Elephant Island - December 31, 2010

Happy New Year's Eve! We arrived at Elephant Island where Shackleton landed at about 10 am this morning in the fog. But it was clear enough to get in the zodiacs and get close to shore....a bit too rough to disembark. We had penguins swimming around us. A huge chunk of glacier calved off so the water was full of ice as it broke apart. We saw the memorial to Shackleton. Even saw a rare siting of a leopard seal on a rock with two penguins nearby. Since leopard seals eat penguins, it is unique to find them so close to each other which probably means the leopard seal wasn't doing too well. The seas were rough in the zodiac but well worth it. So glad I brought a camcorder along as well! This afternoon we are sailing around Elephant Island before heading west to arrive at Deception Island for New Year's Day. We will probably do one more zodiac outing before dinner.