Our fourth day in Antarctica dawned bright and sunny, with calm seas and blue skies – perfect kayaking weather! The excitement was palpable as people checked the daily schedule and saw the plan for the day – morning was to be a shore landing at Neko Harbour. This was what many of our fellow passengers had been waiting for: what the expedition staff was calling a “continental landing.” Up to this point, our shore landings had been on islands – still Antarctica, but the Neko Harbour landing would have us stepping foot on the mainland. For the people who had come to Antarctica dreaming specifically of a mainland landing – and there were quite a few of those folks – this was the day they’d been waiting for.

I was excited about a mainland landing, too, but even more excited to paddle the glassy waters of Neko Harbour (with just enough brash ice to keep things interesting…) under these towering black and white mountains.

We loaded up into our kayaks and set off. The solo travelers in the group were taking turns paddling single kayaks; Steve and I stuck together in a double, as did the two other married couples in the sea kayak group. We both prefer to paddle a single, but we can paddle together – we survived five days in a double kayak in the Salish Sea in 2019 and lived to tell the tale, after all – so we were happy enough to share and let the people who felt more strongly about wanting the single kayaks have them.

Sitting in the front seat, I was the designated photographer, and I also got the best views of these incredible glacial walls.

Just look at that blue!

We didn’t have any major wildlife sightings while paddling Neko Harbour, but I wasn’t disappointed at all – I was content just to listen to the sounds of calving glaciers and my paddles slipping in and out of the water. What a glorious day!

Next week: Neko Harbour, Part II – stepping foot on mainland Antarctica!