Penguins, Seals and Shackleton

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I have to admit, I didn’t know much at all about South Georgia before we took this trip. I knew it was an island in the Southern Ocean but had no idea about what was in store for us. It really was one of the highlights of the trip. If you ever consider making the trip to Antarctica, I would highly recommend including South Georgia in the itinerary.

South Georgia is a two day sail from the Falklands. Therefore, we had lots of time to attend presentations on the wildlife we were about to encounter and learn about the history of the island including Shackleton’s famous crossing of the island to finally find safety after being stuck in the Southern Ocean for 16 months.

On the crossing to South Georgia, we passed Shag Rocks. These are a few very small rocky islands in the middle of the ocean which are home to hundreds of blue-eyed shags and other sea birds. We also get the first glimpse of whales. We see several Humpback whales swimming in the distance. It thrilling to see such large animals moving across the ocean. We’ll see many more before the trip is over and most will be much closer that these first whales.

After two days at sea, we wake up in King Haakon Bay in South Georgia. It is the landing place of Shackleton and his crew in May 1916 after a heroic crossing of the Southern Ocean from Elephant Island. Shackleton’s journey is unimaginable in modern times and the fact that every man in his crew survived is nothing short of a miracle. The hardships that they endured is amazing and I highly recommend reading Shackleton’s book about the expedition call “South”.

When you book an Antarctic expedition, they tell you that the itinerary is heavily weather dependent. The crew rarely knows for sure where or whether we will be landing. Our first taste of this came at King Haakon Bay. On our arrival, the wind was blowing 20 kts with gusts to 35 kts. That meant no kayaking and likely no shore landings. After sending some guides to shore, our expedition leader Jake decided that we would attempt a landing but we would only have 30 minutes ashore. We took a very wild and wet (The guides call it “sporty”) zodiac ride to shore and had our first up close encounter with fur seals. Fur seals look very cute and cuddly but they are anything but. I’d call them fiesty. Brenda would call them scary. They like to charge at you when you are walking past. I don’t think they really want to attack but they definitely want you to know that you are on their turf. The tricky part is that there are so many seal around that if one charges you and you back up, you are probably backing right into another one. You definitely have to have your head on a swivel when around fur seals. We also got our first look at the beautiful King Penguins. We see hundreds of them but that is nothing compared what is to come later.

While on shore, we had the ability to hike up to a high point for a spectacular view of the bay. Most didn’t choose to do the hike but Brenda and I did and had fantastic views. It was a bit dicey though as the howling winds almost blew us off the hilltop!

Our next stop was scheduled to be Elsehul but the winds were getting even stronger so that plan was scrapped. We tried a backup location that was more protected, Right Whale Bay but we now had gale force winds and were unable to make a landing there either. That just part of an Antarctic expedition, some times the weather just gets in the way.

The next morning we arrive at Fortuna Bay. I’m very excited about this stop as this was the final section of Shackleton’s hike across South Georgia to safety. For those who wish to do it, we can hike the final 5 miles from Fortuna Bay to Stromness where Shackleton final found help. I’m very eager to do this hike but unfortunately, the weather would not cooperate. The winds were howling and it just wouldn’t have been safe to drop us off and repostion the ship to Stromness to pick us up not knowing if they would be able to get into Stromness Bay. That was the first of two disappointments on this trip, both due to weather. We were able to go ashore at Fortuna Bay and visit with the King penguins and fur seals. The weather was bad with strong winds, rain and ice pellets. The penguins and seals didn’t seem to mind.

Overnight the ship brings us to St Andrews Bay. This is a place that is just hard to describe. This is the home to the largest breeding colony of King Penguins in the world. Our guide tells us that there are 250,000 breeding pairs of penguins in this bay. That means 500,000 adult penguins and 250,000 chicks plus some juveniles that haven’t found a mate. For as far as the eye can see, there are king penguins packed together. Its visually stunning and aromatically jarring. Everywhere we walk, we are surrounded by thousands of penguins who don’t seem to care at all that we are there. We could have stood there for hours just watching the penguins do penguin things. It was quite a moving experience. If you ever get the chance, you must go see the king penguins in St. Andrews bay. It was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.

Excuse me, coming through!

After lunch, the next stop is Grytviken. It is the site of an old whaling station and many remnants from that time are still there. There is a museum and gift shop (is there anywhere in the world without a gift shop?) that are staffed for the summer months, tourist season. The most popular spot at Grytviken is the cemetary where Shackleton is buried. We did the traditional whisky toast including pouring the last bit on Shackleton’s grave. The weather had improved so could again go kayaking and we left right from the beach at the cemetery. There were alot of seals in the area and as we paddled out, one lept out of the water right over the front of our kayak! What a sight!

The next day is our final day in South Georgia. Our first stop is Gold Harbour. As usual, there are plenty of king penguins and fur seals around but this place also has a huge amount of Elephant seals. They lay on the beach in huge piles occasionally making “belching” sounds and fighting. I’m not sure they were really fighting as after a few minutes of sparring, they tire out and lay down next to each other. They are hilarious to watch. At each stop, our guides lay a tarp on the ground and we can put any gear we want to leave on the tarp. There is also a pile of hiking poles available for anyone who wants one. At Gold Harbour, the elephant seals decided that our gear pile looked like a good place for a nap and many of them just flopped on top of our gear and made it home.

After lunch, the ship anchors at Cooper Bay for zodiac cruises. The landscape is stunning. Beautiful blue water surrounded by sheer rock cliffs that seem otherworldly. There is lots of wildlife everywhere we look. A colony of Macaroni penguins call this place home. There are also many Chinstrap penguins and we see them porpoising through the water around us. Several seal are also in the water and several come near our zodiacs to check us out.

The final “stop” in South Georgia is a ship cruise up Drygalski Fjord. It is a mile wide, 7 mile long fjord bordered by cliffs and glaciers. It is a spectacularly beautiful area and everyone was out on deck as we cruised in and out of the fjord. We also get to see and hear our first glacier calving. There are many icebergs floating in the fjord and we pass one with a seal napping on it.

For those with a sense of adventure and who love wildlife, South Georgia is a must see.

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South Georgia

Penguins, Seals and Shackleton

Reaching the 7th Continent

Beginning at the End