We are in Stanley today, the capital city of the Falkland Islands. We made two landings yesterday at remote homesteads, one on West Point Island where a family runs a small sheep farm and a large number of Black browed Albatross come to nest alongside Rockhopper penguins. Then on carcass island where a large number of striated cars-cara nest. This will be my last connection to internet for the next two weeks. I only have two photos to post, enjoy!
Archive for the tourism Category
Falkland Islands
Posted in antarctica, Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island, tourism, travel, Uncategorized, wildlife with tags Black browed albatross, Falkland Islands, Striated Caracara photography on February 3, 2013 by polarguidePassing through
Posted in antarctica, Leopard seal, photography, tourism, travel, wildlife on January 31, 2013 by polarguideI am in Ushuia today. I just finished a 12 day voyage to the Antarctic peninsula. The entire voyage was sub-chartered by a group of British photographers. We had great weather and amazing wildlife encounters. The most notable was curious humpback whale that swam with our zodiacs and played with us as if we were toys in a bath tub.
I have some outstanding under water video of the evenr, if I can figure out how to down load it to this site I will.
In the mean time here are a few of my favorite images from the last voyage.
I will be leaving in two hours for another voyage to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island and Antarctica.
Antarctic Ice
Posted in antarctica, icebergs, photography, tourism, travel, Uncategorized with tags Antarctica, blue, cold, Icebergs, patterns, texture on January 18, 2013 by polarguideThe ice in Antarctica can reflect some of the most intense shades of blue I have ever seen. Its a color seen almost nowhere else in nature. High over cast days are the best to try and capture the deepest blues. The blue coupled with the textures created by erosion of the ice from water and wind make icebergs limitless subject for photographic exploration. These are two of my favorite iceberg photos from my last Antarctic voyage.
Antarctica and then some
Posted in antarctica, Elephant seals, Falkland Islands, Fur seals, guiding, Leopard seal, penguins, photography, South Georgia Island, tourism, travel, Uncategorized, whales, wildlife with tags Akademik Ioffee, Antarctica, ELephant seals, environment, Falkland Islands, freshly pressed, Fur seals, Gentoo penguin, Icebergs, king penguin, nature, Penguins, Photography, rockhopper penguin, science, South Georgia Island, transportation on September 29, 2012 by polarguideFor History buffs, photographers, adventurers and wildlife enthusiasts Antarctica is the ultimate vacation destination. This will be my third season working in Antarctica with One Ocean Expeditions. One Ocean offers several Antarctic voyages ranging in length from ten to eighteen days. The crown jewel of wildlife viewing polar expeditions is the eighteen day Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica adventure.
The Falklands float 250 nautical miles west of Argentina, it takes two full days at sea to reach the Islands. The archipelago is a self-governing off shore territory of the United Kingdom. There are more than 200 Islands with a population of 3,100 people, the vast majority being of British decent. Argentina has always claimed the Falklands to be an Argentinian territory and in 1982 the Argentinian military invaded the islands and a two month-long war ensued resulting in the defeat and surrender of all Argentinian troops. To this day Barbed wire fences barricade beaches and pastures laden with land mines.
The Islands are a windswept landscape of stony hills and sea cliffs punctuated with emerald pompoms of tussock grass. For three days we make landings at significant wildlife viewing areas. We visit nesting sites of the Black browed albatross, Rockhopper, Magellanic and Gentoo penguins. Fur seals, Sea lions and elephant seals rest and raise their young on wavy beaches. We complete our time in the Falklands with a visit to the city of Stanley, the capital of the islands, Population 1,500. From there we begin our two-day journey to South Georgia Island.
Captain james cook was the first person to step ashore on South Georgia Island in 1775. The first Sealing campaign began in 1788 and by 1828 1.2 million Fur seals were slaughtered for their pelts, driving the species to the edge of extinction. Whalers arrived in the late 1890’s and by 1930 40,000 whales had been killed. By 1965 the whale populations had declined so severely the industry was no longer economical and the whaling stations were abandoned. During our three days on South Georgia Island we visit the remains of these whaling stations. The bones of long abandoned building and the rusty corpses of ships that once participated in the slaughter now serve as shelter for the Fur seals and penguins they once exploited.
