Directly from the wreck of the Governoren we sped off toward a huge tabular iceberg a few miles away. It was already after 11pm, but while the sun would set for an hour or two that night, it wouldn't go below the horizon until after 2am.
Meanwhile, the light was fantastic.
On the way to the tabular 'berg we came across an outcropping of rock with a few adelie penguins on it, resting from a day's fishing. The one perched atop the highest rock really did look like he was trying to give us directions.
Sunset on Penguino Hill - Our first sighting of adelie penguins resting on a rock with a colored sunset sky behind them. This photo was taken at 11:40pm, the days are so long in Antarctica.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Stereo Penguin Guide - Sit back and cross your eyes until you have three images, then focus in on the center one! You might find the Large version easier. Got a headache? Try the wiggle stereogram instead!
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Poser Penguin - This little adelie penguin just posed like crazy for me. I have so many photos that make him look like he is bowing and waving his flippers at me (like here) and jumping. He was so cute. The Adelie peguin is the typical tuxedo penguin that most penguin characters are patterned after. You can get a good luck at the red color under the flipper on the right which shows that he is warm from swimming and trying to cool off.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Three Penguinos - Adelie penguins taking a rest on some rocks in Antarctica.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Funny Birds - Adelie penguins are the classic comical penguin. Their movements, neck stretches, walk and general demeanor is hilarious. We could watch them for hours.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Penguin Personality - Two adelie penguins rest on this rock with the yellow sky of sunset behind them. Adelie penguins are the only true Antarctic penguin, meaning that they never leave for warmer climates. They spend their entire lives in the cold antarctic waters and land.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Read 20 comments
Once the penguins were done with us we resumed our journey toward the iceberg. From a distance it was hard to appreciate the true size of the thing, but as we narrowed the gap to the berg it began to tower over us, despite its being several times wider than it was tall!
Tabular bergs, the largest type of iceberg, are formed when a large portion of an ice shelf breaks off and starts to drift free. The ice shelves themselves, thick sheets of ice that extend from land and form over the antarctic seas, are often thousands to tens of thousands of years old and can be hundreds of feet thick. When they break off, the long table-like bergs (hence 'tabular') can drift for months or years, depending on weather conditions and currents.
While eventually the berg will break up in to smaller and smaller pieces, and will eventually turn and roll as its underside slowly melts away, tabular bergs have never turned, and the exposed edges are a history of thousands of years of snowfall packed down into dense snow and ice. When the berg does start to crack, the deep blues you can see inside are amazing, illuminated only by light passing through dozens to hundreds of feet of blue ice.
When looking at the scale of the berg in these pictures, it's good to keep in mind that only the top 1/8th of an iceberg is above the surface, and that the berg has seven times the mass hidden below the water line.
Tabular Berg - Beautiful large tabular iceberg in Antarctica.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Ray of Light - Sun setting behind the antarctic hills.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Dwarfed - Tiny little zodiac boat full of the rest of our group. Great big HUGE tabular iceberg.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Read 3 comments
Towering Over Them - The other zodiac slowly approaches the huge iceberg. It was absolutely amazing to feel how small you were beside this massive creation.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Light and Shadows - The sun setting on these antarctic hills.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Ice Steps - An amazingly large tabular iceberg.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Contrast - I love the striking differences between the blue ice of the harsh iceberg and the soft pink clouds in the sky above it. The world makes amazing things!
