We open for visitors each season from November to February. After our time spent deep-sea fishing, we head back to Port Lockroy to find our life-long mates and build our nests. Things can get a little competitive between us. You might see us borrowing our neighbors’ stones without permission to build our nests. But once the madness settles down and our eggs hatch, we take turns with our mates staying at the nests and going out for fish to feed our families.
In 1996 the first British base in the Antarctic Peninsula, Port Lockroy Base A, became a historical monument. Before acting as a British base though, Port Lockroy was home to explorers and whalers coming through Antarctica. It also served as a base for scientific research before opening as what’s now the southernmost post office in the world.
During our mating season, the U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust sends a team of four humans to take care of the base and greet the visitors. We like having them around. You can stop by the gift shop at the old base to pick up some souvenirs and trinkets. They mostly take U.S. dollars, but they also accept British pounds and euros.
Head over to Bransfield House to send your postcard through the red letterbox. Just remember, the cards will take a few weeks to get to their destinations, and if you visit us in mid-February, they will likely get held at the post office until our next tourist season.
Please be nice to our humans at the base. There’s no running water in their living space, so it’s not their fault they only get to shower about once a week when a ship comes. Maybe when you visit us, you can let them use your bathrooms.
Don’t be shy. Go ahead and take a picture with us. We will even pose for you. Just maintain about 15 feet of distance. Any closer and we get a little skittish. We know you want to hold us and feed us, but please don’t. It could affect our natural behavior patterns once you’re gone.
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