Gold Harbour & Cooper Bay, South Georgia
Morning found us in a temperate fog surrounded by icebergs off the northeast coast of South Georgia. It seemed impossible that yet another day could be better than the one before, but it was. The fog lifted and before us lay Gold Harbour, windless, blue sky above, blue sea below, the icy mantle of the Bertrab Glacier spilling off high palisades behind a large breeding colony of king penguins.
We landed our Zodiacs next to a pile of elephant seals. Slowly we worked our way down the beach, going one way, then another, as if on a slalom course through seals and penguins. Thousands of oakum boys (young king penguins) scampered about the elephant seals as though not fully aware of the seals’ size and threat. Others pecked at our boots and pantlegs as we sat quietly on the beach. A massive icefall caught our attention as it crashed down the rock face off the Bertrab Glacier. Several of us hiked up to see a light mantled sooty albatross on its nest.
Come afternoon, we visited Cooper Bay. First, a macaroni penguin colony a couple hundred feet above the shore, second, a chinstrap beach, and third, a shore busy with elephant seals and gentoo penguins in late afternoon amber light. If success is measured in numbers, perhaps the macaroni penguin is the most successful of the world’s seventeen penguin species, as there are more macaronis than any other, though the feisty chinstrap is increasing and may one day pass the macaroni. With their golden crests, red eyes and rowdy dispositions, the macaronis made for fine photography. We passed the chinstraps in Zodiacs, then spent a couple hours on the gentoo beach, using the last available light as the penguins commuted ashore in wave after wave. While some of us stayed on shore, others hiked up the nearby bluffs to visit the gentoos in their breeding colonies. Our reward was a wonderful view of Cooper Bay, with Cooper Island behind, and beyond that a magnificent garden of icebergs.
Morning found us in a temperate fog surrounded by icebergs off the northeast coast of South Georgia. It seemed impossible that yet another day could be better than the one before, but it was. The fog lifted and before us lay Gold Harbour, windless, blue sky above, blue sea below, the icy mantle of the Bertrab Glacier spilling off high palisades behind a large breeding colony of king penguins.
We landed our Zodiacs next to a pile of elephant seals. Slowly we worked our way down the beach, going one way, then another, as if on a slalom course through seals and penguins. Thousands of oakum boys (young king penguins) scampered about the elephant seals as though not fully aware of the seals’ size and threat. Others pecked at our boots and pantlegs as we sat quietly on the beach. A massive icefall caught our attention as it crashed down the rock face off the Bertrab Glacier. Several of us hiked up to see a light mantled sooty albatross on its nest.
Come afternoon, we visited Cooper Bay. First, a macaroni penguin colony a couple hundred feet above the shore, second, a chinstrap beach, and third, a shore busy with elephant seals and gentoo penguins in late afternoon amber light. If success is measured in numbers, perhaps the macaroni penguin is the most successful of the world’s seventeen penguin species, as there are more macaronis than any other, though the feisty chinstrap is increasing and may one day pass the macaroni. With their golden crests, red eyes and rowdy dispositions, the macaronis made for fine photography. We passed the chinstraps in Zodiacs, then spent a couple hours on the gentoo beach, using the last available light as the penguins commuted ashore in wave after wave. While some of us stayed on shore, others hiked up the nearby bluffs to visit the gentoos in their breeding colonies. Our reward was a wonderful view of Cooper Bay, with Cooper Island behind, and beyond that a magnificent garden of icebergs.