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Ice Level - The very bottom of a huge tabular iceberg. The shadow made by the setting sun on the other side of the berg accentuates the blue of the ice and water.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Sunset Cliff - A large tabular iceberg at during a midnight sunset in Antarctica.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Cracked - Details in a large tabular iceberg in Antarctica.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Perfect End To A Day - A beautiful, calm, peaceful evening. The perfect end to a very long first full day in Antarctica.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Comment on this photo
Blue Canopy - Blue ice and icicles on an iceberg.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Read 2 comments
Follow The Light - The setting sun leaves a trail between these two icebergs.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Read 1 comment
In Their Wake - The other zodiac speeding ahead for a different view of one of the icebergs or the sunset.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Lady Liberty's Nose - And Our Boat - Rachel and I think this angle of the iceberg kind of looks like the nose and eye line of the Statue of Liberty.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Read 1 comment
Pink & Blue - Dimpled iceberg and the pink sky of sunset. I will point out that this photo was taken at 12:04 at night.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Read 3 comments
Back To The Boat - Its after midnight, its been a long day. Time to go get sleep before tomorrow begins.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
Midnight Sunset - Pink skis of the sunset between the Antarctic icebergs. This is after midnight.
- Photo by Rachel Lea Fox
Read 5 comments
Coming In From The Cold - The door from the mud room to the back deck where we load into and out of the zodiacs to go our on excursions. This is the view after we returned from our midnight sunset cruise.
- Photo by Kevin Fox
Comment on this photo
This was the end to a very long day. It was a quarter past midnight when we got back on board the ship, and it didn't take long for us to get out of our gear and head for sleep. If today was any indication, we would need all the sleep we could get!
Read the next chapter: Day 3: Gentoo Cute
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Telling the Story posted Jan 10, 2009
Day 0: Positioning posted Jan 12, 2009
Leaving, on a jet plane posted Jan 12, 2009
Day 1: The Herc posted Jan 15, 2009
Day 1: Penguino posted Jan 16, 2009
Day 2: Chicken posted Jan 17, 2009
Day 2: Leopard posted Jan 19, 2009
Day 2: Snow Day posted Jan 22, 2009
Day 2: Shipwreck posted Jan 26, 2009
» Day 2: Totally Tabular posted Jan 27, 2009
Day 3: Gentoo Cute posted Jan 29, 2009
Day 3: Lichen Shag Glacier posted Feb 3, 2009
Day 3: Palmer Station Visit posted Feb 9, 2009
Day 4: Icy Penguins posted Feb 11, 2009
Day 4: Adelie Awesome posted Feb 15, 2009
Day 4: Leopard Seal Attack posted Feb 17, 2009
Day 4: Kayak posted Feb 19, 2009
Day 4: Vernadsky Station Visit posted Feb 23, 2009
Day 4: Vernadsky Sunset posted Feb 25, 2009
Day 5: Antarctic Circle posted Feb 27, 2009
Day 5: Polar Plunge posted Mar 5, 2009
Day 5: Mouth of The Gullet posted Mar 13, 2009
Day 5: Ice Camping posted Mar 18, 2009
Day 6: Flamingos on Ice posted Mar 20, 2009
Day 6: Mountain Climbing posted Mar 24, 2009
Day 6: Ice Textures posted Mar 26, 2009
Day 6: Antarctic New Years posted Apr 2, 2009
Day 7: Crystal Sound Icebreaker posted Apr 9, 2009
Day 7: Abandoned Antarctica: Base W - Part 1 posted Apr 17, 2009
Day 7: Abandoned Antarctica: Base W - Part 2 posted Apr 21, 2009
Day 8: Bird Watching in the Fish Islands posted Apr 23, 2009
Day 8: Icee Day - Part 1 posted May 5, 2009
Day 8: Icee Day - Part 2 posted May 11, 2009
Day 9: Port Lockroy - Base A posted May 20, 2009
Bonus Chapter: Baby Penguins! posted May 21, 2009
Day 9: Antarctic Humpback Whales posted June 3, 2009
Day 9: Dallmann Butt Sliding posted June 11, 2009
Day 10: Birthday Whales posted June 23, 2009
Day 10: Hannah Point Part 1: The Birds posted July 15, 2009
Day 10: Hannah Point Part 2: Elephant Seals posted July 22, 2009
Day 10: Deception Island - Part 1: Walking on the Moon posted Dec 11, 2009
Day 10: Deception Island - Part 2: The Martian Chronicles of Oz posted Dec 15, 2009
More chapters posted every few days...
View Larger Map