Day 17 Saturday 7 February South Atlantic Ocean

The ship continued its journey towards Antarctica.  Icy waters now with some large icebergs passing us by.

This large tabular iceberg appeared this morning.  This monster is 5 nautical miles long (about 9 land miles) and is about 400 metres deep.  This information came from the Captain, so presumably he had some instruments to validate these measurements.

There was the launch of a weather balloon at about 9.00am.  There was some delay due to computer problems!  They had to restart it.  We were all huddled on the top deck.  It was very cold.  Only a few minutes without gloves on and your hands were numb and tingling.  There was Baileys and hot chocolate provided.  Unfortunately we did not find out about that until later.

The launch was quite exciting with the balloon quickly disappearing into the atmosphere.  Apparently it is completely biodegradable.

After dinner while sitting in the Living Room, Elephant Island appeared.  This remote, ice-covered island in the South Shetland Islands is off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.  It is famed for being the refuge of Ernest Shackleton's crew for four months while he was seeking help to rescue them.

Viking knickknacks in the Explorers' Lounge.

Day 16 Friday 6 February South Atlantic Ocean

 We have now left South Georgia Island.  The experience totally exceeded our expectations.

The next two days were spent sailing to Antarctica.  The open sea (Scotia Sea) was quite a bit rougher than what we had experienced so far.

View from our cabin window.  Seems all calm, but there is a deceptive, 

nauseating swell happening!

A mandatory IAATO briefing in the morning.  This organisation manages tourism to Antarctica.  It seems these talks about how to treat the environment with respect are very necessary.  We heard about one passenger while on Grytviken, when being approached by a persistent penquin, actually hit it on the head with the walking pole !!

Another biohazard check in the afternoon.  We lugged our boots, jackets and all other gear to the checking station.  Our boots did need a bit of extra attention.  There were some remnants of South Georgia in our boot treads!

That evening, we had dinner with our fellow travellers from the Atacama Extension.

   From left to right: Lyle, Susan, Fred, Ben, Nancy, Lauren, Jim, Stephen, Elizabeth, Laura.

Day 15 Thursday 5 February Gold Harbour South Georgia

The morning started with our ship in Royal Bay.  The weather seemed very promising with clear blue skies.  What we couldn't tell from inside the controlled atmosphere of the ship was the strength of the winds.  And strong they were.  Gusts up to 59 knots.  The limit for safety if out in zodiacs is 30 knots.  So we wait.

From the deck of the ship, we could see along the shoreline, what we thought were lots of white rocks.  On closer inspection with the binoculars, the white "rocks" were thousands of king penguins.  We should have twigged sooner as there was an interesting "whiff" in the air.

We spent the morning while waiting, watching several albatrosses circling our ship. 

By late morning, the decision was made to sail on to Gold Harbour.  Once there, it was all hands on deck.  All the zodiacs were going to be used to investigate the shoreline where we could see thousands of penguins, even from the deck of the ship.  There were apparently perhaps 35,000 nesting pairs.

Day 14 Wednesday 4 February Hercules Point South Georgia

We arrived at Fortuna Bay at about 8.00am. 

Fortuna Bay is the starting point for the Shackleton Walk, the last leg of an epic trek across South Georgia that would lead to the eventual rescue of all 22 members of the "Endurance's" remaining crew who were marooned on Elephant Island. 

This was to be a zodiac landing to look at the local wildlife.  All seemed well from our cabin window, even some sunshine.  However looks can be deceptive.  The crew had already been examining the landing conditions.  What we couldn't see from our cabin window were the strong gusty winds.  So strong that all landings were cancelled for the day.  It was decided to sail to another inlet at Hercules Point.

On the way, we had lunch at Mamsen's Cafe.  Stephen tried the lompe - a Norwegian hotdog.  It tasted the way it sounded.  We think the fancy design of sauce over the top is to distract from the flavour - which was so subtle, as to be completely absent.

