Our last day in South Georgia and so far six excursions. Can we make it eight? It’s unusual, we are told, due to wind and weather.
But wait…Solan is our leader and we are therefore going for nine!
The idea of this pre breakfast zodiac ride was to see macaroni penguins before the conditions deteriorate. Sadly when we arrived at 4.30am winds at 50-60 knots so it was impossible. Bummer.
So hard to show rough conditions. Not that they have been too bad from all accounts.
So we moved to Gold Harbour. Temp 10 degrees. Wind speed 40 knots.
Gold Harbour lies on the southeast corner of South Georgia, at the foot of Salvesen Range, about 20 km north of Cape Vahsel. At the head of the bay is the stunning Bertrab Glacier, which hangs over vertical cliffs. Gold Harbour is home to around 25,000 breeding pairs of king penguins, which spill from the colony into the tussock and onto the beach. Gentoo penguins can also be found in smaller colonies throughout the site (approximately 300 breeding pairs in total). Elephant seals dominate the beaches while southern giant petrels constantly patrol the site for feeding opportunities. Name from fools gold found there.
We were greeted with a rainbow, the fabulous glacier and amazing scenery.
Our zodiac driver said that in three seasons this is the first time they have made it to Salisbury Plains, St Andrews and Gold Harbour in the same trip. They are considered the big trifecta. I think we have been really lucky having Solan and this crew.
Garrie spotted a plastic cover for the big Olympus in the ship shop. Only US$10 for two. It is irritating but works well as we had showers of big pellets today. We call it the condom.
Our “chaos” brand dry pack pack is also a great tool for this adventure and is very comfortable to wear (so Garrie tells me).
South Georgia windier than the Antarctic we are told.
Told 9 of 10 leaders wouldn’t have managed this. Not sure how the penguins stand in the wind we are struggling at times.
Greeted by young elephant seals when we arrive. As mentioned before they are weaned early and they crave company and this guy just kept trying to lie on the gear. Funny to watch the crew having to keep move things.
Quite wet out today but the gentoo penguins are so much fun. They are always on the move whilst the kings stand still most of the time. The gentoo are also not afraid of the fur seals so they punch well above their weight on land which is probably as well. Here there were many more elephant seals than fur seals, and though they are much much bigger they are gentle giants and it was nice not to be on watch all the time. Garrie even took a walking pole yesterday as an extra assistance to fend off the fur seals as you wouldn’t want their teeth in you.
We track from red flag to red flag and today we walked up a river of glacial melt but our feet were toasty warm in the special boots, only one pair of socks so far. The jacket is also very warm. Biggest cold areas are fingers, especially if gloves get wet on the zodiac, and bottoms when the waves wash over. I swear if feels as if you are wet through but the waterproof pants ensure it is only cold, not wet, inside.
The king penguins are in the water as usual.
Skuas also around in numbers, as always.
Loads of king penguins but this time with gentoo penguins dashing through them.
Nothing stops the gentoo. They just waltz through the crowd.
At one point there was a clear gentoo Highway with penguins dashing back and forth and humans standing waiting for a break in the traffic to move through.
Even the fast flowing water doesn’t stop them. Gorgeous to watch but more difficult to photograph than the kings.
You can see there us quite a size difference too.
We came across this whale vertebra and I was lining it up to take a pic when this little guy came over to see what I was up to.
Love the elephant seals too. Sometimes they look dead but we were assured by an expedition guide that this one was very much alive.
A good spray down with the pressure hose on getting back on board as I certainly had plenty of beach sand attached. You also have to beware of the odd dead thing you might walk in. Trying to decide if some of the brown lumps are left from tussocks or are the older king penguin chicks that didn’t make it through winter can be a challenge. Seemed a few more here than in other places.
We love our cabin size as that enables us to bring most of our gear back to the cabin (some are way too small) and we like that it is on the same level as the mud room as that also makes bringing everything (other than the boots and life vest) easy to bring back. Frankly I’m not keen on prancing around in my thermals, though many do.
We are also seeing many more ice bergs now as we are almost right at the bottom of South Georgia, though still on the quieter side. We so hope to see Macaroni penguins this afternoon and hopefully more chinstraps as we may not see too many of them on the Antarctic peninsula.
We seem to be hanging with Cheryl & Mike from Texas more and more as our senses of humour, irritations with things and photography thinking are very much aligned. We are doing a lot of laughing.
Richard is our waiter and also Keith (Senior) and Mary Lou (wine) are all lovely. The food and wines (complimentary with dinner) come from across the world and have all been excellent.
Camera or the iPad is affecting my door card. Have had to have it rejigged twice. We are scanned in and out as per other cruises to ensure no one is left behind when we go on excursions. Thankfully the affect from the camera only upsets the door locks not the scanning barcode.
Apparently to be a berg it must be twice the size of a double decker bus so we are also seeing bits of ice float by. Spending time in the lounge this afternoon watching the bits and bergs go by. In some ways looking forward to a couple of sea days after four days in a row of expeditions. Loads of smaller white birds over the water.
Very overcast and drizzly now. Rain and snow being blown around in 40 knot winds. Open ocean swell here. Giant petrels, prions and many South Georgia petrels and diving petrels.
Bought some waterproof gloves as both of us are having difficulty in anything but our mittens which seem waterproof but which are impossible to work the camera with. The inners that worked for me in Canada just soak through here and then you end up very cold. Garrie also fancied some ginger chews which are probably kept for those feeling ill – they would work as they just about burn a hole in your tongue so would be very distracting. So far all our sickness remedies are coming home with us unopened. (Let’s hope that isn’t famous last words).
So one final excursion to go in South Georgia. Weather definitely deteriorating but fingers crossed.
Antarctica 2019 