Gold Harbour would be our final landing on South Georgia Island and it was as spectacular as the first, in its own unique way. The beach front proved too surrounded by obstacles (water, cliffs, elephant seals) to afford a proper hike, which made for a nice excuse to sit and observe. The king penguins lined the beach and stream, and massive elephant seals looked like giant mounds splayed across the sand, until a couple of males set off to spar like two sea monsters rising to battle. A smaller gentoo colony occupied the cliffs behind the kings, and made occasional treks down the hillside and over the beach to the water. As a gentoo enthusiast, I found myself a spot in the middle of their path, sat down, and became part of the landscape. The gentoos became accustomed to my presence and headed right for me on their quest to the sea, veering off only at the last minute to avoid a head-on. Sheathbills, which are white chicken-like scavenging birds, would occasionally walk over and peck at my boots, looking for something to eat. Amongst all of this, I became enamored with a gentoo named Bo, who claimed a tussock mound to himself, and fought off every beast who came to challenge, even those several times his size, like king penguins and fur seals. I sat in this spot for well over and hour and took a million pictures. No, two million.
I won't pretend it was all fun and games though. The mood was broken slightly by some Circle of Life sadness between a king penguin juvenile and a skua. That's all I'll really say, but nature is nature.
In the afternoon we took a zodiac cruise of Cooper Bay, our last (and only) chance to see macaroni penguins. We chose the zodiac led by Steve the Bird Man, and spent an especially long time cruising the cliffs where they nested to get better and better looks. Being the 'birder' boat, we also chased down the South Georgia pipit, which is a bird that, in fact, only a birder could love as much as our boat did. It's a small brown sparrow-like jobbie that has the distinction of being the world's southernmost passerine and an endemic to the island. Bird nerd heaven
And then we were off, leaving South Georgia Island behind. Our captain took us through a special passageway, Drygalski Fjord. It was full of glaciers and ice, quite cold but quite beautiful. And a harbinger of what we would witness as we headed south to Antarctica proper.
The ability (of Kassandra) to tailor a guided trip to my exact preferences is very valuable to me, as well as the ability (of Kassandra) to provide expert guidance on destinations and travel dates. I also appreciate the ability of the backup staff (Maria Ignacio, Exito Travel) to coordinate all the details to make the travel logistics easy for the customer.
Mark Whalen
1 day ago
Our Costa Rica trip was amazing! Kassandra planned everything and the excursions, hotels, overall organization were outstanding. Everything worked out smoothly, the excursions guides were knowledgeable allowing us to see so much of the fauna and flora of the country. The hotels were great as well, all in fantastic locations and with beautiful views.
Danny
1 day ago
This is our 7th trip Kassandra has planned and she is wonderful to work with. She is responsive, helpful, patient and knowledgeable. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work together with her. We love Adventure Life!
Aana Rivlin
2 days ago
Love Adventure Life, Mary is very experienced in the cruise department. Their post follow up after booking is great too.
Rita Shiver
2 days ago
Responsiveness and follow through along with staff being very personable.