23 Aug Siple Island, Antarctica

I shot these wonderfully clear images of Siple Island, Antarctica, today whilst operating the QF28 service from Santiago to Sydney. The flight-plan took us as far south as 73.5° south,  about 100 nautical miles off the Antarctica continent. Siple Island with its 10,200′ mountain sits just off the coast and at this time of the year is solidly locked in by sea ice.

Siple Island is rarely seen or visited and the dormant volcano is believed to have never been climbed. The height of the mountain makes the island the 15th ranking island in the world by elevation.

All too often we fly over this part of the world and it is completely overcast. Today we were very lucky; the clouds parted just at the right time.

Precise location for Siple Island is 73°51′S, 125°50′W. A long, long way from anywhere and a great place to have the 4-engined Boeing 747.

These images were captured at one of the main deck doors while I was on a break and it was a popular spot with the passengers also!