While we had changed location, we were still to see fur seals, elephant seals and King penguins.  The bonus however was that Hercules Point was home to some Macaroni penguins.  These are flamboyant-looking penguins with dashing orange feathers above their eyes.  We also got to see gentoo penguins and a lone chinstrap penguin.  

We did not land, but a zodiac trip around the inlet showed us the wildlife.  We were lucky to have Christopher, the "birdman", pointing out the different species from our zodiac.

                                                     Christopher, the "Birdman"

                                                 Penguins nesting up the cliff face

                      Macaroni penguins - look for the orange feathers above their eyes.

       A Macaroni penguin.  Such a handsome fellow - and "he" knows it.  

He has Stephen's eyebrows !

                                       We are seated at the back of the zodiac.

Day 13 Tuesday 3 February Grytviken South Georgia

Our ship arrived in Grytviken, South Georgia at 8.00am and anchored in a sheltered inlet.  

Grytviken is the site of a historic whaling station which closed in 1966.  There are no permanent residents in Grytviken, but there are occasional researchers and British administrative and military personnel.  There are several structures on the site - a warehouse, Whaler's Church, museum and a functioning Post Office.

Our morning involved a zodiac landing - a "wet" landing this time, so our muck boots were definitely going in the water.  We kitted ourselves up - lots of gear as it was cold outside (about 4 degrees C).  Felt like Scott of the Antarctic.  Hopefully a better outcome.

As we approached the shore in the zodiacs, we could hear these mournful cries.  

Thought it was seabirds, but then realised the noise came from fur seals and their pups cavorting in the water.  The whaling station and its rusting equipment has become a home for the fur seals, King penguins and elephant seals.

We were instructed to keep a good 5 metres away from the wildlife. Not easily done. Some of the seal pups were very curious and had no fear.  They insisted on trying to get close.  We were instructed to wave our arms about or make some noise to deter their curiosity.

                                                            Cuteness overload

                                                         Female elephant seals

                                                            Pilates anyone !

                                                                 Good guys ?

We visited the cemetery where the remains of the great Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton, are located.  Also the ashes of Frank Wild, who was Shackleton's first mate.  His plaque describes him as Shackleton's "right hand man".

We sent ourselves a postcard from the Post Office.  Will it beat us home ?

The small museum was actually rather good.

Once back on board, we spent the afternoon in the Explorer's Lounge, enjoying the panoramic views.

We also indulged in afternoon tea at Mamsen's Cafe.

Our ship sailed late afternoon on its way to Fortuna Bay.  An announcement came over the speakers about huge numbers of humpback whales feeding all around the ship.  We could see the puffs of water from their blowholes.  The captain changed course so we could enjoy the spectacle.  The challenge was to photograph their tails as they dived under the water.

                                                           This was no fluke !

Day 12 Monday 2 February South Atlantic Ocean

 Another sailing day on our way to South Georgia Island.  The crew had a safety drill in the morning, dealing with a fire which had started in the laundry!  The passengers were not involved in the drill and were able to watch the crew scurrying about.

We saw our first iceberg in the morning, from our cabin window.  It was a non-tabular iceberg (meaning not of square sides).  In other words, it had jagged edges.

We finished the day at Manfredi's Restaurant.  This was our one allocated booking.  Very nice food.  Stephen's dinner involved a large slab of meat!

Day 11 Sunday 1 February South Atlantic Ocean

This was a sailing day on our way to South Georgia Island.  Not a day of rest however.  There was a mandatory South Georgia briefing.  Some very strict rules apply to landing in South Georgia.  There was another biosecurity inspection of our outerwear (boots, gloves, bags, jackets etc) if we had worn these items in the Falkland Islands.  Velcro is a particular enemy of biosecurity as it can catch seeds, spores, dirt, small particles.  This check is undertaken on the lower deck of the ship.  The very vigilant staff use a miners light to examine your stuff, and have a range of picks, brushes and cleaners to scour your clothing etc.