On the way home from Rothera I spent a month on the RRS Ernest Shackleton helping to clean-up and remove abandoned British bases along the Antarctic Peninsula.
We spent two days at Deception Island as part of this. Deception Island is an old volcano that is still active in certain places. Part of the outer wall has broken and the inner caldera is now flooded and ships can sail into it. In Whalers Bay there is an old Norwegian whaling station. The British used this as part of their base between 1944 and 1969, when a major volcanic eruption caused the site to be abandoned. Many of the buildings were damaged then when several feet of volcanic mud flowed through the base.The scenery is stunning with mountains all around you, over a centuries worth of buildings part buried and with steam rising out of the sea reminding you of the continuing volcanic activity. The wildlife is great too with Gentoo penguins and Fur seals sharing the beach and porpoising through the sea as they return from feeding each day.
There are more details about the old British bases on BAS' website.
View Deception Island and the Trip North on a map.
