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What a wonderful day! After Sunday brunch we got ready for a trip to visit Cape Royds on skidoos. Cape Royds is well known because it is the location of Shackleton's 1907-1909 Nimrod expedition hut and because it is the site of the most southerly Adelie penquin colony in the world. On the way to Cape Royds we passed many Weddell seals hauled out on the sea ice and we visited the Barne Glacier which is a spectacular feature that flanks the west slope of Mt. Erebus.
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| Barne Glacier up close | Barne Glacier below Erebus |
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Weddell Seal hauled out on the sea ice |
The ride itself was a lot of fun. Skidoos are similar to motorcycles in that you are on an open air machine, however, you sit much closer to the ground and they have tracks and one or two front skis instead of wheels. Our party consisted of the regulars - Stacy, Jim, Dan, Craig, Jenn, and I - plus Rob, Mike and Jeff. Since we only had four skidoos and they seat a maximum of two people, one person had to ride in a Siglund sled towed behind a skidoo. On the way out Dan volunteered to ride in the sled and Rob volunteered for the ride back. Both of them said that they felt like the skidoos were going about 80mph when they were in the sled. I also felt like we were moving pretty fast even though our top speed never exceeded 35mph.
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| group with Skidoos | Dan burrito wrapped for skidoo ride |
Shackleton' s Hut at Cape Royds was erected in February 1908. The 10 x 5.8 x 2.4 meter hut was Shackleton's starting point for his push to the pole. This attempt got him to within 180 kms or 97 nautical miles from the South Pole, the furthest ever at the time! The hut layout differs from the "class conscious" Cape Evans hut, because there were no walls or partition between the fifteen officers and sailor. Shackleton, however, had his own cubicle and his signature can still be seen on the bedhead of his tiny bunk bed. Both inside and outside, food and equipment still lie where they were abandoned in 1909.
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Shackleton's Hut - sideview |
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| Shackleton's Hut - pony stall. | Shackleton's Hut - kitchen |
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| Shackletons's Hut - pantry. | Shackleton's Hut - bedroom |
Dr. David Ainley has a field station at Cape Royds and has been studying the Adelie penguin colony for nearly 20 years. He has counted as many as 4,000 breeding pairs in the past, however, the last few years have been tough ones for the Adelies, with only a couple hundred breeding pairs, due to ice bergs B-15A and C16 and the sea ice which extended 80 miles north of the colony last year. Researchers believe that McMurdo Sound's sea ice did not break up last year because the two large icebergs have kept ocean waves out of the sound. The up and down movement of waves normally helps break up the sea ice as it begins melting during the Antarctic spring. This meant that the penguins had to walk rather than swim to the colony which can take them five times as long. Adelie penguins normally can't cope with more than a few kilometers of fast ice (ice anchored to land) between them and the ocean once they need to be feeding chicks.
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| B-15A and other ice bergs | Adelie Colony |
Adelie penguins are the smallest of the penguins living on the Antarctica continent. They are about 28 inches (70 cm) tall and weigh about 8 to 9 lbs. (4 kilogram). Adelies were named after the wife of a French explorer in the 1830s. These penguins nest and breed on rocky, ice-free beaches. There are over 2.5 million breeding pairs living in the Antarctica region. The Adelie penguin colony at Cape Royds congregates in the late spring and summer months to breed and to raise their chicks.
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Adelie close up |
Adelies build their nests of pebbles and after bonding and mating, the female lays two eggs. Adelie penguins have to defend their nests from other penguins who try to steal pebbles. Watching Adelies defend against marauders and watching the stealthy thieves can provide hours of entertainment for anyone lucky enough to observe this spectacle. The Adelies resemble minature Charlie Chaplins bustling about in an apparent tizzy of business with some occasional mischief here and there.
Soon after the female lays the eggs, she leaves to feed on krill, fish, and squid, returning in approximately three weeks to help with the chicks. The male takes over the job of keeping the eggs warm by holding them on the tops of his feet or by laying on them in the nest. Adelie chicks grow the fastest of all penguins and often only one chick will survive.
Instead of drinking water the Adelies eat snow and they have a gland in their nose that takes the salt out of the ocean water that they swallow when catching fish and eating fish while in the water. Adelies are powerful swimmers and can jump straight out of the water onto the land. They often move on the land by sledding down hills on their bellies.
We were treated to a rare sight of Emperor penguins among the Adelies at Cape Royds. Emperors are quite awkward on anything but flat sea ice so it was very unusual to see them walking the hilly terrain of Cape Royds. The Emperors and Adelies seemed oblivious to each others company and business went along as usual. I have to say that a day like today is about as good as it gets!
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Emperors at the Adelie colony. |
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| Group on pillow lava hill at Cape Royds |