Flat ice floes and huge table ice mountains
Between the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula – at Trinity– and Tabarin Peninsula – and the Joinville Archipelago,lies the Antarctic Sound. The water landscape is dominated by flat ice floes and immense table ice mountains. The true proportions of these massive debris only become clear when the ship sails below, and you look up past a wall of ice. The proportions are those of a metropolis, the layering of the ice can be read like dozens of floors. Everything else is inse to no. More of these giants can be seen as the ship heads towards the Weddell Sea, towards a wide, surreal landscape.
HOPE BAY, BROWN BLUFF AND PAULET ISLAND
Several historical expeditions were stranded in the pack ice of the Antarctic Sound. The expedition members survived for months in – for humans – extremely harsh conditions in the bay, which was named Hope Bay. The ruinous remains of their stone hut are lost in the plain.
The living conditions for many animals are particularly favourable here. The largest breeding colonies of Adélieping penguins can be found in the bays and on the islands of the Antarctic Sound. Tens of thousands of penguins are huddled on the bare rocks. A zodiac landing in Hope Bay,at Brown Bluff or on Paulet Island gives you the chance to see the animals up close. Also look out for donkey penguins, kelp gulls, south pole chickens, subantarctic large hunters and various species of petrels, Weddell seals and leopard seals.
