Author: Craig

Born in New Jersey in 1956. Lives in Colorado and travels the world.

Lemaire and Nuemayer Channels, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel has steep cliffs that hem in this iceberg-filled passage, which is only 7 miles long (11km) and only 1,600 meters wide. The surrounding formations also serve to protect the water, so much so, that it appears to be as still and tranquil as a lake.

The sunset was like fire and ice. The image falls short of just how amazing this actually was.
Surreal lighting at sunset (11:45 PM). Because it is summer here it never gets dark. The sunrise will occur in about 3 or 4 hours time (approximately 3:30 AM).
Nearby formations rising almost vertically from the water.
The pastel colors were amazing.
Crazy spectators taking in the moment. My hippie friend was from Germany. His personality was at least as big as it appears in this image.
Hot tub “selfies.” Why bother with capturing images of the incredible sunset, colors, rock formations, and ice forms when you can take “selfies?”

The following day we are on to the Neumayer Channel. These channels were about a one day sail apart from each other and almost as different as could be. No more clear skies, a lot more wind, as well as an uncountable amount of sailing hazards in the form of rock outcroppings, underwater rock spires, and icebergs. 

Hazards along the way. The Quest’s captain is required to be an “ice-master” before sailing to either the Arctic or the Antarctic. The qualification as an “ice-master” has absolutely nothing to do with the doomed 1913 voyage of the Karluk, which sank in the Arctic Ocean and taking with it more than half its crew.
More treacherous seas and a sizable iceberg looming in the background. That berg is more than enough to severely cripple or sink any ship colliding or grazing it.
Notice the Russian expedition ship in the foreground. Upon closer inspection with my binoculars it confirmed my feeling that this could be a tough way to travel to this part of the world. It’s probably not a stretch to also believe that the captain of the Russian ship is probably somewhat intoxicated for much of the journey.
Almost through the channel at this point. These spires are approximately 300-400 meters (1,000-1,250 feet) rising almost straight up from the water.
This is as far as we were able to go as the ice became too abundant. The Captain smartly decided to rotate our vessel 180 degrees and head back the way we entered the channel.

“Polar Plunge,” somewhere near the Antarctic Circle

Sea days aboard the Seabourn Quest are truly relaxing.  After 15 or so days into this voyage I have grown to relish the days which occur between stops at either ports or landings by zodiac. They are referred to “sea days” because no one leaves the ship.  On these days there is no schedule, and yet a plethora of things exist to do.  A good many memorable experiences happen on sea days.  Some of these activities involve some day drinking (as in alcohol), but none more so than Seabourn’s version of the “polar plunge.”  Also a memorable event.

Let me set the stage for this event which is depicted in the images below.  First, the pool is drained of the normally warm (86 degree F) water.   Second, frigid water is pumped from the sea to fill the pool.  In this case it is Antarctic sea water.  The water temperature of the freshly filled pool is now 35 degrees F, or 2 degrees C.  The skies were cloudy with a light flurry of snow.  The air temperature was 30 degrees F, and the drinks were flowing, especially the vodka shots.  

This is the scene prior to the big event. Note the two jacuzzi tubs on the far corners of the pool. These play a critical part of the polar plunge and after party. I believe that there would be far fewer participants if these were not available upon one’s exit from the frigid water in the pool.
One of the bar set ups on the pool deck. This one featuring many varieties of ice cold vodkas. The bottles are sitting in ice structures specially formed for this purpose. These Seabourn guys sure know how to throw a party.
Like lemmings to the frigid water so are some of my fellow shipmates. Many spectators are viewing and photographing from the Sky Bar on the above deck.
Here I am making my first of three plunges. Jumping into the deep-end and fully submerged I didn’t feel the cold for 3 or 4 seconds. Then it gripped me like a vice with teeth. My main motivation for participating in the plunge was that I always wanted to know what Kate and Leo felt like on that ill-fated night in April 1912.
Shots delivered to the jacuzzi, just in case you weren’t buzzed from the ice cold plunge. I overheard one of the gentlemen proclaim that he thought that due to the frigid water and his resulting shrinkage, that he wouldn’t be able to find his “junk” for an hour or so. Then I looked around for George Constanza.

