world. That water looks darn cold. I must commend you on the crispness of your photography and the commentary that you put with each shot. A most interesting article. Thank you. Tony from England.
— Tony Ethridge, January 18, 2008

Great pictures, it was great to relive one of the highlights of the trip. Also nice to see so many people we met and enjoyed. Thank you!
— Pat & Rick Dutton, January 18, 2008

Ditto to Margaret's comments below.. what a wonderful article/adventure.. i foresee a photo of the week coming up real soon.. million thanks for sharing these
— Jon J. Tan, January 17, 2008

What an amazing adventure you have had. Thank you for sharing your great photos of this beautiful environment.
— Margaret Sherwood, January 17, 2008