22 | Viking Explorer Society News
oblivious to their Viking visitors. We saw
three different types of penguin colonies
during this landing—gentoo, chinstrap and
Adélie penguins.
Occasionally, some penguins took stones
from their neighbors' piles to build nests. At
home we had watched Frozen Planet, hosted
by the wonderful British biologist and natural
historian David Attenborough, so we had
heard about this penguin pilfering stones for
their nests—what a treat it was to see this
firsthand. Closer to the shoreline, many
penguins were jumping in and out of the
clear Antarctic waters. We felt excited and
privileged to be able to admire this icy
wilderness up close.
We also enjoyed kayaking among smaller
icebergs and ice flow. The two-seater kayaks
are operated by a pedal system, so our hands
were free to take photographs. We were
lucky to capture images of magnificent
humpback whales, sun-bathing seals and
playful penguins swimming in the bay.
During our expedition, we learned to expect
the unexpected. Weather and sea conditions
in Antarctica are unpredictable, so we knew it
was important and necessary to be flexible
regarding landings and sightings.
After our excursions, it was a pleasure to
return to our elegant, state-of-the-art
expedition ship. As on all Viking ships, the
facilities on board the Viking Octantis were
superb, with such attention to detail. We
spent our days at sea admiring the onboard
artwork and artifacts and reading from a very
well-stocked library, which included books
"It was wonderful to
observe colonies of
hundreds of penguins as
they waited near their
nests for ideal weather
conditions to lay their
eggs."