Shots all around. My British friend apparently wishing cheers to the photographer capturing this image.
It seems the shots are now having an effect. She’s fully in the moment, as was everyone else participating in this crazy activity.

Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula

Paradise Bay, also know as Paradise Harbor is a wide embayment behind the Lemaire and Bryde Islands in Antarctica. We were here on a particularly awesome weather day. The skies were almost cloudless, the air temperature a very comfortable 30 degrees F (-1 degree C), and the winds calm. This was just a great day for kayaking, whale watching and a bit of exploring. After taking in some impressive whale watching, we made our way to an island playing host to the chinstrap penguins, as well as elephant seals and other animal life.

Our group photo was taken by my friend Brian Doyle. Truly an amazing summer day Kayaking in the Antarctic peninsula. So much so that I didn’t need to make use of the neoprene hand sleeves on the kayak’s paddle. Because the wind was virtually nonexistent the water was like glass and mirrored almost all the surrounding land and ice forms.
Two hump-back whales are performing a synchronized swimming move just ahead of the kayak. So incredibly graceful are these creatures that the only thing one is able to hear as they pass by is their exhaling, which is quite loud. I am alluding to the whales of course, not the kayakers.
Two of my follow “Yakers” photographing the whales in the background. These animals have powerful sonar. If they get close enough to capsize a kayak, it is because they plan to, thus it’s never an accident. However, they are quite docile unless provoked.

This is a demonstration of how the whales wave “bye-bye.” It is the payoff, as well as a view of how these creatures are tracked and charted. The underside of their tail is analogous to a human fingerprint. These whales travel thousands of miles throughout the oceans and are tracked and recorded in this way.

After about an hour or so kayaking we arrived here. This tiny island plays home to 3,000 breeding pairs of Chinstrap penguins, as well as some elephant seals. The sharp craggy rock cliffs were quite stunning. Note all the chinstraps at the top left of the image.
Why the long face? This chinstrap penguin seems a bit down at the moment I captured the image.
Although I would love to claim this as my own, however my new pal Brian Doyle captured this image. Not sure how loud this was, but based upon my experiences that day I can’t believe he was able to get this close. Their diet consists mostly of fish, squid, small sharks and octopus. They have also been known to enjoy a small penguin or two from time to time.
This elephant seal is dwarfed by the whale rib in the foreground.
Pictured above is another chinstrap penguin. This penguin seamed much happier than his cousin above on the snow. Note the algae on the rocks. In addition to its very important function and role in the eco-system here, it lends a beautiful contrast of color to this image.
This water boat from the whaling days around the turn of the century (1900) is slowly decaying in the summer sun. Because of the severe cold here, the process of decomposition takes a bit longer. Again I am reminded of an industry that nearly made extinct the whale population in this part of the world.

Milford Sound, New Zealand

Milford Sound is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand’s South Island within Fiordland National Park. It is a World Heritage site. This area receives over 250 inches of rain annually. Waterfalls abound this entire area and there is much wildlife.

View from my vessel.

Waterfalls

Another image of the plunging coastline.

Another waterfall.

Interesting rock formations.

Seals just taking in the sun.

Close up of these seals as photographed from my zodiac.

Rare bird.

Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia

These are three of the four largest cities in Australia, with Sydney at 4.5 million being the largest and Brisbane being the smallest with a population of 2.4 million.  All three are practically litter free and modern.  They are also very walk friendly.

Brisbane cityscape.  Lot’s of cranes all along the skyline above boast a vibrant city below.

Brisbane from the Brisbane River.  This was a good way to take in a lot of the architecture.

Sydney Opera House at night.

Opera House at sunset.  The main part of Sydney Harbour where the Opera House is situated is off limits to commercial shipping.  Consequently, it is completely devoid of container ships and the like.

Just one more image of the Opera House.

Unless you know it’s there it is hard to find Mr. Wong because it is located in an otherwise quiet alleyway with no other commercial businesses.  It’s pretty easy to make a Wong turn and get lost.

Peking Duck is a house favorite and obviously very popular.  An entire area of the kitchen is devoted solely to the duck.  These people do duck right, not Wong.

