The first indication that you are approaching South Georgia is the sighting of birds around a group of rocky spires called Shag Rocks. Rising out of the icy ocean waters, have your binoculars and cameras ready to photograph these rocks and the shags, prions and wandering albatross that often rest here.
After enjoying South Georgia from a distance, we’ll head towards its dark sandy beaches to find a protected bay to prepare for your first land excursion. Landing sites on South Georgia are varied, and are largely determined by the weather conditions of your voyage. Whatever landing sites we visit, they’ll provide you with wildlife encounters that cannot be enjoyed anywhere else on Earth. This is one of the most fertile breeding grounds in the world for sub-Antarctic wildlife, with beaches littered with penguins - in particular king and macaroni penguins. Many rookeries number into the hundreds of thousands! It won’t take you long to realize that South Georgia is a paradise for bird lovers as burrowing seabirds, albatross and petrels can all be seen in abundance.
A couple of landings that best represent what you can expect in South Georgia are Gold Harbor and Cooper Bay. Perhaps the most picturesque site in all of South Georgia, Gold Harbor provides a dizzying amount of wildlife all in one location. It will enchant you with a view of the overhanging Bertrab Glacier to the east, a massive King penguin colony in the distance, an abundance of southern elephant seals and fur seals, as well as nesting albatross high above in the tussock grass. Not to be outdone, Cooper Bay at the southern end of South Georgia will bring you close to a macaroni penguin rookery, before you sail off for a scenic cruise through Drygalski Fjord.
You’ll find that South Georgia is also scattered with abandoned relics and evidence of human activity from centuries gone by. Once a popular base for whalers and sealers, Captain James Cook first reported on the abundance of wildlife here in 1775. His report resulted in an almost complete decimation of fur seals and a drastic decline in both whale and elephant seal populations. Your Expedition Team will help bring those days to life for you, as you’ll visit old whaling stations and enjoy lectures and presentations on the South Georgia of then and now. Thankfully, you’ll witness that many species have seen a remarkable population rebound on the island.
One of the most significant sites you will visit on the island is located on Grytviken. This is one of the first whaling stations established in sub-Antarctic waters. Many travelers find this place of special appeal as it is home to the remains of one of the best known Antarctic explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Linking past and present, one landing we’ll attempt during the voyage is on the eastern shore of Fortuna Bay. Landing here, you’ll set out for the ‘Shackleton Hike’, a hike that joins the final kilometers of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s traverse of South Georgia into Stromness whaling station.
