For a few hours early on our second night [of drilling at ANDRILL] we went to the ice edge, just 8 km from the drill site. It was really special! Not only because of the views and the beautiful dusk colors, but also because of the penguins that hang out there.
We approached the edge carefully, watching for signs of thinned ice, and saw a few Emperor penguins lounging around in the distance. As soon as we got off the skidoos a group of 10-12 penguins ran towards us to check us out. We stood still and got our cameras ready. I thought they would move away once they got close, but instead they came even closer…I could almost touch them.
We went on our bellies and knees and just started shooting. They put on a good show, flapping their wings, stretching their necks, and skiing on the bellies. After a while we stood up and walked around taking photos of the mountains in the distance and looking for whales in the open sea. The penguins just followed and stayed with us for a long time, coming after us as we walked around… Then they tired of us, circled up and started grooming.
I had seen penguins in Antarctica before, but these were my first Emperors. Scott, who had never been here, had a smile form ear to ear and kept saying: "this is so unreal!!"
What a special night trip and what a fabulous company!!