Mawlers’ Big Adventure ’06:

The Mawlers Go Bi-polar

Cierva Cove 12/11/06

At Cierva Cove, we went nuts. You have to understand, it was the first time we had both sun and calm water. This is the very same day we had gone to Mikkelson Harbour in near white-out conditions. In fact, the staff had considered passing the afternoon with lectures instead of attempting any landings or Zodiac adventures. Thank heavens they thought better of it.

We both went out in Amanda's Zodiac for a cruise around the icebergs of Cierva Cove. Not much to say, but WOW!

Enjoy.

All good Antarctic picture pages start with penguins. Amanda paused for us to take classic penguin-on-ice pictures.
We had not yet gotten comfortable with the idea of taking the cameras out in the Zodiac, so we only had one SLR and the point-and-shoot between us.
Ironically, of this series, the best was taken with the point-and-shoot.

No, that is not an eruption in the distance, just a really neat cloud.
Not a penguin. This is an Antarctic Shag, baby.
But this is the best penguin shot of the day. Also with the point-and-shoot. Goes to show that timing is everything.

Put in an olive and this would be a great drink. Perhaps a bit salty. This is actually a close-up, where we just leaned over the edge of the Zodiac. Those cubes are about a foot across. (.3 meters for you Aussies. Kiwis are on their own.)
Nice sparkles on the water around the cauliflower-looking heads of the mini-iceberg. Hey, this is a three-headed iceberg!
This is a wide shot of the same place as on the far left of this row. Amanda shut off the engine and let us sit and listen. It sounds just like ice in a very very very large drink. There is even a bit of fizzing sound like a soda or champagne.

Wow, that thing is really just standing up there on its own! Nice ring around the sun, too. Some people call them sun dogs.
Here is a wide shot of the same 'berg on the left. It turns out that the tall one is attached to the one on the right, hence the upright floating posture.
After the morning, the bright sun was just amazing, so we took loads of photos directly into the sun. People at Canon can ignore that last sentence.

'Berg pic with sky.
'Berg pic, also with sky, looks like it is a wave frozen in a breaking position...
This one has a cave underneath. The waves make caves under the 'bergs.

Not only are they impressively large, the textures are pretty amazing.
The blue of the ice is captivating.
The top of this one was probably horizontal at some point and will probably roll over in the near future.

The impressive dark blue streak through this one was once running water that froze in place. Makes for a stunning image.
This shot really emphasizes the alien landscape.
This 'berg has tilted to the right. Looks somewhat like a house that is sinking into the sea.

This is almost the opposite of the icebergs. This is a mountain that rises right up and disappears into the clouds.
The texture of this 'berg is very different from most of the others, so we took several shots of it.
This 'berg looks a lot like a ridge in the Appalachians, except for the fact that it is all ice and floating in the ocean...

The light on this one really highlights the overall smoothness.
Up close, you can see that it is pocked with little dimples, like a golf ball. Not that we know anything about golf. We have a Golf, though...
Strangely, the end of this same 'berg is cut off, creating a very different texture.

This is the Argentine base at Cierva Cove, known as Primavera. As you can see, it is clearly spring here! Notice the subtle use of orange, yet again. (No one home at this base, though.)

Our heros pause for a portrait by another crazed lunatic... uh, passenger before heading off to the next adventure.

The previous installment:
Mikkelson Harbour Pictures

The next installment:
Graham Passage & Neumayer Channel


All good Antarctic picture pages start with penguins. Amanda paused for us to take classic penguin-on-ice pictures.	We had not yet gotten comfortable with the idea of taking the cameras out in the Zodiac, so we only had one SLR and the point-and-shoot between us.	Ironically, of this series, the best was taken with the point-and-shoot.


No, that is not an eruption in the distance, just a really neat cloud.	Not a penguin. This is an Antarctic Shag, baby.	But this is the best penguin shot of the day. Also with the point-and-shoot. Goes to show that timing is everything.


Put in an olive and this would be a great drink. Perhaps a bit salty. This is actually a close-up, where we just leaned over the edge of the Zodiac. Those cubes are about a foot across. (.3 meters for you Aussies. Kiwis are on their own.)	Nice sparkles on the water around the cauliflower-looking heads of the mini-iceberg. Hey, this is a three-headed iceberg!	This is a wide shot of the same place as on the far left of this row. Amanda shut off the engine and let us sit and listen. It sounds just like ice in a very very very large drink. There is even a bit of fizzing sound like a soda or champagne.


Wow, that thing is really just standing up there on its own! Nice ring around the sun, too. Some people call them sun dogs.	Here is a wide shot of the same 'berg on the left. It turns out that the tall one is attached to the one on the right, hence the upright floating posture.	After the morning, the bright sun was just amazing, so we took loads of photos directly into the sun. People at Canon can ignore that last sentence.


'Berg pic with sky.	'Berg pic, also with sky, looks like it is a wave frozen in a breaking position...	This one has a cave underneath. The waves make caves under the 'bergs.


Not only are they impressively large, the textures are pretty amazing.	The blue of the ice is captivating.	The top of this one was probably horizontal at some point and will probably roll over in the near future.


The impressive dark blue streak through this one was once running water that froze in place. Makes for a stunning image.	This shot really emphasizes the alien landscape.	This 'berg has tilted to the right. Looks somewhat like a house that is sinking into the sea.


This is almost the opposite of the icebergs. This is a mountain that rises right up and disappears into the clouds.	The texture of this 'berg is very different from most of the others, so we took several shots of it.	This 'berg looks a lot like a ridge in the Appalachians, except for the fact that it is all ice and floating in the ocean...


The light on this one really highlights the overall smoothness.	Up close, you can see that it is pocked with little dimples, like a golf ball. Not that we know anything about golf. We have a Golf, though...	Strangely, the end of this same 'berg is cut off, creating a very different texture.


This is the Argentine base at Cierva Cove, known as Primavera. As you can see, it is clearly spring here! Notice the subtle use of orange, yet again. (No one home at this base, though.)		Our heros pause for a portrait by another crazed lunatic... uh, passenger before heading off to the next adventure.


The previous installment: Mikkelson Harbour Pictures	The next installment: Graham Passage & Neumayer Channel