We anchored off the island of South Georgia very early in the morning. This is also a British controlled island (like the Falklands) and is overseen by the governor of the Falklands. Minerva’s passengers are divided into two groups, Endurance (Red) and Discovery (Green). We are part of the Red second wave, Discovery Group, which boarded ten zodiacs at 8:30 a.m. The 75-minute excursion to Elsehul took us to a beautiful beach site where we saw hundreds of King Penguins, some Gentoo Penguins, and thousands of 3-5 week-old fur seal babies with their moms sleeping on the beaches among shags, petrels, albatrosses, and elephant seals. Everywhere we looked, there was something moving.
The fur seals are becoming a huge problem because of over population and their aggressive nature. Shore landings are no longer possible at many sites, the tussock grasses are being consumed, and their sheer numbers are beginning to end up being the survival of the fittest. Did you know that a fur seal can outrun a human and they have very sharp teeth? But, they are very cute!
Our return to the Minerva didn’t turn out to be so easy: waves and swells everywhere were brought on by high winds. After enjoying lunch on the ship, even more poor weather dictated that our scheduled afternoon zodiac visit to Salisbury Plain be cancelled. The scenery outside was beautiful, however…and we enjoyed a drive-by viewing instead. We saw glaciers, hundreds of King Penguins along the shore, lots of sun and blue skies. Unfortunately, the 55 mph wind and waves did not cooperate. We pulled up anchor and headed to Leith Whaling Village for a walk and peek at an abandoned whaling village that has not been restored. We maintained the 200 foot distance from the decaying buildings because of asbestos and the possibility of flying metal pieces (from parts of the buildings blowing off in the high winds).
Those whalers were amazing people. The hardships they experienced due to the weather, being away from nearly everything, the difficulty of moving around these multi-ton whales. Yet, as we arrived, the penguins, baby fur seals, elephant seals, reindeer, snow capped mountains, and glaciers, presented incredible views. Our late afternoon trek began at 51 degrees! Within an hour, however, the winds had produced cloud cover, a bit of rainfall, and registered 12 on the Beaufort Scale. The gusts measured up to 79 mph (hurricane force, according to the Captain). The Red group was quickly shuttled back to the ship in a light rainfall and high waves. We saw, first hand, how quickly air and sea conditions change down here. We’re sad to report that the Green group, Endurance, missed out on the excursion. Safely back onboard, we anticipated the next day and more exciting opportunities.
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