South Georgia Island is one of the most intense wildlife experience on the planet. Its stormy shores teem with life and the number of animals on one beach can be overwhelming. We visit King penguin colonies where the penguins number in the hundreds of thousands. They waddle down beaches along side fur seals. The Elephant seals stack themselves side by side so numerous you could walk their backs for the entire length of the beach, although I wouldn’t recommend it, these behemoths weigh in at eight tons.
Before landing at south Georgia we issue bright red rain-gear and green rubber boots to every passenger. This wardrobe serves two functions: It keeps the penguin poo off the passengers clothes and helps the staff differentiate people from penguins. We lecture every passenger about how to safely conduct themselves around so much wildlife. We remind people that Elephant seals are wild animals,and although they have a placid demeanor they can be accidentally dangerous. “You can avoid being crushed to death” I tell people, “by not napping on the beach.” I also advise that if while photographing a fur seal it rises up on its flippers and runs at you open-mouthed as if it might bite you, it might. And last but not least, please don’t stand on the penguins.
Passengers give their full attention to this lecture. They nod in agreement as if it were all common sense, but when the first zodiac surfs to a landing grown men and women revert to children. I call it the “Willy Wonka effect”. Remember that scene in Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory when Willy swings open the doors to his world of candy ? All the children run wild stuffing their faces with exotic sweets and wreak havoc on willy’s wonderland of confection. Then the fat kid falls into the chocolate river. landing on South Georgia Island is a-lot like that.
A zodiac slides up the beach, red pants swing over pontoons, green boots trudge up the gravel slope and penguins scatter. They knock into each other like concerned and confused umpa-lumpas. I stand back and watch the comedy unfold: People can’t control themselves, I watch them chase penguins with their point and shoots cameras. To my left I see someone topple over a penguin while walking backwards trying to take a photograph. A little old lady runs past me with an angry fur seal hot on her heels while to my right a man inches too close to a mountain of Elephant seals, daring one to crush him. And then the fat kid falls into the chocolate river, except the river isn’t chocolate its a hot puddle of penguin shit mixed with Elephant seal dung.
After snapping several thousand photographs everyone relaxes. The penguins catch their breath and with the guidance of experienced staff people learn that if they just stand still the wildlife becomes curious. Slowly, animals assemble to gawk at the strange creatures with red legs and awkward green feet. Penguins side up to inspect the new comers in a highbrow manner, as if comparing wardrobes. At the end of every excursion passengers return to the ship in a state of joy. cocktail hour and dinner are all a buzz with tales of the day. Everyone has an exciting story to share of their intimate wildlife experience.
Our last stop at south Georgia is at Grytviken whaling station to visit the grave of Antarctica’s most famous explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton. We make a procession to his grave and toast the boss with a slug of whiskey then spend the afternoon walking among the relics of the whaling station.
As we sail south I watch from the aft deck as the island fades into the northern horizon. Here I become washed by a wave of nostalgia. Our ship surfs the wake of histories great heroes. We are following a course set by men such as: Vasco DA Gamma, Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Drake, James cook and Thaddeus Von Bellinghausen. Our destination, a continent so secluded its existence remained a myth until it was first sighted in 1820. Antarctica.
The ice in Antarctica is immense and looms above everything like a great glinting mountain. Black cliffs reach to the sun as if trying to escape the sinking weight of the blue blanket if ice . The entire continent is entombed in a world of winter.
The continent is frozen under seven thousand feet of glacial ice, the downward force drives its plastic mass seaward until its precipice shatters into the ocean creating icebergs the size of small countries. The bergs glow a surprising shade of blue that seems to radiate from deep inside, as if an icy neon light burned at its core. The temperature of the thick ocean drifts around 32 degrees. There are no trees, the vegetation is limited to lichen and moss. It is a stark world of contrast that shines like a jewel.
Regardless of the harsh, barren environment Antarctica flourishes with life. The extended summer sunlight and constant upwelling current create a marine soup that supports a complex and bountiful ecosystem. Thousands of Penguins nest on rocky snow-covered hill sides. Leopard seals, crab eater seals and Wedell seals nap on ice floes while orca whales hunt through a maze of icebergs. humpback whales graze on krill in the frigid inky water. Being there feels like you have traveled through time to a place before people. A place where the earths forces conduct a symphony life.
