They followed the penguins across the flat ground and up a small mound of ice. Only then did they discover a huge crowd of emperor penguins huddled on the other side.
The emperor penguins they had seen from the ship earlier had been huddled together like this to keep warm.
But unlike the tightly packed group in the blizzard, they had now mostly spread out.
Emperor penguins had thick feathers and layers of fat. If they did not spread out in time, those in the middle could even pass out from the heat.
The cameraman hurried to film the penguins as they gathered and then dispersed.
Groups of emperor penguins moved into the distance.
Lu Ao and the others also spotted many young penguins among them.
The young penguins looked different from their parents and were easy to recognize.
Beside him, Lin Qiyan said, "Where are they going? They seem to be moving in a pretty orderly way."
"I don't know." Lu Ao kept his eyes on the penguins. "They're probably heading out to hunt or going back to rest."
The penguins were not moving quickly, so the group had no trouble keeping up.
An hour passed before they knew it. They needed to return to the ship and let the researchers take their turn ashore.
The expedition team called them back.
Reluctant as they were to leave, they had no choice but to return from every direction, board the kayaks, and prepare to head back to the ship.
The long kayaks threaded slowly between the ice floes.
Most of them kept looking back at the land. Seeing this, the expedition member paddling at the stern reassured them, "We'll come ashore again tomorrow. You can take your time looking around then."
Someone sighed and muttered, "Even if we come back