South Georgia Day 2

HERCULES BAY

For our first full day in South Georgia, we were greeted by blue skies above. Early in the morning, we embarked on our first zodiac cruise around Hercules Bay to see what wildlife could be found. When I say early - it was 5am! Our boats were dwarfed by the towering mountains that loomed above the bay. You can just about see one of the zodiacs in the lower middle part of this photo.

A handful of Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins were on the snow covered beaches and Antarctic Fur Seals were resting on the rocks around the bay, basking in the sun. We were also treated to some nice views of the Light-Mantled Sooty Albatross as they flew overhead and then landed high up on the cliff walls.

I was thrilled we finally had a close up view of a Chinstrap Penguin. This one was on its own, working its way down the craggy rocks, hopping from one spot to another, trying to make its way down to the water. There was a lot of slip sliding! To be honest, I'm amazed this photo is even in focus. Trust me, it isn't easy taking photos of wildlife, whilst sitting on an inflatable boat that is moving with the swell of the water. I'm sure it has everything to do with the quality of the camera and not my skill! I just kept snapping away, hoping some of the frames were in focus. One minute the penguin would be in the centre of the frame, the next, it was half out of the frame and I had mostly water in the shot!

There was a chance of seeing some Macaroni Penguins at this location. The only one we'd seen so far was on the Falkland Islands, hiding amongst the Rockhoppers, and quite some distance from us. Unfortunately, the tussock grasses in Hercules Bay were obscuring any Macaroni that were hiding. We were obviously too early in the season for the large numbers that can be seen. My eyes scoured the tussock clumps for quite some time, especially as someone in one of the earlier zodiacs ahead of us had spotted a Macaroni. Thankfully, we did get lucky, but it was only a brief glimpse of one. It virtually popped its head up for a few seconds and then disappeared again. I'm not even sure if everyone on our boat saw it. I just hoped we'd have another opportunity to see this species a bit closer another time.

STROMNESS

Whilst eating breakfast we sailed on to Stromness, where we could see an old abandoned whaling station. The sight was a stark reminder of a by-gone era when many whale species were hunted to the brink of extinction in the Antarctic Ocean, back in the 20th century.

The old rusty buildings were all out of bounds, though I had no interest in taking a closer look anyway. I was more interested in the wildlife that seem to have made this part of the island their home, including the Southern Elephant Seals. Some of them seemed curious...

...and others had more important things to do, like sleeping!

A lot of the passengers walked to the waterfall located at the far end of the valley. Bob and I were amongst one of the later groups to land in the bay, so we didn't have time for that. I wasn't that disappointed, as the wildlife is always a joy to watch.

From the beach, we walked up the hill towards a small colony of Gentoo Penguins and could at least enjoy the view of the valley from this vantage point.

The Gentoo Penguins were fun to watch. Some of them were wondering away from the nest site, only to return moments later carrying rocks or clumps of soil in their beak. Some were more active than others. They appeared to be already paired up, by the looks of things. As we'd seen on the Falkland Islands, I daresay the adults lying down were incubating eggs already.

When we returned to the beach, we wandered along towards the far end. I then spotted a lone King Penguin coming out of the water and making its way towards a small expanse of snow. I headed over towards it and enjoyed watching as it started to eat the snow.

It was amazing to see how it maneouvred itself from lying down to standing up. With its beak planted into the snow, it pushed its body up with a little help of the wings spread out to the side.

Also along the beach, there were several pairs of what we believed to be Antarctic Terns flying along the shallow water. They would hover above, looking for fish to swim along. When one was spotted, the tern would suddenly dive down to grab it with its beak, immersing only its head, rather than its whole body.

For the most part, they appeared to be successful, grabbing their prey and swallowing the tiny fish whole. But, there were times the slippery little suckers got away. Look just below this one's bill and you'll see an escapee.

We then began to wander back towards the zodiacs to return to the Plancius. Dotted all along the beach were several large male Elephant Seals that we had to avoid.

GRYTVIKEN

Our final stop of the day was at Grytviken, another old whaling station and abandoned factory town. Just like at Stromness, it's the wildlife that live there year round. Only in the summer months are there human inhabitants who run the South Georgia Museum and Post Office. At various times during the year there may also be researchers and military personnel. In fact, it was here that we had our biosecurity inspection. A couple of people came aboard to do some random checks as we were preparing to take the zodiacs ashore. Thankfully, we all passed the inspection.

The first place we visited on the island was the grave of the explorer Ernest Shackleton.

All those passengers visiting the gravesite were given a complimentary shot of whiskey, courtesy of Oceanwide Expeditions. Bob didn't have the bottle, despite what it looks like! For me, the occasion was more memorable because a South Georgia Pintail flew overhead whilst we were standing by the gravestone and decided to poop over my jacket, binoculars and mobile phone! Ew!

We walked back towards the town, passing several more fur seals along the water's edge. They look very different when they've just come out of the water.

We also saw several more Antarctic Terns. There were a few pairs nesting beside the pathway, with one of the adults incubating eggs.

The church at the back of the abandoned town.

After wandering around for a while, Bob and I returned to the graveyard, so we could spend more time watching the Elephant Seals, which were nearby. We patiently waited for a bit of activity. These large mammals spend a lot of time sleeping.

The males are particularly impressive when they start vocalising. If you look closely, you can see the breath coming out of its mouth.

I'm not sure what this other male was doing, but as it was swimming around the shallow water, it would occasionally breathe out through its probiscis nose with force. I found it quite amusing watching the water splashing below its nose as a result.

Not far from him, there were a handful of Antarctic Fur Seals resting on the rocks and play fighting in the water. The youngsters were really fun to watch. I particularly like this photo as it looks like it is sticking out its tongue!

It was a very full on day, with three outings in the zodiacs, including two landings. The Oceanwide staff leader, Ali, had been keen to make the most of the good weather and conditions. She also wanted to make up for lost time at the start of the trip. We certainly had some more wonderful wildlife encounters.With two more days working our way along the South Georgia coast, there was still more ahead of us.

We had the perfect end to that day, whilst we were stilled anchored in Grytviken, enjoying a barbeque on the back deck of the ship. Some trestle tables and seats had been laid out, though it was a bit of a tight squeeze to seat everyone. Some people chose to eat indoors as it was a bit nippy, but Bob and I made sure we had some extra layers on. There was a great atmosphere and lots of chatter. At times it was hard for me to hear the person sitting across from me as the music was a bit loud - it was a bit too techno and new for my taste. Give me 80s music and older and I'm much happier! After the food, there was a bit of dancing, so of course I joined in for a short spell. Then Bob and I decided to make our way to the front of the ship. I was amazed we could hardly hear the music from the other side. We enjoyed the relative peace and quiet, looking out across the bay and up at the night sky. It was lovely. What a way to end a wonderful day!

Next post in series: South Georgia Day 3!