My first voyage departs November 8th.
Seasons end
Posted in alaska, bears, guiding, photography, tourism, travel, Uncategorized, whales, wildlife with tags Alaska, bears, fall wildlife, fishing, freshly pressed, gustavus AK, Photography on September 5, 2012 by polarguideAnother summer season has ended. Tonight I am sitting with the snap and crackle of the wood stove, half through a bottle of Irish whiskey. I have had the yurt to my self for the last week. The sun has set and the pale evening light strains my eyes. Soon I will have to light the gas lantern that hangs from a nail over the kitchen counter. I am contemplating the seasons end and feeling nostalgic about the arrival of fall. I know it sounds strange to speak of fall when August has barely completed her departure, but that’s how it is here. In late August the leaves of the cottonwood trees turn yellow and brown and begin to litter the ground. The rain falls a little harder, the wind blows a little colder and the twitter and chirp of Sandhill cranes flocking through the grey sky on their long migration south mark the beginning of fall in Gustavus, Alaska.
Oh, let’s not forget the berries. The blue berries are almost ready, but late august brings a bounty of wild strawberries and nagoon berries, plump and red and ready for jamming. Liz and I picked, jammed and canned a gallon of berries completing our sweet winter cache in just two days.
It was an unusual summer in many ways. It never seemed to stop raining and the temperatures rarely rose above fifty five degrees. My first guided trip began with high winds and heavy rain that blew away our tents and saturated our sleeping bags. Then, sometime in early July a bear broke into the yurt and ate all of our food.
There were three plane crashes this summer. The local air taxi company that we hire to move guides and clients between Juneau and Gustavus had two planes malfunction, resulting in emergency crash landings. One stormy morning in July two pilots, Kevin and Gale, left Juneau for their sixty mile morning commute to Gustavus. Each in his own plane, they flew side by side. Only one arrived at his destination.
On a clear day pilots heading for Gustavus will fly west passing over Auke bay and the northern tip of Admiralty Island. They will cross a five mile wide expanse of ocean called Chatham Strait. Flying at an elevation of three thousand feet they dip and glide between six thousand foot peaks that are the southern end of the Chilkat mountain range. On a stormy day the Chilkat range becomes shrouded in a dense curtain of grey clouds forcing pilots to bank south. Soaring below cloud cover they fly around the southern tip of the mountain range before navigating north toward Gustavus. This day was a stormy day.
Two days after the incident I spoke with Gale. He told me that after crossing Chatham Strait he steered his own plane south to avoid the low lying clouds that veiled the Chilkat mountain range, Kevin did not. Gale watched Kevin’s airplane disappear into the clouds then moments later Kevin’s signal disappeared from Gales radar screen. Kevin hit the top of a ridge doing one hundred and sixty miles an hour. His air machine was shredded by the trees. The stretch of debris littered the mountainside for hundreds of yards. His body was found still belted to his seat fifty feet forward of the torn and scattered aircraft.
The feeling of fall has sparked a bustle of harvest activity. August began with berry picking and jamming, fishing and rooting over the forest floor in search of edible mushrooms. On a recent fishing trip Zach and Shellie dropped a halibut skate and we hauled a two hundred pound halibut from the cold depths of Icy Strait. On a rare sunny day shelli and I went fly fishing with her father Doug and we caught countless Dolly Varden in Mud Bay, on northern Chichagof Island. We had a glorious after noon watching brown bears fish for salmon while we cast our lines with less proficiency.
The hustle of guiding now done, their are no planes to catch, no boats waiting. I am enjoying quiet time at the yurt. Getting small project done, splitting fire wood, reading books and helping Zach build his cabin.
Tonight I will stumble into bed with good whiskey in my head. Drizzle tapping on the vinyl roof, fire warming the wood stove, I will dream of the coming days. Dark brooding days swollen with rain and fog and wind. Soon we will obtain our seasons quota of fish and hunting season will commence. We will Slip briskly through the waterlogged forest searching for sign of elusive deer. After a successful hunt we will pass evenings butchering and processing venison flesh, feasting with friends and hoarding our bounty for the approaching months of winter. In this way the fall will pass and winter will bring new adventures.