Mr. Wong cantonese-inspired restaurant lower bar area.  I sat at this bar for lunch and was impressed not only by the cuisine, but the mixology taking place before my eyes.  These bartenders were cranking out some of the most complex and beautiful cocktails that I have ever seen.  Judging from the volume of drinks they were preparing, one might think it was spring break, and not a normal Tuesday afternoon.  You can’t go Wong eating and/or just drinking in this establishment.

Inscrutable dim sum personnel.  I really didn’t like the way she was looking at me.  Did I say something Wong?  Okay, no more Wong jokes except for this.  These two Wongs do make it right.

Art Deco carnival at Luna Park just under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Great juxtaposition of buildings, bridges, and everything else.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Art Deco carnival on the lower right under the bridge.

Met my new friends on the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb.  “Look Ma, no hands.”  This was a great adventure and unless you have a desire to commit suicide, completely safe.  After the climb we all engaged in an awesome evening of debauchery. They were from the “wild-side” of Japan.  Until I met these people, I was clueless as to the “wild-side” of Japan.

Approach to Sydney Harbour.

Melbourne skyline shot from the WW II Memorial.

Headed to New Zealand now.  That will be my last destination on the epic journey.

Moreton Island, Australia

I had to take a day to visit this place because it is rare that swimming in the Australian ocean is not fraught with potential danger or death. I wasn’t disappointed one bit. The island is located off the coast of south-east Queensland and is relatively tiny.  It is only 20 miles long and 5 miles wide.  Nearly all of this island is sand so there are no roads.  Consequently, 4wd is the only way of getting around.   People visit for all of the recreational activities which are available here.

Beach scene is relatively quiet here.

Great water temps too.  The temperature was a comfortable 82 degrees, or 28 celsius.

These sandy cliffs were apparent only because the vegetation had slid into the sea.

Coastline shot taken from the small boat I was able to charter in order to get to the island.

Great sign but I didn’t want to spend the time in order to check out the Smoking Management Plan.  So you’re good to smoke and get loaded here, but please no pistachios or nacho chips.

Next stop for me will be the big cities on the eastern coast of this so far incredible continent.

Hamilton Island and Townsville, Australia

Hamilton Island is one of the Whitsunday Islands just off the east coast in Queensland and is close to the Great Barrier Reef.  It is a mostly car-free island, predominantly  covered with bush, and by-in-large a resort island.  I have seen beautiful images of this area on a clear day, however the time I spent here was filled with clouds and rain.  Thus, kayaking was the perfect thing for me to do on Hamilton Island this day because of the weather.

Meeting the group of kayakers I would be with for the 4 hour adventure. Since I was traveling solo, a kayak parter was assigned to me.  She is somewhere in this frame but I hadn’t been coupled with her just yet.

The torrential rainfall was great because everything was perfectly warm, the rain, the ocean and the air were all about 85 degrees F (or 30 degrees C).  My partner had incredible strength.  She was so strong that it required little effort on my part for the 4 hour excursion.  Since she was unable to turn around, it was only the other kayakers that could see how easy this was for me.

My kayak parter took this selfie image. Her name was Polina and she was from Belarus. Great accent, funny and one hell of a great paddler too.

Bummer for these sailors.  This ship ran aground in early 2017, but gave the appearance as though it had been there for years.  As soon as the insurance pays off, this rusting and rotting carcass will be salvaged and removed. My guide said that the crew was safe when help finally arrived but that the crew was extremely drunk.  He wasn’t sure if they were drunk before the crash, or if they were so upset that they went on a major bender after the collision.

Onto Billabong Sanctuary in Townsville, Australia.  The animals here seemed to be enjoying the warm hard rain that persisted all day.

This sign, amongst others are prominently displayed near the crocodile areas within  the Billabong Sanctuary.

This specimen was approximately 12-14 feet in length.

A group just enjoying the rain.

Nice coloring on this one.

The signs are serious.  It’s easy to imagine that someone might stumble and the child on their shoulders could go right in as the chainlink fence is only 4 feet high.  What a feeding frenzy that would cause.  I bet some sick people would buy tickets for that.  Better yet, the Sanctuary could use convicted offenders of crimes against children and sacrifice them.  I would pay up for that.

Cutest by far of all the animals I have seen.

