Brown Bluff

Crossing the icy waters in our zodiac

After our zodiac cruise this morning we ventured further south to Brown Bluff.  Located on the Tabarin Peninsula in northern Antarctica, Brown Bluff is a basalt tuya formed a million years ago.  This unique formation occurred when a volcano erupted into a glacial lake which was underneath a large glacier.  One of the geologists on board gave a brief talk about the rarity of this type of volcanic activity, and why it is so special to see a tuya in person.

Adelie rookery

Adélie penguin

Brown Bluff is home to a breeding colony of an estimated 20,000 pairs of Adelie penguins. A smaller number of gentoo penguins breed here as well. Our guides told us the bay and beach are often covered with snow and ice making it difficult to reach. Our zodiacs did have to traverse floating ice to get there, but once we arrived, we were greeted with oodles of penguins swimming, playing, and nesting.  They walked all around and through our group as we often paused to let them pass.  

The beach area we were on was not very large and our movements were limited because of the penguins nesting, but the Adelie rookery was quite large.....and noisy.  We found some gentoo penguins nesting and were able to snap a picture of one of them on an egg.  A different gentoo actually had a chick that others were able to see, but we weren't so lucky.  Another fabulous zodiac landing with incredible scenery and imagery etched into our memories even without photos.

Gentoo penguin on its egg

Gentoo penguin making a joyful noise