Kidd Islands

After getting spanked yesterday we had a good day today. The wind was very strong overnight but it eased during the morning, so we had a late start but still managed to clock up 35km. We went past Cape Bellue and reached the Kidd Islands, in Darbel Bay. This puts us just 5km north of the Antarctic Circle - nice! The weather is very grey and overcast, and it has been snowing pretty much all day. Visibility was low but OK, and every so often the clouds opened up enough to let us glimpse the beautiful mountainous inland along this part of the coast.

We've known for some time now that the southern part of Crystal Sound is blocked by sea ice, and has been for most of this season. The 'Gullet' is the passage of water between Adelaide Island and the mainland. We regarded this passage of water as the crux of our journey, as it is often choked with ice and unnavigable. So it is somewhat surprising that this season the Gullet itself is open - but we can't get to it because the body of water to its north, Crystal Sound, is choked with ice. We deliberately timed this expedition for relatively late in the season to give us the best chance with sea ice conditions...but in Antarctica there are no rules! So our plan from here is pretty fluid and depends largely on the sea ice, the weather, and our remaining time. More soon!