Sat 15 November :

An incredible day

In any other circumstances or on any other trip it would be easy to say
that you couldn’t better the day we had today. But of course on our 3
week expedition in Antarctica we now know that there will be many more
amazing days like today and maybe better. The mood on board the MV
Ushuaia is buoyant and we’re all experiencing a natural high, shared
amongst a group of people who were all strangers a week ago.

Woken at 6am as the engines of the ship started and we moved off our
sheltered anchor to begin the short trip further into the Bay of Isles.
The surrounding mountains were half covered in low lying cloud but still
were impressively spectacular and the sun was doing it’s best to break
through the clouds. The lack of any strong winds meant we were
definitely going ashore today, and the colony’s of King Penguin and Fur
Seals we could see from the deck was our destination.

No matter how many David Attenborough shows, IMAX movies, DVD’s or books
you watch or read, absolutely nothing can prepare for the incredible
spectacle of these huge King Penguin colonies , with massive Elephant
seals and Fur seals thrown in for good measure. Setting foot on the
beach inches away from the inhabitants on this remote island is
something I’ll never forget. The lack of any land based predators
allows us walk freely and closer than I thought possible , amongst these
amazing birds and seals.

The Fur seals agressively defend their patch of the beach on which they
form their harems of females, and will snort and half charge at us, but
nothing more serious than that. As we walk slowly through them we soak
up the incredible sight of miles and miles of King Penguins stretching
along the shore and inland . The sound is something that even the best
nature programme could never do justice to , it is an awesome sound with
tens of thousands chicks and adults all calling out to each other, and
somehow they can tell each call apart.

We walked for a while through the sparsely populated end of the beach,
past a huge Elephant seal, which it turned out was only a pup, until we
reached the foot of the hills and large tussock grasses. Here a new
sensation was added which was the smell of guano from thousands of
penguins, who do a more than capable job of keeping themselves clean.
Thousand of euros worth of boots and Gortex trousers didn’t fare as
well, but there were no complaints.

We were now at the densest part of the colony that contained all the
brown downy chicks, also known as Wolly Penguins. Some of the chicks
are larger than their parents and their brown fluffy coat shimmers in
the light just as much as the silver and white adult’s does. I got the
go ahead from our guide to climb up on to higher ground and the view
from up there was simply incredible, with the backdrop of the now fully
clear mountains and islands, and not to mention our floating home in the
bay.

Male fur seals clash viscously for the upper hand in the mating stakes,
Skuas dive bomb the Penguin colony for eggs and vulnerable young and
old, Wandering Albatrosses return from feeding trips that could take
them as far as Brazil, and the Wollies spontaneously start spinning
seemingly out of control around the colony.

After three hours we return to the zodiacs and back to the ship, wash
ourselves down and discuss our first encounter with the Penguins over a
great lunch. The warm sunshine that had me peeling off layers an hour
ago , suddenly gives way to the most beautiful snow shower any of us
have experienced , with huge soft snowflakes.

Our afternoon trip to Prion Island is postponed for an hour, but
eventually we set off into the sea and snow. The beach for this landing
is miniature compared to this mornings and every inch is closely guarded
by fur seals. A guide walks us through safely in single file towards a
new constructed boardwalk, that will take us up to the nests of the
Wandering Albatross and their chicks. The snow is falling heavily as
we reach the first nest and the spectacular scenic view that we think is
there is obscured but our focus is on the huge birds who have the
largest wingspan of any on earth.

The snow stops, the clouds lift and suddenly we have one possible,
albeit unlikely reason of why these birds chose to nest here. It’s
simply the most stunning of vistas across the bay , backed by dramatic
mountains, glaciers and scattering of ice bergs in the bay. As we make
our way back to the zodiacs the skies have completely cleared now and
the full impact of the view of this part of South Georgia’s snow covered
peaks leaves everyone speechless.

Our activities has taken everyones mind off the traverse party, who have
suffered severe high winds, and have been traveling in a blind mist
since leaving yesterday… we’re due to rendezvous with them tomorrow,
but more of the same from today and we won’t mind in the slightest
waiting for them.

On to Fortuna bay for a trek to Stromness tomorrow..

The MV Ushuaia is now proudly flying the Tricolour and the Munster
Flag.. we’re on the lookout for an iceberg to claim !!