Neko Harbour Antarctica
Antarctica
Frequently Asked Questions
At the head of Andvord Bay, on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is an anchorage on the continent itself, one of the few places where expedition cruises set foot on the seventh landmass rather than a coastal island.
Because you land on the Antarctic continent proper. On a classic peninsula itinerary most landings are on islands : this shore often serves as the real seventh continent in travel journals.
By zodiac, onto a dark shingle beach framed by snow slopes. No more than one hundred people ashore at a time, routes marked by the expedition team and respectful distances from wildlife.
Gentoo penguins, recognizable by their orange red bill and the white patch above the eye. Their colony occupies the bare rocks above the shore, and they are among the fastest swimmers in the family.
A groove worn into the snow by endless trips between the sea and the nests. The rule is never to block these routes : here, penguins have right of way.
It is very active : a slab of ice breaks away, collapses with a crash like thunder and sends a wave across the bay. Guides always place the group above the beach, out of reach of those waves. That instruction is part of the landing ritual.
When conditions allow, the team tracks a path through the snow to a promontory above the bay. The climb takes modest effort and repays it generously : the ship looks tiny among the icebergs.
The outing becomes a zodiac cruise along the ice front, every bit as memorable. A humpback whale sometimes surfaces between the boats.
Antarctic terns, kelp gulls and skuas fill out the picture, and a seal often lounges on a growler a few metres off the shore.
The austral summer, November through March, the only season expedition ships work Andvord Bay. Gentoo chicks occupy the nests at the height of summer, in January.
