Tuesday 25 January 2022
We were up before dawn. The excitement was palpable – what would this day bring?!
I had been looking forward to my first ocean sunrise, and it was a stunner.
We started the day with an Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, but I would have to wait until later in the day for a photo. A few minutes later the guide pointed out a Black-browed Albatross, but there would be no photos of this guy.
The most common birds of the day were Cory’s Shearwaters, and I managed some photos throughout the day.
I loved it when they flew past in flocks.
As the morning went on, the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses returned.
They are incredibly beautiful birds. I love how its wing touches the water.
I found photography rather challenging at first. It is very difficult to keep something in focus when you, the subject and the background are moving! For the first two days I decided to focus on looking at the birds and making sure I see their key features rather than trying to get photos.
The third Albatross of the day came in the form of a lovely Shy Albatross.
I thought it was really exciting to see three albatrosses on one day. This Shy Albatross would however not be the last for the day.
Just after breakfast we had another goosebumps mammal sighting. It was a Sperm Whale! It was a very brief sighting, but to see the “Moby Dick” whale was so incredible!
I had never been on a pelagic trip or any ocean birding trip, so all the birds we saw that morning were lifers for me. Another of these was a Great winged Petrel.
Followed by a White-chinned Petrel.
The view from the stern was rather pretty.
Just before mid-day we crossed out of the South African EEZ and into International waters. I love the map the BirdLasser developers did especially for this trip to allow all the listers to know exactly where we were at all times so we could add the birds to the correct lists!
I don’t know if it was all the fresh air, or the adrenalin build up or the excitement of the morning, but after lunch I could not keep my eyes open. I went to the cabin and took a long nap!
When I arrived on the deck after my nap I was just in time for another wonderful mammal sightings. I am not yet sure if these were Short-finned or Long-finned Pilot Whales, but they were fantastic!
The one aspect about being on the open ocean is that the weather could (and would) change in minutes. We had sunshine one moment and then the clouds would roll in.
And then, just after 17h00 that afternoon, I saw the bird that would enthrall me for the duration of the trip and probably forever. It was a distant sighting, but it was unmistakably a Wandering Albatross!
It is a terrible photo, taken at a great distance in gloomy conditions. But what a sighting. I watched him through the binoculars until he disappeared in the distance. I so wished that he would come closer! But I need not have worried. We would see many, many, many more of these wonderful birds before the end of the trip!
One of the last bird sightings of the day were of a Soft-plumaged Petrel. 
Some of the other notable bird sightings of the day were Northern Giant Petrels and Little Shearwaters.
The sunset was once again breathtaking.
Our first full day on the ocean had lived up to expectations, and I was excited to see what the next day would bring.
Wednesday 26 January 2022
I didn’t get up quite as early as the first day, and arrived on the deck just after sunrise.
The birds we would see the most that day were Prions. The trip list listed a few species, but I think I only managed to photograph the Salvin’s Prions. I found these small, fast moving birds very difficult to photograph, but I managed a couple of pics during the day.
We had another distant sighting of a Wandering Albatross and then a Subantarctic Skua.
Then we had another Pilot Whale sighting. These are in all probability Long-finned Pilot Whales.
And then, in the gloom of the early morning we had our first sighting of a Sooty Albatross. We would have a few more sightings during the day of this lovely bird.
We also had a few sightings of Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses throughout the day.
The decks were always full of birders, eager to see the next amazing oceanic bird. It was wonderful being able to walk from viewing spot to viewing spot and find kindred spirits and someone to have a chat with.
We were now well into the roaring 40’s, and the skies above the Southern Ocean were spectacular. Some views from the bow and the stern of the ship.
There were also many Great-winged Petrels around during the day.
I loved this view of the rain on the horizon. I was however happy for it to stay where it was!
Some of the smallest birds we saw during the trip were Storm Petrels. These little birds almost look like Little Swifts. We saw a few Black-bellied Storm Petrels during the day. They were extremely hard to get on camera, and I was glad I managed a couple of bad photos!
The Prions continued to be all over the place. I preferred to focus on some of the larger birds like this Southern Giant Petrel.
The second Wandering Albatross sighting of the day was a youngster. I just love these chocolate brown birds with their white faces
Soft Plumaged Petrels are really pretty birds with their white teardrop shaped bellies and we saw many of these cute birds throughout the day. 
I finally saw the Little Shearwater and managed a few blurry photos. It is a very cute black and white bird.
Another Shy Albatross put in an appearance as well.
Late in the afternoon we saw another Sooty Albatross.
But for me the sighting of the day belonged to the majestic Wandering Albatross. After only a few sightings these stunning creatures managed to crawl deep into my heart.
It was one of the last birds I saw that afternoon, and it was perfect.
After another excellent dinner it was time to call it a day. It had been a day filled with incredible sightings. But the next day would be the day we were all looking forward to – finaly reaching Prince Edward and Marion Islands!