Days 27-29: Salisbury Plain, Grytviken, and Gold Harbour
Two very calm, easy days at sea allowed us to get to know the passengers, hear some good lectures, rest and get excited about the wildlife and wild landscape of South Georgia. South Georgia Island is in the Southern Ocean and within the Antarctic Convergence.
Salisbury Plain
The first day in South Georgia started off with a bang. We stopped at Salisbury Plain, the second largest colony of king penguins. There were approximately 120,000 penguins—couples, chicks, molting penguins (getting new set of feathers) and young adults. Absolutely amazing!!! The King Penguins were everywhere you looked. Along the beach were groups of elephant seals.
The sheer number of penguins was amazing to see and they had no fear of humans. It was nice to spend the day watching them interact and wander around.
Godthul and Grytviken
The next day we had a zodiac ride around a natural harbor carved out by a glacier with steep walls and jagged ridges. There was a beautiful waterfall too. This was followed by kayaking in the calm waters. The boys went over to see the seals and then kayak around some icebergs. Not something you get to do everyday. Another great chance to take advantage of the lovely weather.
In the afternoon we went to Grytviken, a former whaling station, now museum, run by a National Trust out of England. They could process up to 25 whales per day. The whaling industry numbers from 1900-1950 are just staggering. It is a wonderful museum now showing how they processed all parts of the whales and how they lived in these difficult conditions. We had a fun dinner on board that night with museum staff and some of the research team.
Gold Harbour
On Saturday, we rose very early, 0430, to go ashore at Gold Harbor to view the king penguin population at sunrise. There were teams of adult and chick penguins as well as more elephant seals. Amazing to immerse yourself in the area as they wake for the day. Unfortunately the cloud cover did not allow for an impressive sunrise but it was nevertheless great to see all the wildlife.
In the afternoon, the ship moved to Drygalski Fjord and we saw an amazing alley of icebergs that were lined up along a ridge in the ocean. Quite a trick for the captain to get the ship though them. The glacier at the end of the fjord was impressive but the weather was so cold, blustery and sleety that we shortened our ride. The first inclement weather we have had for the trip.
