After a morning of punching through the sea ice we arrived at a fascinating iceberg for a few hours of zodiac cruising. These Adélie penguins were very welcoming for the hundreds of photos that were taken of them.
There's one in every group... (Adélie Penguins - the clowns of the penguin world)
The male southern royal albatross woos his partner after days apart.
Southern Royal Albatross Couple.
Arctic Terns.
Auckland Island.
A light mist keeps the lind on the mystery of Auckland Island.
A short hike to the top, greets us with amazing views, and hundreds of Albatross nesting and flying around.
The Auckland Island Shag hurries about collecting bits and pieces to build a nest.
Auckland Island Shag.
Nesting Seagull on Snares Island.
A member of the sub-Antarctic Mega-Herb family of plant life, the Campbell Island Carrot.
Campbell Island Pipit.
Carved in 1865 and standing the test of time in the harsh environment of Auckland Island.
Common Diving Petrel.
This Southern Elephant Seal pup tries for a while to get some milk out of the emergency pack.
More than just a couple of royal penguins. Discovering this rookery is a three step process. First you notice the smell, then you can hear their calls, and finally families of penguins as far as you can see.
Despite its name, the Crabeater Seal mainly eats Krill. Crabs make up a small part of their diet.
Exploring the edges of Auckland Island via zodiac has a few advantages.
A storm brews behind the closer icebergs.
Female Hooker Sea Lion.
Southern Elephant Seal will fights with words or with blood.
Emperor Penguins move faster laying down than standing up and walking.
A couple of Emperor Penguins chilling out on an ice floe.
Male Hooker Sea Lions are the masters of this beach, cross with care.
Enderby Island.
The Albatross is one of the most magestic birds known to man.
This New Zealand (Hooker's) Sea Lion stands guard over his beach.
Curious and playful, the Southern Elephant seal pups love to say hello.
Gentoo Penguin standing guard from the nearby Skua's
With a water temperature of -1ºC, and icebergs of all shapes and sizes are floating by this was one of the standouts, nicknamed gnomeberg.
Amazing colours resonate from the larger icebergs whilst we explore in the sun.
Cruising around the ice floes in a zodiac. This iceberg was full of interesting little caves, and was massive. to the left of the photo you can see one of the other zodiacs having a closer look.
With a little bit of blue sky above the blues in the icebergs really start to glow.
Raising to over 30m above sea level, the ice in this iceberg could be thousands of years old.