Morning Excursion: Mikkelsen Harbour
We were the first group ashore this morning, stepping off the Zodiacs around 6:30 a.m. The light was flat and uncooperative under heavy cloud cover, and it was noticeably colder than the day before. Before we even reached land, the smell made it clear what awaited us—penguins, and lots of them. Mikkelsen Harbour, a small group of islands off Trinity Island, is known for its dense penguin colonies and the remains of a historic hut from early Antarctic expeditions, and the evidence of wildlife was impossible to miss. The paths were slick with mud and melting snow, making movement slow and deliberate, and reminding us that photography here often starts with watching your footing before lifting the camera.
Afternoon Excursion: Cierva Cove
Cierva Cove felt alive in a way Antarctica often does when sea, ice, and wildlife all decide to perform at once. As our Zodiac cruise drifted quietly through the cove, whale flukes broke the surface in the distance—slow, deliberate tail lifts that left ripples spreading across the glassy water. Closer in, penguins launched themselves from the ice and porpoised through the sea, popping up briefly before disappearing again, as if showing off for anyone patient enough to watch. All around us, the ice was in motion: small bergy bits and fractured plates shifting, rotating, and gently colliding, a constant reminder that nothing here is static. Cierva Cove wasn’t dramatic in a loud way—it was dynamic, subtle, and endlessly photogenic, the kind of place where every direction you looked offered another quiet moment worth framing.
As our time on the water began to wind down, our Zodiac driver received a crackled message over the radio—another Zodiac was having trouble. As we approached, we could see it slowly spinning in place, its driver carefully breaking up the surrounding ice to free them. Our guide asked if we were willing to help. That was an easy yes. Being stranded in Antarctic waters didn’t sound like a character-building exercise we needed.
Once we eased into the newly cleared patch of open water, the mood shifted instantly—they popped open champagne. Just like that. Ice, silence, and bubbles. It was an unexpected and perfect way to end our very first Zodiac cruise in Antarctica.
