At 8.30am we make a landing with zodiacs at Half Moon Island, a small crescent-shaped island lying between the South Shetland islands of Greenwich and Livingston. The island is another rocky volcanic outcrop. To the left of the beach there are rookeries of nesting Chinstraps, with a few Gentoo penguins mixed in. There`s also a 10ft Weddell seal lying on the rocky beach.
As I walk along the rocks towards some glinting icebergs in the distance something barks at me loudly. It´s a nesting Skua (or big brown bird as I called it for the first couple of days), so well camouflaged among the rocks that I hadn´t seen it in my path. I almost miss another large Weddell seal lying on the ice, which resembles a rock. I continue to the turquoise icebergs on the other side of the island and start crossing an area of flat crunchy ice to reach it. The snow is mainly hard and supports my weight but towards the end it collapses and I crash in up to my knees. It begins to snow heavily so I start walking back to the zodiac. On the way a large bird (ashamedly I have no idea what type) swoops down close to my head. I look up and admire its
elegance only to see several birds aiming for my head. In a Hitchcockian moment of panic I realise I may be too close to a resting area and leave sharpishly.
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