This week we are back in Antarctica after our brief detour to the Canterbury High Country of New Zealand’s South Island. Detaille Island was the furthest south that we landed in Antarctica having crossed the Antarctic Circle during the early hours of the morning. We had a lovely sunny morning travelling through quite dense ice floes to the island. It looked debatable as to whether we would be able to land but the Zodiacs explored a way through after we had anchored. We began with a Zodaic cruise, getting great views of resting Crabeater Seals and some Adelie Penguins as well as a relatively close encounter with a beautiful Snow Petrel, before bumping and grinding our way through the brash ice to land.

Detaille Island was home to British Base W which was one of the bases used during the International Geophysical Year which was an multinational scientific project that ran from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958 and marked the end of a period in the Cold War when scientific dialog between East and West had been significantly disrupted. Base W was abandoned at short notice after the supply ship had been unable to reach it for two years. The men left with their dog sleds to cover the 50km to the ship, taking only the essentials. This has left the buildings with the feeling of a recently abandoned time capsule and it is fascinating to visit and get a feeling for the circumstances in which they lived.

For more pictures from this landing see Edin’s post “Inside Base W”

This day continued to unfold into one of the most incredible days I have ever experienced and will be the subject of the next few Antarctica posts.

Outdoor photos all with Nikon D810 and Nikon 80-400AFS lens. Photos inside Base W with Fuji X100s.