South Georgia
Once again our day in South Georgia exceeded even our grandest expectations.
After a peaceful night at anchor, our morning began for our earliest risers with a spectacular sunrise in Fortuna Bay on the north side of South Georgia. We sailed then to Hercules Bay where, after breakfast, we departed in groups for a Zodiac cruise around this extraordinarily scenic bay to explore our first icebergs up close and to focus on the Macaroni penguins who breed in several colonies here. Natural history enthusiasts and photographers alike enjoyed the wide variety of subjects encountered; Macaroni, king and gentoo penguins, fur and elephant seals, snowy sheathbills, shags, and light-mantled sooty albatrosses soaring overhead.
During lunch the Endeavour sailed back to Fortuna Bay where the heartiest among us headed off for a long, strenuous hike over the mountain pass to Stromness Bay, the same final leg of Earnest Shackleton’s trek towards rescue for himself and his men. While for Shackleton this was a struggle for survival, for our group the final slide down a long snowfield towards the Stromness whaling station was a notable bit of pure fun.
After dropping off the trekkers, the ship repositioned to Stromness where the rusting remains of this abandoned whaling station are now populated by hoards of fur seals. As we went ashore, we found hundreds of newborn fur seal pups all along a beach strewn with aging relics of the whaling ships. Massive bulls defended their turf, while the smaller females suckled their furry black pups. We hiked inland to meet the long hikers and many of us settled at a scenic gentoo penguin colony to watch adult penguins feeding their recently hatched chicks. In the valley below, introduced reindeer grazed contentedly in the waning afternoon sun beneath snow-capped mountains. We, too, felt a similar contentment as another splendid day came to a close.
Once again our day in South Georgia exceeded even our grandest expectations.
After a peaceful night at anchor, our morning began for our earliest risers with a spectacular sunrise in Fortuna Bay on the north side of South Georgia. We sailed then to Hercules Bay where, after breakfast, we departed in groups for a Zodiac cruise around this extraordinarily scenic bay to explore our first icebergs up close and to focus on the Macaroni penguins who breed in several colonies here. Natural history enthusiasts and photographers alike enjoyed the wide variety of subjects encountered; Macaroni, king and gentoo penguins, fur and elephant seals, snowy sheathbills, shags, and light-mantled sooty albatrosses soaring overhead.
During lunch the Endeavour sailed back to Fortuna Bay where the heartiest among us headed off for a long, strenuous hike over the mountain pass to Stromness Bay, the same final leg of Earnest Shackleton’s trek towards rescue for himself and his men. While for Shackleton this was a struggle for survival, for our group the final slide down a long snowfield towards the Stromness whaling station was a notable bit of pure fun.
After dropping off the trekkers, the ship repositioned to Stromness where the rusting remains of this abandoned whaling station are now populated by hoards of fur seals. As we went ashore, we found hundreds of newborn fur seal pups all along a beach strewn with aging relics of the whaling ships. Massive bulls defended their turf, while the smaller females suckled their furry black pups. We hiked inland to meet the long hikers and many of us settled at a scenic gentoo penguin colony to watch adult penguins feeding their recently hatched chicks. In the valley below, introduced reindeer grazed contentedly in the waning afternoon sun beneath snow-capped mountains. We, too, felt a similar contentment as another splendid day came to a close.
