This morning the ship approached Campbell Island from the south giving us excellent views as we headed up the east coast
The plan for our stop here was for a zodiac tour around the NE of the island observing the huge endemic Campbell albatross colony and the stunning cliff lines
Before our exploration we had lectures on megaherb plant life, and birdlife plus a parody on a Santa visit to the ship.
It was again possible to have lunch on the open back deck, with the feature dish being an excellent salmon en croute…
..while lots of seabirds circled the ship and sat in rafts nearby. The albatross were in abundance including royals, sooties, grey headed and of course Campbells - pictured below
In the afternoon we set off on our zodiak tour of the area. We headed to the sea cliffs where there were enormous numbers of nesting Campbell albatross and a sprinkling of nesting grey headed albatross.
But to truely experience the area….
There were newly born chicks on view
There were also other sea birds including petrels, terns, and endemic Campbell Island shags, great cliff scenery, waterfalls, a navigable arch
Lots of jelly like salps in the water
The surging of bull kelp was also captivating
Of course, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve in France so it was a dress up and pre-dinner cocktails…
…with a show from Santa and his helpers.
Then followed a Gala dinner…
…with can can girl accompaniment..
..and excellent food and wine….
…and a “Spetacular” with dancing to follow.
A great evening put on by Ponant with a generous Xmas present in our room when we returned just before midnight. Another great day planned for us for Xmas day as we steam to the Antipodes Islands.
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