Christmas Eve started wintry, with a landing at Palaver Point on Two Hummock Island in a snowstorm. The walk up to the Chinstrap Penguin colony was a nice chance to stretch our legs, but the views of the birds were limited and photography was challenging. In the afternoon we had a zodiac cruise around Foyn Harbour. As well as the ubiquitous Humpbacks, the Antarctic Shag and Antarctic Tern colony was interesting, the latter nesting in the wreck of the whaling ship Guvernøren. Later on the wind dropped and in still conditions we toured icy inlets where an Emperor Penguin had been seen a few days earlier. It was a long shot, as they don’t belong on the west of the peninsula. Suddenly Pash and I found the bird swimming some distance in front of us and all hell broke loose. Sadly, the bird vanished almost as quickly as it appeared and not all of us got onto the it, but it was an early Christmas present for those of us who saw it.
Birds, wildlife and travel