Red Rock Ridge

 

1/11/25 AM  Red Rock Ridge 68°21’S, 67°06’W

Inside the Antarctic Circle, Red Rock Ridge is the southernmost landing site for commercial cruise landings. The site is host to a colony of Adélie penguins. 

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The ship anchored in Marguerite Bay. We saw some open water with impressive icebergs from our starboard side balcony. However, land was to port, and we were pretty much blown away by the sight once we came on deck. I took a 360° video sweep of the area from the prow of the ship.

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IAATO Protocols

 The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) was founded in 1991, and member companies – which include pretty much everybody visiting Antarctica (as opposed to working there) with the exception of private yachts – adhere to a set of protocols for landings intended to preserve the environment and protect the species that live there. Protocols include:

• No more than 100 persons at the landing site at a time
• Maintain a minimum of 5 metres distance from all wildlife
• No kneeling, sitting, lying on, or squatting down to the ground (new since 2023!) to prevent the spread of avian influenza via biocontamination of clothing. Any sites where avian influenza is evident noted are immediately closed to visitors. (as of now, five sites are closed for the season)
• Procedures for inspecting and cleaning gear and boots of bio contaminants
• No drones without obtaining a specific permit. Our ship’s photographer has a specific commercial permit. Nobody else is permitted to use a drone

SOP when returning to the ship from a shore landing. Boot scrubbing brushes on the left, with a handheld showerhead to spray them down. Then step into the pan of anti-bacterial disinfectant on the right.

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 Shore Landings

 With very few exceptions, all shore landings are “wet” landings, meaning that guests arrive and leave via zodiac, and hop disembark the zodiacs into shallow water (6” to 8” deep is common). Guests are issued calf-high rubber ‘bog boots’ for shore landings. The boots are quite comfortable, and perfectly fine for the short hikes at the landing sites. There is a Mud Room where we change into and out of the boots before and after the shore excursions.

Boots are kept in the mud room, in cubbies for each cabin. You can also store your thick socks, trekking poles, etc. in the cubbies.

Boarding the zodiac

Another group boarding after we shoved off

The view of Marguerite Bay as we putted along to the landing site

Wet landing is really only a little wet

Off to see the penguins!

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Penguins!!

The colony was about half a kilometre away from where we disembarked the zodiacs. We saw penguins here and there along the way as we hiked to the colony.

The penguin's primary diet is krill. Krill are predominantly reddish in color. This color is retained as the krill, having been eaten, make their way through and out of the penguin. The penguins slide around on their bellies from time to time. 

Dry clean only

Adélie penguin colonies are limited primarily by availability of bare rock (and then by availability of food), which they require to build their nests. Adele’s have one of the shortest windows for mating and raising young. They are reasonably monogamous, and will return to the same colony to mate year after year. They migrate away from their mating colonies, following the edge of the ice as it grows in winter.

Houses of the Holy Poo

The Ecstatic Display Call (EDC) is given by males whilst at the breeding colony is composed of introductory beats, short repeated syllables and a climactic long syllable. (So says the University of Aukland)

Adélie’s typically lay two eggs per season, about four days apart. The chicks are fluffy looking brownish blobs with beaks, and the all look like they had an extra helping of Cute Flakes for breakfast. At present, the chicks have just a few more weeks before being fully fledged.

And in conclusion, simply this.