After days of uncertainty, shifting plans, and watching the weather, the opportunity to reach the Snow Hill emperor penguin colony suddenly felt very real. Neither of of could sleep, so we went up on deck to watch the sunrise. At 4:32am. Helicopter Flights to the Emperor Penguins Helicopter operations began around 7am so the expedition […]
We woke to sustained winds around 60 knots, with gusts pushing close to 70. Fun fact: A knot is a unit of speed used in aviation and maritime navigation that equals one nautical mile per hour (about 1.85 km/h or 1.15 mph). The term comes from early sailors who measured a ship’s speed by counting […]
With the help of the doc’s meclizine recommendation, we had the best sleep of the entire trip. We even missed our first breakfast. The outer decks were closed due to weather, which is fairly standard during Drake Passage sea days. For context, this is 4-meter seas. A lot of people worry about the number […]
This was the first time that our expedition had Antarctica embarkation in Buenos Aires. On previous expeditions, the expedition started in Ushuaia. We weren’t sure what to expect, and if this starting point would be a positive or a pain in the a$$. Neither of us slept much that night. We had already experienced several […]
After three days in Chile, we continued on to Buenos Aires. Our target? A two night stay at the Hotel Emperador Buenos Aires. This part of the trip wasn’t about wildlife. It was about logistics, a bit of comfort, and, as it turned out, an empanada crawl through the city. Our search for Buenos Aires […]
We woke up to pouring rain. Normally that would have dampened the mood, but we were still glowing from the day before. Penguin number thirteen, the Fiordland crested, had delivered in spectacular fashion. Now the focus shifted. The entire trip had been built around Snow Hill. But first, we had to find a Humboldt penguin […]
Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge From Fox Glacier, it was a short drive to Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge. We traveled here for one reason. The Fiordland crested penguin. We had booked a garden view room and were assigned Room #10, which overlooked the river and felt like an unexpected upgrade. The lodge had this warm, slightly […]
Crossing to the West Coast If you aren’t familiar with South Island geography, Akaroa sits on the east coast. Our next destination, Lake Moeraki, is on the west coast. And in between? A rather inconvenient mountain range. This stretch became one of the most memorable parts of our South Island wildlife road trip experience. Google […]
Why Our 10-Week Antarctica Trip Started at an Airport Hotel Ever wondered who stays at airport hotels, other than people who’ve missed a flight? It’s now us. Our trip to Akaroa, New Zealand for wildlife experiences on the Banks Peninsula, started the night before. We live about two hours from the airport. For a 9am […]
From Polar Bears to Penguins People often ask us what destinations we’ve enjoyed the most, or the best places for wildlife photography. It’s a fair question, but an impossible one to answer. Each encounter feels like a chapter in a story that’s still being written, shaped by weather, light, the animals themselves, and sometimes sheer […]