Monday 17th November

The Shackleton Walk

Today for the rest of us was a chance to do our own bit of the famous
traverse, see the interior of South Georgia and get some much needed
exercise . We headed off for the landing beach while the traverse
party were making their way along the shoreline, their progress being
impeded by the fur seals. Eventually we get going, and it’s clear it’ll
be a long walk for some.

I caught a break and Agustine the guide asked me to scout the route
ahead.. I didn’t need to be asked twice. So off I set up through the
scree covered slope and found the easiest route for the rest of the
groups. I scouted ahead again to just below Crean Lake when the
traverse party caught up with the group below.. there was some kind of
reception etc.. and after 20 mins or so they got going again. I decided
to let some of the traverse team go ahead.. as they appeared to be
racing for Stromness for some reason.

The walk was fantastic, the scenery breath taking, and the remoteness of
this route made you think twice about each step. But try as I did, I
found it hard to compare any part of what I was doing to what the
original trio experienced. I’d just left my warm bunk, after a fine
breakfast and shower. I was warm, actually too warm, and fit , and knew
what was ahead… so once again I envied the traverse team members, who
at least had some sort of ordeal under their belts as they made this
final walk.

Tourism to the Antarctic and South Georgia is rapidly on the increase,
and many people around the world will be relaying stories of how they
“experienced” the Shackleton Walk, for me that’s like visiting Robin
Island on a day trip and saying how you’ve experienced Nelson Mandela’s
incarceration !

So instead I turned my mind to simply enjoying the stunning trek for
what it was and take in as much of it as I could. Crean Lake was frozen
over and our route was a mixture of heavy snow and lightly snow covered
ground. The weather was good and visibility excellent, and it was a
special moment when we cleared the last ridge to reveal Stromness
harbour below and the whaling station that was salvation for Shackleton
and his men.

After a short break on a rocky outcrop we took our cue from ex Marine
Charlie Paton, who had just slid down the mountain on the snow .. aha ..
now this is more like a chance to experience a part of the original
journey. Okay this was daylight and we could see the bottom, but it
would never cross anybody’s mind to do this at home, but here you just
had to. So, our small group took it in turns to descend about 600
meters of the snow covered mountain in about 2 mins.. fantastic !

A half an hours walk later and we were assembling at the edge of the
whaling station , which sadly is now off limits due to the state of the
buildings and the dangers of abstestos, no one told the Fur Seals
though.. and they now have the place to themselves. Later I got up
close to the station on one of the zodiacs and came to within feet of
the old station master’s house, still standing after a century of
furious and sever winters.

All the team are on board now and the bar is doing a brisk trade..
something tells me it’s going to be a long night !

Gritvyken tomorrow and on to the fjords.. and then it’s back to the open
ocean for our journey south again to Elephant Island.