Melchior Islands
 

Throughout our expedition of Antarctica we had seen amazing wildlife.  Albatross had cruised along with the ship, almost effortlessly in flight for the longest distances.  Cape petrels, the pale faced sheathbill, blue eyed shags and kelp gulls had all made an appearance. 

Of course we couldn't forget the many penguins, Adelie, Gentoo, Chinstrap and Macaroni.  The seals, of which there were crabeater, elephant and leopard.  We had even see a minke whale.

But around the Melchior Islands and the beautiful Dallman Bay we had the chance many of us had waited for, to see some humpback whales.

The first whale made an appearance around the Multanovskiy and we all rushed out on deck with our cameras.  Every time the humpback went below the surface we waited, then a yell went up and we rushed from one side of the ship to the other to catch a glimpse and a photo of this exciting creature.

As you can see my motordrive was whirring away and I caught some photos of the tail flipping into the air as the humpback went into a deep dive.

Later we went out in the zodiacs and waited patiently near where we hoped to see the humpbacks again.  Sure enough a mother and her calf were feeding, taking shallow dives below the water, rolling and diving near or even under the zodiac.

A fantastic last day in Antarctica with some splendid creatures.

Then we finally returned to the ship and waved goodbye to Antarctica, as we set a course back along the Drake Passage to Ushuaia.

We approach the Melchior Islands on another beautiful day

Then an excited cry as we see a humpback whale!

Photos may not capture the sense of excitement...

...but we were all enthralled...

...as the humpback played around the ship blowing and diving.

So we set off in the zodiacs to hunt for the whales...

...with our cameras of course!

Here is the humpback mother with her calf