Iceberg alley...

Antarctic Sound is "iceberg alley", a spectacular passage of grounded tabular bergs.

Tabular iceberg in the Bransfield Strait, the Antarctic Peninsula in the background.

The Orion ran at 15kn north-east along Bransfield Strait to get near the end of the Antactic Peninsula where she could cut south again and pass through Antarctic Sound and enter the Weddell Sea. This journey followed the peninsula on the starbord side. Out of sight on the port side were the South Shetland Islands, originally charted by Edward Bransfield in 1820. The weather remained sunny and bright, and the journey was a feast of icebergs and sea birds! Calm seas with a mild swell prevailed. We took over 500 photos today, a record.

A pure white Snow Petrel exploits the Orion's wake.

A Cape Petrel flys by.

The officer on duty had to steer a course between huge icebergs. A collision with these giants would destroy the Orion as surely as the Titanic, but visibility was perfect, and our expeditionary vessel made good speed as it zig-zagged the Sound.

A glorious geometric iceberg, glistening in the clear sun.

No cell phone reception, so you have to resort to satellites.

Size does matter with lenses when attempting to photograph soaring birds.

The Orion has to duck and dive to avoid sizeable bergs.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

Meanwhile, passengers relished the beautiful weather, and lazed in sunny but sheltered positions on deck. There was much clicking of shutters.

A distant view of the grounded tabular icebergs.

Some icebergs have flipped over.

Closeup view of a massive tabular berg.

The mountain range that is the Antractic Peninsula.

Approach with caution!

Erin McFadden gave a presentation on the wonders of krill for those who wanted to stay indoors. She explained that krill, whose biomass is the greatest of any multi-cellular species, are a keystone species, meaning they are one of the few to have a "unique and crucial role in the operation of an ecosystem". Basically, krill feed almost all the predators in the Southern Ocean, and for many (including baleen whales), it's the only food they eat. Krill (and hence the entire ecosystem) are under threat, because they feed on the underside of the sea-ice shelf when maturing. Thanks to global warming, less sea-ice is forming, and later than the krill need it when spawning. Half the world's krill is eaten every year, and (in a regulated industry) some of it is fished and used as fish-meal.

It got exciting when Orion turned south into Antarctic Sound to head into the Weddell sea via the same route that Nordenskjold pioneered in 1901. Large, and then huge, tabular icebergs came thick and fast. Shaun called this area "iceberg alley" - the bergs are locked in position because they have run aground in relatively shallow waters. Describing these monsters is like trying to descibe Ayers Rock or Uluru. Doing them justice in photographs is just as difficult - an aerial view would be amazing.

Truly spectacular iceberg formation in the late afternoon sun.

Gentoo penguins feature on the Orion's bow flag.

This bridge seems to join two tabular bergs. Are they joined underneath?

Sea water grease ice, or freshwater berg crumblings?

Tabular bergs, close up!

No, we didn't go through that passage, although we pulled up close.

Occasionally coming into the Weddell Sea, the boat literally had to zig-zag between them through terrifyingly small gaps - the Captain was heard to say (having looked at his radar) that "there is no other way".

This day is and will remain an absolute highlight of our Antarctic expedition! Those huge icebergs are nothing less than truly eye-popping, and we saw them in perfect weather.

After dinner, sunset produced the opportunity to catch the ship's shadow, and cast a magnificent light on the myriad of tabular icebergs well out into the Weddell Sea. We were still taking photos in glorious after-dusk light after 10:00pm, when the captain finally set off for our next (unknown) destination. If the expedition had ended now, we would all have been satisfied - what a magical day!

The shadow of the Orion at 9:00pm.

Warm light on the bergs just before sunset.

Sun getting low at 9:30pm.

Now look at the colours, with the sun below the hoizon!

A most magical view of sunset.

The penguins have to fling themselves up onto platforms like this.