My Experience in Neko Harbour
Neko Harbor was first discovered by Adrien de Gerlache’s Belgian expedition of 1897-99. The name of the harbor comes from a Norwegian floating whaling factory ship. The ship, Neko, operated in the harbor for many of the seasons between 1911 and 1924.
Neko Harbor was the last landing we made on the Antarctic continent and the last landing of the trip. At the last landing, we had one last climb. It was the second most memorable climb of the trip, as the first will always be reserved for Deception Island. It was the last climb, the last time on Antarctica, the last place to watch a glacier falling into an ocean, the last time we would be sliding on our bottoms in Antarctica, and the last time to listen to Antarctica. Neko Harbor was the last experience in Antarctica, but it was the beginning of the bond that will always tie me to Antarctica and pull me towards it. Ever since I lost sight of that harbor, I have wanted to go back to the great continent that I found so peaceful and colorful. It was the first and only place that a photo of the whole group was taken.
In the harbor you can see Gentoo penguins and watch a glacier breaking off into the ocean. To fully appreciate the harbor, you must view it from the top of the mountain. At the top, the sound of the glacier breaking off could be heard like thunder, just like at the beach, but on the mountain you did not have to worry about a large wave coming. We were warned that if we heard the thunder of the glacier while on the beach, we were not to even take a second to glimpse the glacier, but to hurry to higher ground. At the top of the mountain we made our last snow angels and last snow creations. For some of us, it was the last time we would be playing in the snow for a long time.