Cape Adare, Antarctica | First Huts and the Largest Adélie Colony

History of Cape Adare

Discovery by James Clark Ross (1841)

Captain James Ross discovered the cape in 1841 during his expedition that determined the location of the South Magnetic Pole. Ross named the Cape to honour his friend Viscount Adare, an M.P. for Glamorganshire. 

Borchgrevink’s Southern Cross Expedition (1899)

Cape Adare entered Antarctic exploration history when Carsten Borchgrevink chose it as the base for the British Antarctic (Southern Cross) Expedition of 1898–1900. Although the headland was harsh and windswept, Borchgrevink knew it well. He had first landed there in 1895 with Norwegian whaler Henrik Bull, during a voyage in search of right whales. That early experience gave him the confidence to return three years later and attempt the first overwintering on the continent.

The aim of Borchgrevink’s expedition was not only to explore the Ross Sea but also to prove that humans could survive an Antarctic winter on land. To do this, his team needed permanent shelter — something no expedition had attempted before.

Made of timber, both huts had a floor area of 5.5 × 6.5 metres, and the ceiling was 2.1 metres high. One of these was used as living quarters, and the other as a storeroom. The walls of the living hut were double-layered, and papier-mâché was used as an insulating material.

The wooden shelter was not a safe haven by any means. There was an incident of fire in one bunk, and at one time, a few members almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning from coal fumes. The expedition's zoologist, 26-year-old Nicolai Hanson, passed away on 14 October, probably from beriberi - the first recorded death on the continent.

Borchgrevink’s men had hoped to push inland and explore the mountains that rose behind Cape Adare, but the weather proved too severe. Relentless storms and the sheer wall of the Transantarctic Mountains cut off any route south. Instead, the expedition focused on daily survival and on systematic observations of weather, wildlife, and geology. Even with these limits, their achievement was historic: the winter of 1899 proved for the first time that humans could endure a season on the Antarctic continent.

The Southern Cross returned on 28th January 1900, and the men departed Cape Adare on 2nd February. The initial plan was to dismantle the huts and carry them back. However, Borchgrevink decided against it, and only the roof of the storage hut was dismantled. Both huts and some of the remaining supplies were left behind.

Wildlife at Cape Adare

Adelie penguins at Cape Adare

Cape Adare is home to the world’s largest Adélie penguin rookery, with an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 breeding pairs nesting on the ice-free Ridley Beach each summer. From October to February the colony becomes a hive of activity: males arrive first to reclaim their nesting sites, followed by females who lay their eggs in simple pebble nests. By mid-summer the beach is crowded with chicks, and the air is filled with the sound of thousands of calls echoing across the cape.

Researchers have long noted that the Adélies here are highly sensitive to shifts in weather. Remarkably, their calls often fall silent just before a storm, as if they sense the change in pressure before instruments do. The colony has been continuously studied for decades, offering valuable insight into how Antarctic ecosystems respond to climate change.

For visitors, the sheer scale of the rookery is unforgettable: the sight and sound of half a million penguins against the backdrop of historic huts and towering mountains makes Cape Adare one of the most extraordinary wildlife spectacles in Antarctica.

Seals and seabirds

The area around Ridley Beach is a favourite haul-out zone for Weddell seals. The Antarctic fur seals are occasional visitors. The Cape is also a breeding ground for South Polar skuas. Other birds that are spotted include the snow petrel, southern giant petrel, and the Wilson’s storm petrel.