Our agenda after we spent the morning at both Meusnier Point on the continent and in Recess Cove and then enjoying lunch during the first full day in Antarctica was for all of us to cruise around Charlotte Bay in zodiacs and keep an eye out for whales.
Whales in Charlotte Bay in Antarctica
The reason why we were advised to keep an eye out for whales in Charlotte Bay is because a few whales may be spotted in early December, which is prior to the primary season for viewing whales in Antarctica. In other words, we were hoping to see at least a couple of whales somewhere off in the distance while out on the water.
The afternoon started off slow as we all ventured out on zodiacs from the ship and out onto Charlotte Bay. Despite the gloomy weather which seemed to appear as though the air could be unbearably frigid, the weather was actually mild and pleasant with no wind. Even if no whales showed up, the scenery was spectacular; and the dark clouds actually added to the experience. Floating icebergs, shifting snow, and moving clouds mean that the landscape does not remain the same for long.
We passed by some penguins on an iceberg; but they were not the focus of the afternoon — not yet, anyway. They were probably waiting for a bus.
Not much time had passed until we heard the spout of our first humpback whale sighting of the afternoon.
At first, we started using the clock system: “Whale at 10:00”, for example, because — you know — early December was supposedly not the best time of year to see whales; and we only expected to see a few at most if we were fortunate…
…but were we ever lucky! The calls of the clock of where to see whales increased as the number of them eventually exponentially grew to literally dozens of whales all around us — including families of whales with their calves — until we got to the point where we figured “Ahh, forget the clock system. They are everywhere!”; so all of the zodiacs grouped together in one clump, as the whales came to us instead of each zodiac separating and going out individually to search for them.
At least three different humpback whales were in this pod, judging by the two visible spouts and one tail. This photograph proves that Antarctica is breathtakingly beautiful — even in simple black and white.
The whales were putting on quite a show for us. They came very close to us, curious and wanting to play. Everybody was so delighted and could not get enough!
Near were the whales. Far were the whales. Numerous spout exhales. Dances with their tails!
I was informed on a whale watching trip in Iceland — during which we experienced the rare sighting of a blue whale — that if a whale waves its tail at you, that means it likes you…
…and if that is indeed true, then all of these whales loved us!
Before heading back to the ship, we returned to the penguins that were spotted on an iceberg earlier in the afternoon. I guess their bus never arrived.
This was the first time we saw Adélie penguins in Antarctica instead of Gentoo penguins or Chinstrap penguins.
Here is the raw video from our experience in Charlotte Bay in Antarctica.
Final Boarding Call
We spent the afternoon on Charlotte Bay, which was plenty of time to observe and enjoy the landscape and the waters surrounding us — as well as the numerous whales and penguins, of course! We then went to the Swan Restaurant to enjoy dinner before repairing to our staterooms and retiring for the evening.
I would again have been just fine if the expedition ended at this point, as it already had been simply magical and amazing — that first complete day was really full and delivered well beyond what was promised — but it was still unbelievably only the beginning, with so much to take in!
The only minor point was that none of the whales in Antarctica breached the water enough for us to see their faces, like I experienced in Iceland.
Please click on this article for the complete itinerary of my expedition to Antarctica, which will periodically be updated as more articles are written…
All photographs ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
