We weren't alone in feeling overdosed on penguins. Someone said 'unless they're juggling or riding unicycles I'm taking no more shots of penguins'. In batches bumbling around they're just fine and they're very graceful in the water. But they do congregate en masse, with their personal space defined by pecking distance. As a result they're noisy and smelly. The wildlife programmes just don't show this particular dimension. But everyone loves a chinstrap. The line under their head gives them an inane grin.

Inching our way through a tight channel was an experience that I assume that the bigger boats can't replicate. Start extra engines to give bow power for manoeuvrability. The ice walls on either side of the channel just looked like rumpled polystyrene with a bluish cast. Tootling around various islands in the Zodiacs was enormous fun. Lots of scope for small iceberg shots but some caution around a leopard seal. Only the orcas predate leopard seals.