Close up of the “Mona Lisa” of koalas.  For some reason she gets more attention than the other koalas.  I believe I can see why.  She’s a bit inscrutable, just like the woman in that famous painting hanging in the Louvre.

Koala cubs at play.

Darwin Mangroves & Cairns (Great Barrier Reef & Kuranda Rain Forest), Australia

Darwin is located on Australia’s north coast and has a population of approximately 146,000.  It is a mere 860 miles south of the equator and was one of the hottest places I’ve ever experienced. With temperatures above 106 degrees fahrenheit or 41 degrees celsius, relative humidity of 98 percent, and near cloudless skies, it was a roaster in my Zodiac. It is important to remember that in Australia everything can kill you. From the aquatic life in the sea (including sharks, stinger jellyfish, salt-water crocodiles, and some of the beautiful mollusks), to the creatures on land, like scorpions, spiders and snakes, just to mention a few.  This is in contrast to the United States, where the largest threat to humans is posed by other humans.  After a few days in Darwin I travelled to Cairns, Queensland which is on the northeast coast of Australia.  With a population of approximately 148,000, it’s about the same size as Darwin.  There are plenty of things to do here.  The Great Barrier Reef with its 133,000 square miles is just off the coast.  It is our planet’s largest single structure made by living organisms. Unfortunately, due to environmental factors the reef has lost half of its coral cover in the past 30 years.

Tidal mangroves with many salt-water crocodiles.  They are just extremely hard to see as only their eyes are above water.  They are known as “ambush predators” because they remain completely still and then ambush their prey.  Good thing these large reptiles don’t know the Zodiac is made of rubber.

Crocodile Dundee.  His real name was Greg and he was the real deal, from the accent to the hat.  Great guide through the mangroves.  And we never got lost.

This explains the lack of people walking around.  What an awesome site.  Then I discover it was not alive.  An incredible letdown. But I was intrigued and later discovered that a real crocodile emerged from the waters in this frame only 6 years ago.  It was this size (4 meters, or 14 feet).  The croc was captured, transferred to a sanctuary, and now immortalized in this croc sculpture.

Cigarette machine with a stern warning.  Because a pack of cigarettes can cost $32 (that’s USD) you rarely see people smoking here.  Because the deterrent of death is not strong enough, the Aussies imposed a very high cigarette tax.

My copter ride to and over the Great Barrier Reef.  Parts of the reef are unfortunately dying as a result of climate change and pollution.  No jokes here as this is an extremely sad situation.  Mass coral bleaching caused by elevated ocean temperatures, although not an annual occurrence, is happening more frequently.

Close up of Green Island.  The diving and snorkeling is amazing here.

Another shot of Green Island on my approach.

During low tide my copter can land on this sandy atoll.  Unfortunately the tide wasn’t low enough.  I had all my gear and everything. What a letdown, but since my pilot got me back without incident I still gave him a great tip.

Both sand expanses and bleaching can be seen here.

Waterfall at Barron Gorge on my way to and through the rainforest.

Another image of the falls.  Unfortunately this day the river was in a low flow mode.  But still a very stunning falls.

Another view of Barron Gorge which carves its way though the rainforest.

Boris the spider.  Not too poisonous, if this White-tailed spider bites you, you have a day or so to seek medical attention, other spiders can be lethal in as little as a few hours.

Crashed plane in what was at one time an uninhabited jungle.   Now it’s a tangled sculpture.

Hippie village A/K/A Kuranda Village.  This place is authentic flower-power.  I think many of the people who live in this tropical environment are some of the same people who attended Woodstock in 1969.  It also appears that old hippies don’t age very well.

Street scene in the Village.

No flower-power time capsule would be complete without a shop selling dream-catchers and incense.

Great warning in Cairns.  Quite a spectacle too.  These bats were in almost every tree, but only in a small 2-3 block radius.

Just hanging out.  Since the bats sleep upside-down there is little chance of being nailed by bat-shit.

In flight is where you must be alert and on guard for being hit by their waste.  These bats have some crazy radar and as a result are incredibly accurate.

Good bat form.  Great posture and neck extension.  The wing span was approximately 2-3 feet.  The judges gave it a 10.  Holy bat-shit Batman.

Interesting posting in the toilet.  No comments here.  As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.