King Edward VII Land
After leaving the Bay of Whales on 15 February 1911, "Fram" sailed for Buenos Aires where she arrived on 17 April. Here, Nilsen learned that the expedition's funds were exhausted; a sum supposedly set aside for the ship's needs had not materialised. Fortunately, Amundsen's friend Don Pedro Christopherson was at hand to fulfil his earlier promises to provide supplies and fuel. "Fram" departed in June for an oceanographic cruise between South America and Africa, which occupied the next three months. The ship returned to Buenos Aires in September for final refitting and re-provisioning, before sailing south on 5 October. Strong winds and stormy seas prolonged the voyage, but the ship arrived at the Bay of Whales on 9 January 1912. On 17 January the men in Framheim were surprised by the appearance of a second ship; it was the "Kainan Maru", carrying the Japanese Antarctic Expedition led by Nobu Shirase. Communication between the two expeditions was limited by language difficulties, though the Norwegians gathered that the Japanese were heading for King Edward VII Land. "Kainan Maru" departed the next day, and on 26 January she landed a party on King Edward VII Land. This was the first landing on this shore from the sea; attempts by "Discovery" (1902), "Nimrod" (1908) and "Terra Nova" (1911) had all failed.