South Georgia Island
How
to describe the pristine beauty of South Georgia? This is, clearly, a
spot whose description is limited by words and even by photos.
Snow-capped mountains, glaciers, icebergs, and a rugged coastline are
a glorious feast for the eyes and the heart. South Georgia Island is
within the Antarctic Convergence, but outside the limit of yearly sea
ice so it is an ideal spot to call home and millions of penguins,
seals, and seabirds do just that.
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| MS Fram |
Fortuna Bay
Our landing this morning at Fortuna Bay was flawless; a wonderful omen for what was to come. And come they did! Everywhere we looked there were penguins; some resting on the ground, others walking, and some marching to and from the water, their backs held straight, seemingly oblivious to the enchanted blue-jacketed humans whose cameras kept shooting. At the far end of the beach were hundreds and hundreds of king penguins with their chicks. It takes 14 months from a chick's hatching to the shedding of its brown coat and the ones we saw were a bit under a year; just a few more months and they will be on their own. And then there were the seals...clusters of fur seals sleeping in the sunshine and scattered about were the enormous elephant seals from whom we kept our distance. Yes, these very large and very heavy creatures, if agitated, will let you know...and they are faster than we are!
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| King Penguins |
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| Wonder what he's thinking?... |
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| King Penguins and their Chicks
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| Out for a Stroll... |
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| Elephant Seal |
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| Fur Seal
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Stromness
There
are three deserted whaling stations on Stromness Bay, although one
cannot enter them for safety reasons. I felt a sense of desolation at
this landing and tried to imagine what it would have been like to
live and work here year after year, especially through the long dark,
cold winter months. The whaling industry in South Georgia was started
in the early 1900's and ended in December, 1965 when the last harbor
was closed down. In total, 175,250 whales were processed - the
blubber was initially used just for oil, but later on, soap and
cosmetics as well, and the meat eaten by the men living in the
whaling stations.
King
penguins were seen here and there; Stromness is not their permanent
home and it's not quite certain how they got here; most likely, they
swam over to check out a new spot and will perhaps go back to their
home rookeries at some point. Courting is taking place; females
letting the interested males know that they will soon be ready to
mate... a fascinating behavior to watch.
Elephant
and fur seals lay on the beach and all seemed oblivious to our
presence. The elephant seals are quite a sight; hard to believe how
quickly they move considering how much they weigh!
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