Excerpt from the trip report of a Heritage Expedition in the East Antarctic – Commonwealth Bay and Mawson’s Hut
We steamed out of Commonwealth Bay in light snow and a cold breeze and on the way, Martin delighted us all with his lecture on Seals of the Southern Ocean.
Again we made our way slowly through many ice floes that were more widespread and generally larger than those encountered previously. They had come from the Mertz iceberg and were a sure sign we were heading in the right direction. Soon enough it loomed out of the fog, all 2,500 square kilometres of it.
Iceberg the size of Luxemburg
It was huge...apparently the size of Luxemburg. Its steep and sheer cliffs rose out of the ocean with straight lines of deep blue and grey. Huge cracks seemed to show signs of stress. It was grounded in shallow water and was slowly breaking apart, but it will no doubt take decades to fully decay back into the ocean.
At this incredible sight Rodney decided to get the Zodiacs in the water. The group was split into 2 and we took turns at getting up close and personal with this behemoth.
Juvenile Fin whale
It was great to cruise around the ice and stare at the cliffs but the highlight was a juvenile Fin Whale who decided that we were very interesting indeed. He swam around the three Zodiacs for over an hour, circling round and passing within less than a metre of us. Wow! What a sight, this 10m whale playing with us. Combined together there must have been about 1 million photos taken, but nothing can compare to the memories we have of that incredible experience. Then it was back on board for a delicious meal as we slowly cruised back toward Commonwealth Bay.
Juvenile Fin whale that spent an hour inspecting the zodiacs
