Antarctic summers are blessed with 18-24 hours of daylight. In the late summer months of February and March there are terrific whale-watching opportunities and the adult penguins are ashore moulting. Remember also that some vessels visit Antarctica 10 or more times in a single season and the staff members and lecturers on these ships can become jaded and burnt out well before the end of the summer. Each Antarctic spring the curtains part to reveal a gargantuan drama. As the sea ice melts, releasing the continent from winter's frozen grip, millions upon millions of penguins, sea birds and seals pour from the ocean to breed along the continent's foreshores.
Pods of whales move south to feed in the surrounding nutrient rich waters.
Warmer temperatures during these months enable much of Antarctica's wildlife to go ashore. At this time of year you often find penguin colonies populated by young chicks. They have no fear of humans, and will spend as much time observing you and you will them. Seals, whales and numerous species of birds are often spied during the expedition, both on land and at sea. Surrounded by dense forest, snow-capped mountains, rivers and waterfalls, the town has a frontier spirit.