Brabant Island (Antarctica day 3)

After the best day ever, the Ocean Adventurer sailed back north overnight to a sheltered bay at the southern end of Brabant Island. When we woke, the weather had turned it on again with a few morning clouds rapidly clearing to a perfectly still and sunny bluebird, with the snow eventually corning up nicely.

The Antarctica Tour Operators Treaty seems to work well despite the increasing number of ships, advanced bookings of Bays and landings meant that we saw only one other boat for the entire time away.

There's only 100 people allowed on land at any time, so the size of our boat was optimal. There are also extremely strict biosecurity rules. No eating or even peeing allowed. And my manky old skins had to be meticulously picked clean and treated with biocide on the voyage over. Even Bill Barker's beard got a workout.

After a crusty morning climb, Mark discovered a private little beach for us to ski down to with the magnificent sounds of calving seracs. The water proved so inviting that Marie-Laure was compelled to get out of her ski boots (and most other things) and have a dip.

Whilst it's definitely not a moment to be discussing whales or seals, I particularly loved the afternoon's penguins that greeted our arrival for the arvo climb - and then later proved that even penguins don't care if you tele.

After the evening's BBQ out on the deck, my wife accidentally started a dance party, which soon turned in to party of the year as the sunset lit up our day's ski tracks with the most wonderful alpenglow.

Can't take her anywhere.

Lemaire Channel

Convention seems to mandate the expressed 'best day of your life' as either the day of your marriage, or the birthdays of your kids. Which always makes me think that not much exciting has happened since in the marriage, and/or that the kids turned out a little disappointing.

Anyway, probably this day, but maybe the next, or the one after, were the best days of my life.

After the chill of the polar plunge had worn off (courtesy of a couple glasses of Malbec), captain Yuli and Solan our expedition leader suggested that favourable weather and brash ice meant we might have a crack at the Lemaire Channel for sunset.

Well I've never watched a sunset take 6 hours and to still be happening at midnight, through towering Tolkien pillars, such that the entire time I was thinking of Roy Batty - and I'm not sure if that was because Rutger Hauer died this year a couple days before mum, or just that it's always been my favourite line from my favourite movie:

"I've seen things, you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate... All those memories will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

It was so calm and awesome, everyone up on the decks knew they were witness to something extraordinary. Mum and Roy (dad) would have loved this. So a fitting finale for one of the best days ever.

Too lucky.

Wiencke Island

Antarctica is obviously a pretty brutal place, and there is the potential on this trip to remain ship-bound and seasick for the entire week without even setting foot on land. It it's too rough to launch the zodiacs then they don't. Bluebird days are pretty unusual, so when we woke up the next day in a bay off the Neumayer Channel with Anvers Island and the impressive Mt Francoise at nearly 3000m asl to our west, and Wiencke Island to our east, we could hardly believe our luck. One of the most glorious mornings ever!

Mark told us to indulge for breaky and take some snacks as he wasn't planning on returning back to the boat for lunch. There was hardly a breath of wind all day, and we had some amazing climbing and skiing on reasonable corned snow.

Everywhere you turned was a wonder.

On the way back we visited a Chilean Base with an old British Base now a museum of sorts surrounded by penguin rookeries and seals. On the way over the Drake, and then every evening, the Quark folk host a series of lectures on Antarctic history and ecology, usually finishing with some entertaining talks by the guides.

 The day culminated in the polar plunge, which was pretty freaking cold!