Our expedition on Aurora Expeditions’ Sylvia Earle continued in South Georgia. We are fortunate that our Expedition Leader, Ashley, lived on South Georgia for years (even getting married there), so she has a tremendous amount of expertise of, and passion for, this extraordinary area. With the challenging weather and seas, knowing where we can land and have amazing experiences is important. Being able to juggle on the fly shows more than talent, but intuitive reasoning, and we have benefited from both.
I woke on Day 2 in South Georgia with just spectacular scenery and brilliant blue skies; a stark contrast from the huge storm that is building to our west. We were in Sandebugten for a zodiac cruise of Rockery/Cobbler’s Bay/Godthul.
It was more of a reflective morning for me as we spent a good bit of time observing most guests’ first up-close experience with an iceberg. With no pressure of the excitement, I soaked in the joy of others watching their older selves melt into more youthful ones. It was charming.
At lunch I did take a big risk: I ordered the pizza in the Rockhopper Restaurant! It was actually quite good, though the crust did need to be crisped up. But overall, a B…and that is saying something!
St. Andrews Bay was scheduled for our afternoon. And this is where you can tell if your expedition team is talented and experienced. Faced with catabatic winds, blowing snow/ice, a decent swell, and a short window to get all the guests on shore and back to the ship before the weather really turned, the Sylvia Earle team did it.
This wasn’t my favorite landing because we were really restricted as to where we could go due to the weather and time constraints. Added to that, as this was the first time most guests could get “up close and personal” with king penguins, it became mostly a “Take a Photo with a Penguin Day”.
Not every day is a “10”, but there were a lot of excited guests, and let’s face it: Penguins…lots of them! (And some elephant and fur seals too.)
There has been much talk and concern over the Avian (Bird) Flu. Last year, many landings on South Georgia were curtailed due to it. We are here early in the year and, thus far, there have been no observations of any significant numbers of birds being ill or dying. Aurora Expeditions has been really tough on scrutinizing the provided Muck boots and any Velcro on pants to be sure nothing is transferred from one site to another. I am talking down to having to use paper clips and other fine objects to remove anything from any seam (including the naming plate on the bottom of the boots). I hope the other expedition companies are as vigilant so that the transmission of avian flu by humans will no longer be of concern. However, there are more factors involved than just transference from boots and clothing.
Our Third Day on South Georgia was one that I was really looking forward to, but I had to wait for the afternoon and keep my fingers crossed – as the last time I was there, we couldn’t land there (though the day did wind up being amazing nonetheless). But first, we visited Prins Olav for a landing…a short, snowy, landing overlooking an abandoned whaling station. While we could not get closer due to asbestos contamination, just visualizing this horrific killing factory in such an idyllic location was, for me, sad and frustrating; the selfishness and grotesqueness of it all. And prostituting one of the most idyllic places on earth.
In a rapid change of pace, we then did a relaxed zodiac cruise on a gorgeous day with fantastic wildlife sightings just around the corner. I loved the contrast of the yellow lichens against the black and white of the shags, the laziness of a swimming male elephant seal, the cuddling of a mother and pup elephant seal, and just appreciating being in this remote area of the world.
During lunch, I quietly had my fingers crossed that we would make the landing at Salisbury Plain, where there are approximately 300,000 king penguins (adults and young, the latter known as Oakum Boys) spread over this low-lying plain and up onto the mountain behind. As I mentioned, last time I was limited to a zodiac cruise. But this time, Aurora Expeditions offered three choices: Active hike, Moderate hike, Stay on the beach. I went for the 2-kilometer moderate hike.
We landed among quite a few fur and elephant seals and nesting giant petrels, worked our way around them and the tussock grasses, across a field of deep snow (with sufficient post-holing to make it interesting), onto a stone beach, and then for at least a kilometer: King penguins on the beach, in the snow, on the grass, up the mountain. Basically, everywhere…so which way to turn?!
And then the actual colony! More than one can readily comprehend and definitely more than can be captured in a photograph or even in a series of photographs. But here are some highlights, as words just cannot express how impressive Salisbury Plain is.
Trying to provide as rich a South Georgia experience as possible, a late afternoon zodiac cruise to Prion Island was arranged. This little island is famous for wandering albatross nesting. Unfortunately, as it was later in the day and landings are now forbidden, I didn’t see a reason to head back out as the albatross can’t be seen from the zodiac, and if any were flying that late in the day, I probably would have a better vantage point from the ship. (There weren’t any.)
In short, I was so content with the Salisbury Plain experience that I preferred to continue to soak that in. I know many of the guests were glad they took the zodiac ride, but I guess I either knew too much or had become too focused on what I had been looking forward to since my last visit to South Georgia. I had a fantastic day and just wanted to enjoy what I had experienced.
After another wonderful dinner (I will discuss the cuisine in detail in another article), it was time for one after-dinner drink with a couple of the expedition team and then bed.
What would wind up being my last landing in South Georgia was, fittingly, Grytviken, the capital of South Georgia and the last resting place of Ernest Shackleton. Aurora Expeditions had arranged a hike for those who wanted to hike for hiking’s sake and two tours of the abandoned whaling station. I chose to simply wander the site, be in my thoughts, and have a ceremonial drink with Ernest Shackleton.
I arrived on shore with a younger British travel agent that I had spent some time with, and we wandered, eventually getting to Shackleton’s grave before anyone else. Aurora had arranged a toast early afternoon, but I felt privately sharing a whisky with him rather than with a large group was a bit more meaningful…and it was.
After wandering about, we went to the post office/souvenir shop where a charming young Irish woman who was there for the summer was both funny and a great salesperson. We had a chat about her first month on South Georgia, her first experience with expedition ships (she was invited on one for dinner and was amazed), and what she was expecting. Sweet.
It was then back on the ship for lunch (a pretty good hot dog!) and the expectation of landing at Fortuna Bay. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing over 50 knots, and the swell was too great, so it was canceled. Not giving up, the expedition leader arranged a hike from Stromness to Leith – a third whaling station – or a short landing or zodiac cruise. Again, with less the wonderful weather and having enjoyed my quiet time in Grytviken, I opted to stay onboard and work.
I did, however, take a moment to walk out on deck and I said to myself, “I have been here before!” and, searching out my Making Waves blog, I confirmed it. That said, it was not that I was not excited to be here, but I think I am more focused on my inner peace, appreciation of the wildlife, and reflecting back on the inhumanity and greed of whaling. My head and heart are most definitely full.
And with that, my time in South Georgia, unfortunately, was at an end. There was a plan to spend more time here, but with the weather and sea conditions to come, Sylvia Earle needed to depart for Antarctica, so it would be four full days at sea because we needed to head north, then west, and then south to allow the huge seas pass us by as we tucked behind it.
In spite of all the changes and shortening of time in The Falklands and South Georgia (and, most certainly, Antarctica), I feel that, to date, I’ve been afforded a fantastic experience during a most challenging time of year.
However, our expedition is not over. We have nine more days, and I am excited to see what they bring!
Next Up: You know the drill on this expedition: I don’t know!
