On a trip to Antarctica where our main objective was to visit emperor penguins, the last thing anyone expected was to spend hours running away from them.

As we alight from our de Havilland Twin Otter ski plane near the Princess Astrid Coast colony on a bright, clear day – with the temperate only just in negative territory – guide David Sinclair reminds our small group of the all-important rule: maintain a five-metre distance at all times. With avian flu sweeping across the planet, an outbreak in this remote colony with its 5000 chicks could have a devastating effect.