Kodak Moment: Cruising through Lemaire Channel in Antarctica
Last Updated on September 18, 2024
The bright sunshine bounced upon the glassy water surface, reflecting off all the white surrounding me –the white from the icebergs that floated past us, the white from the mammoth mountains that enveloped us and the white from the glaciers that slide off ice cliffs. It was a gorgeous morning, with the sun lighting up the entire landscape in a golden glow.
With Wiencke Island behind us, we cruised right into Lemaire Channel, one of the most photogenic parts of Antarctica. It was easy to see how it got the nickname ‘Kodak Gap’. Steep cliffs hem in the iceberg-filled passage like naturally-sculpted gateways and bergy bits litter the glassy water surrounding us. At just half a mile-wide in it narrowest part, Lemaire Channel is a stunner for both its impressive formation and size.
Since people started traveling to Antarctica, the channel has become a standard part of the itinerary for expedition cruises; not only is it scenic, but the protected waters are usually as still as a lake, a rare occurrence in the storm-wracked southern seas. Ice sometimes close up the narrow channel and make navigation impossible, but we were lucky enough to make a successful clearance and found ourselves cruising deep into the fjord.
As we glided along the skyscraping peaks, we chanced upon a crabeater seal resting on an ice floe. It didn’t move one bit as we glided gently by, but just when we were just inches away from it, the shy creature slipped into the ice, and disappeared behind us. Soon after, several minke whales put on a show for us, teasing us with a few rare glimpses.
But really, Lemaire Channel is not about wildlife, it’s about an impressive landscape that epitomizes Antarctica at its best. To give you an idea of how beautiful Lemaire Channel can be, here are some of my photos from the Kodak Gap.
Disclaimer: I traveled with G Adventures on the Antarctica Classic In Depth (XVAESX) trip as a Wanderer In Residence, but all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. Follow my journey through these blog posts, or on Twitter with the #WJAntarctica hashtag.
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The Comments
Kellie
These photos are just stunning. I'm heading to Antarctica in a couple of weeks and your recent posts have helped get me even more excited than I already was! Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
What lens did you find you ended up using the most, or did it vary?
Nellie Huang
KellieThanks for dropping by Kellie! You are going to love Antarctica!
I brought three lenses, one was 18-200, 70-300, and 8-16. I ended up using the 18-200 lens the most since it was good to capture both landscape and wildlife from the cruise and zodiac. In Antarctica, you get so close to the wildlife you don't really need a long lens. Just my point of view. Hope this helps!
Dean
Just so incredibly beautiful. This must have been a wonderful experience.
andiperullo
This would truly be the best moment in my life!
Gill
so wanting to do this trip ina few weeks, what was crossing the Drake passage like for you, it scares me to tears!!
Kelly
Hello Nellie, thank you for your lovely description.
I’m writing an academic paper about all forms of Ice writing. Can you answer a question for me? It’s more about your writing process than what you write about. Clearly you took the photos while passing through the channel, but when did you compose your post? Did you take notes that day or post this description that day? Or did you take time to reflect, edit, etc. and post later?
Thanks, and happy future travels! -Kelly
Nellie Huang
Kellyhi Kelly, thanks for the question. I wrote the post a few weeks after my trip to Alaska, so yes, I definitely took time to reflect and think before writing the post.