First Landing on Possession Island

Day 14. Friday 24 January - Evening landing on Possession Island

We left Robertson Bay and rounded Cape Adare at 11.40 and continued southwards along the Adare Peninsula, towards the Possession Islands, where Henryk Bull’s expedition in 1895 set up a message post. 

In the bridge our Captain was keeping a close watch on our passage through the ice, breaking through the thin pancake ice when necessary.

A belt of pack ice could be seen to the west. 

Late in the afternoon Rodney briefed us on making a landing on Possession Island with its large colony of Adelie Penguins. There is some doubt as to which island is Possession and which is Foyn Island; as charts vary!

By 6pm two Zodiacs driven by Samuel and Katya, were shuttling us to a boulder beach on Possession Island with an interesting wet landing on the rounded shingle cobbles that rolled beneath our feet.

This was our first experience of the Adelie penguins at close quarters, with chicks at various stages of development amongst interesting volcanic landscape. 

Gaggles of chicks in various stages of moulting huddled together for protection while waiting for a parent to return with a feed of krill.

When the parent arrived, he or she set off running with one or two chicks in hot pursuit,  until the parent relented and regurgitated its crop-full. By that time hopefully any interloping chicks would have given up the chase.

Some late nesters were still gathering pebbles for their nest,
















and calling hopefully for a mate.


Apparently some pairings made this season, although they do not breed this season may get an early start for next season.

Chicks from these late nesters were unlikely to make it :(

Sadly, there was a lot of evidence of loss of life in the colony.

Ever curious about those strange other-two-legged creatures staring at us!

Cast high up on a beach ridge of the spit, was a wrecked wooden US landing craft still with its engine. This was lost from USS Edisto during a storm in the 1960’s and was rediscovered by Rodney in 1995.

We had a late but sumptuous dinner, with seafood chowder, venison on rice/pork belly followed by a gorgeous desert with Black Doris plums, crumble and ice cream (for the non-gluten free). 

Late in the evening HMNZS Otago on fishery patrol was sighted.