January 1, 2024August 24, 2024

Hiking Detaille Island

This post is part of our second once-in-a-lifetime expedition to the Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica. Click to expand this section and view the table of contents if you don’t want to read this sequentially, or you are looking for a specific part of the trip.

Such Unbelievable Weather

The afternoon excursion took us to Detaille Island, home to a historic British hut and an Adelie penguin colony perched high on a cliff. Due to the land regulations, we split into groups—half of us went ashore while the other half explored by zodiac. Only 50 people were allowed on land at once, and just 12 at a time were permitted inside the hut. Base W, which was established by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1956, was used primarily for meteorological, geological, and topographical research as part of Britain’s scientific efforts. It was abandoned in 1959 due to difficult access and logistical challenges and is basically a time capsule of mid-century Antarctic exploration.

Tourists walking through deep snow towards Antarctic research huts with distant icebergs and mountains in the background.

Wooden Antarctic research hut surrounded by deep snow under a bright blue sky.

I opted for a snowy hike to a lookout to watch the penguins roosting high above the water. Adélie penguins often nest on remote hilltops, far from the sea, where they find safety from predators and protection from harsh coastal conditions, even if it means taking long treks back and forth to feed.

Rocky Antarctic terrain with patches of snow, home to a large colony of penguins, with distant snow-covered mountains in the background.

Penguin colony nesting on rocky Antarctic terrain with snow-covered mountains in the background.

The hike back to the landing site was slow going because I kept stopping to admire the views.

Kayakers paddling among icebergs in Antarctic waters with a cruise ship and snow-covered mountains in the background.

Massive icebergs floating in Antarctic waters with towering snow-covered mountains in the background.

Towering icebergs floating in Antarctic waters with massive snow-covered mountains in the background under a clear sky.

How is this place even real? If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would swear this was AI-generated.

Panoramic view of Antarctic waters dotted with icebergs, surrounded by snow-covered mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

The more you look, the more life you see. There were porpoising penguins, minke whales, and even a few humpbacks.

Scattered icebergs floating in calm Antarctic waters with snow-covered mountains under a bright blue sky.

On the way back to the ship, every iceberg we passed seemed to have a crabeater seal resting on it. One slab of sea ice even had four seals stretched out side by side, a peaceful scene amidst the icy expanse. Penguins porpoised through the water around us, adding to the spectacle.

Three crabeater seals lounging on the snowy Antarctic ice near calm waters with distant icebergs.

Crabeater seal resting on snowy Antarctic terrain, eyes half-closed in the sunlight.

Seal resting on snowy Antarctic ice, gazing upward with a curious expression.

Andy was originally set to go snorkelling, but once they got out on the water, the conditions were just too perfect to pass up so they went on a zodiac cruise amongst the icebergs, crabeater seals, and Adelie penguins.

Person standing on an inflatable boat surrounded by floating ice in Antarctic waters, with snowy mountains in the background.

Snow-covered Antarctic mountains with dark rocky cliffs reflecting on calm waters under a clear blue sky.

Jagged icebergs reflecting on calm Antarctic waters with snow-covered mountains in the background.

Close-up of jagged, glistening ice formations inside a deep blue Antarctic iceberg

Close-up of a sparkling, textured ice formation with glistening bokeh highlights in the background.
Seal lying on its back in the snowy Antarctic landscape, flippers raised towards the sky.