Three Hundred Thousand Penguins

Larry and Martha Neel spent 23 days in November touring the south pole in pursuit of their passion — photographing the natural beauty of this planet. The following is a report from one of the crowning experiences of the trip. Our black, poly Zodiac landing craft rode the choppy but gentle surf easily toward shore – ten yellow-parka’d travelers perched five to a side on its gunwales, pilot standing confidently at the stern.  As we scraped bottom the reception crew took our boat by the bow and tow rope, guided it home and reached out to pluck the yellow passengers off the sides front to back. By pure luck Martha and I were first off the boat – the first boat to come ashore. We shucked our life preservers, tossed them where the pile would form and took our route directions from an expedition staffer – follow the trail perhaps a quarter mile up the beach to our left to where the staff ornithologist had set up, stay between the flags, watch the fur seal bachelor bulls studding the way, stay away from them and don’t provoke them to charge.  At her command, we shouldered our packs full of double-drybagged camera equipment and took off like American GI’s hitting Normandy Beach on D-Day –me in the lead, Martha next – the very first two travelers on the trail to 300,000 nesting King Penguins and their big fluffy brown chicks. I strode briskly forward, energized by the realization of a dream come true – a dream that began when we left the theater after watching “March Of The Penguins” some thirteen years ago.  There were a lot of fur seals, not en masse, but one here and one there and another over there. A wildlife biologist by profession, I didn’t know diddly about fur seals but I did think I knew something about large mammals in general and I barked authoritatively to my wife Martha trailing behind, “Keep your head down and don’t give them eye contact. They are threatened by eye contact.” It seemed to work – none offered to take us out from our appointed march. It is difficult to describe the spectacle of 300,000 nesting King Penguins – perhaps the most beautiful penguin of all – under balmy blue skies at the edge of the world on an island one has only read and dreamed about, the island of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous rescue. The Antarctic cruise is a challenge – not a Shackletonian challenge these days, but as tour cruises go it still requires a serious commitment on the part of the traveler. It is austral spring/summer – as mild and friendly as the climate gets – but storms can still sweep the south polar seas, ice can shift, and conditions can go from balmy to seriously dangerous in a matter of hours. The trip is also pricey, and getting to embarkation from the funky little Tierra del Fuegan port village of Ushuaia can also be challenging and frustrating even in today’s modern age of air travel. The person who has longed to see the penguins, though, owes this trip to one’s self sometime in a life. Under normal conditions and getting out to South Georgia Island, one can expect to see seven of the eight penguin species possible. The Antarctic traveler also gets a chance to test their mettle against high seas, squalls, and bitter cold, offer a toast at Shackleton’s grave, and adventure with some of the best, committed young tour guides one will ever meet. Still processing the portent and impact of this recent trip I wonder… would I go back?

Larry Neel writes from Fallon, Nevada where he lives the life of a retired wildlife biologist with his wife Martha. These days Larry’s passions are travel and nature photography, and his landscape and wildlife prints are regularly exhibited at libraries and other public buildings in the western Nevada region. View his work at his Larry Neel Photography Facebook page and at www.larryneelphoto.com.