Mountains like this are not particularly common in Antarctica. But for me, this is one of the scenes I will remember most from my time there. The stormy, cold atmosphere and the sheer wildness of the place will long hold a place in my heart. One day I will go back. Hopefully to work there for a period of time. It is simply the most incredible place on the planet.
Quiet, contemplative moments were easy to find in Antarctica.
I never thought I would ever see so many penguins in my life. I must have seen hundreds of thousands of them when I visited Antarctica.
I think these little guys are the cutest of the penguins. They definitely have the most befitting name. Those little chinstraps make them look much like soldiers.
The aptly named Paradise Bay. What gloriously glossy conditions we had upon arrival.
I wish you had smell-o-vision for this image!
One of the most amazing sights I’ve witnessed in the wild. A pod of orca hunting seals. They are intelligent and ruthless. But also incredibly beautiful and graceful.
I have no idea why these little guys set up home here, but to me it looks like they kicked the humans out and took over the place!
A lone gentoo penguin keeps watch.
Sailing through the Antarctic peninsula, I had to pinch myself many times.
This is the Argentinian Almirante Brown Antarctic Base. Not long after we arrived on shore, a blizzard enveloped this place in sideways snow and we lost nearly all visibility.
Antarctica can be so quiet and still that it defies imagination. Its so distant to the daily hustle we are so used to.
Who else has visited a glacier, stared at it for what seemed like an eternity, only to see no movement? Then as soon as you turn around… BOOM!
I feel so incredibly fortunate to see this beautiful snow petrel resting in a crevice of an iceberg. They are one of only three birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica. Their black eyes, beak and feet are a stark contrast to their pure white feathers.
Some moments in Antarctica truly felt like the calm before the storm.
Taken on our trip to the Argentinian Base Brown, the glassy reflections soon gave way to fierce wind and snow. I grabbed this shot of a group of mountaineers walking through the featureless landscape.
The snow was falling in incredibly heavy clumps as we made our way back to the ship via zodiac. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the scenery that surrounded us.
Our home for 10 days. The captain of the Plancius navigated us through 20m swell and sea ice.
A beauty like no other I’ve ever seen.
The sheer scale of some of the icebergs in Antarctica is amazing. It makes me wonder what lurks beneath.
Did you know that the way a male penguin woos a female is with pebbles for her nest? They will slide and waddle hundreds of metres or more down to the rocky coastline to fetch one pebble at a time to bring back to her. The lazy ones will just steal a pebble from a nearby nest!