Tag: whales

The Subantarctic island of South Georgia is a marvel of the natural world. It’s a hundred mile long mountain range that erupts out of the Southern Ocean, with more marine wildlife than anywhere else on the planet. Penguins and fur seals here are counted by the million. It’s a scene that’s all the more extraordinary […]

Antarctica is one of the greatest whale watching destinations on the planet. There are few feelings quite so ecstatic as the joyful surprise when a humpback whale silently surfaces near your zodiac, and then fills the air with a krill-flavoured mist as it explosively exhales through its blowhole.  Their recovery after years of exploitation is […]

Ask anyone to name the animal they’re most excited to see in Antarctica and penguins are almost always going to be top of their list. Whilst their charisma is undeniable it often threatens to overshadow the region’s other great wildlife experiences. Antarctica is in fact one of the world’s greatest destinations for whale watching.  There […]

It’s delightfully easy to think of Antarctica as a completely pristine environment, untouched by humanity. Maybe it’s the vast blankets of snow that encourages you to think that yours are the first footsteps ever to leave a trace there. It’s an innocent enough fantasy when you’re on an expedition cruise, indulging your sense of personal […]

In 2023, Swoop achieved its B Corp certification, a mark of our commitment to our environmental stewardship, contribution to communities and service to our customers. To celebrate this year’s B Corp Month in March 2024, we’re celebrating by getting involved in a citizen science project, and using the Swoop Conservation Fund to contribute to the […]

Everyone who sails south to Antarctica is likely to have seeing whales pretty high on their wish list. It’s one of the world’s great whale watching destinations, especially once the calendar rolls around into the new year and the great whales start to congregate to feast on krill during the long days of the Antarctic […]

Last November I was lucky enough to visit Elephant Island, that bleak mountainous outcrop at the farthest tip of the South Shetlands that points the way from the Antarctic Peninsula to South Georgia.  Elephant Island is forever famous as the location where the stranded men of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition sheltered while ‘the Boss’ […]

I have now sailed into Wilhelmina Bay on two separate voyages, and kayaked there once. Along with Cuverville Island, it’s my favourite place on the Antarctic peninsular. If the sun is shining, Wilhelmina, literally sparkles, huge mountains rise from a crystal sea, and the icebergs are the size of houses, with shapes, moulded by time […]