WHALE O’!
This morning National Geographic Orion awoke to hundreds of whales surrounding the ship as it approached Elephant Island just north of the Antarctic Peninsula. Minke, fin and humpback whales surrounded the ship as they gorged on a bounty of Antarctic Krill.
After our remarkable whale encounter we boarded the Zodiacs to cruise around the incredibly small beach where Shackleton’s crew spent just over four months marooned on this inhospitable island. The beach is now home to a large colony of chinstrap penguins and a bust of the Chilean Captain who eventually rescued the men in 1916.
