South Georgia Island, Natural History Photography Blog

Photos of Drygalski Fjord, South Georgia Island

The weather today continued to turn for the worse after we departed Godthul, so a decision was made to travel to Drygalski Fjord at the south end of South Georgia Island in lieu of an afternoon land visit. So, after lunch and a few few hours of travel down the coast of the island, we found ourselves sailing into the narrow gorge that is Drygalski Fjord. The fjord pierces the island dramatically, cutting deep into the interior. High peaks, of which we could occasionally get glimpses through the heavily overcast skies, tower above. As we approached the terminus of the fjord, we found the water clogged with brash ice. Occasional small chunks would calve from Risting Glacier, the obvious source of all the floating ice. It was beautiful. At one point a “shooter” broke the surface with a big splash, and its wave cleared an opening in the brash ice. A “shooter” is a chunk of ice calved off the submarine portion of the glacier, sometimes very deep, which then accelerates as it floats upward to the surface. By its very nature, a shooter is a complete surprise and can easily damage a boat, so the captain kept a safe distance from the Risting Glacier.

M/V Polar Star approaches the glacier at the end of Drygalski Fjord. Image ID: 24688

Drygalski Fjord, passengers on icebreak M/V Polar Star. The water is packed with brash ice which has broken away from the glacier at the end of the narrow fjord. Image ID: 24684

Drygalski Fjord, packed with brash ice which has broken away from Risting Glacier at the end of the narrow fjord. Image ID: 24743

Next: Cooper Bay, South Georgia Island
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Photos of Hercules Bay and Macaroni Penguins, South Georgia Island

It is snowing this morning. We are anchored at Stromness but can hardly see the mountains over which we hiked yesterday. The M/V Polar Star is covered with snow. The beaches surrounding our anchorage are dusted with snow and look cold. During breakfast we slowly motor north to Hercules Bay, anchor and prepare for a look at more penguins and seals. Hercules Bay is a spectacular cirque, a snow-topped bowl that rises on three sides of us. A waterfall drops hundreds of feet to a narrow cobblestone beach on which king penguins, fur seals and elephant seals reside.

Macaroni penguins, on the rocky shoreline of Hercules Bay, South Georgia Island. One of the crested penguin species, the macaroni penguin bears a distinctive yellow crest on its head. They grow to be about 12 lb and 28″ high. Macaroni penguins eat primarily krill and other crustaceans, small fishes and cephalopods. Image ID: 24390   Species: Macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus

Macaroni penguins and Hercules Bay, South Georgia Island. Image ID: 24391   Species: Macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus

It continues to snow as we motor in the zodiacs. As we arrive in a small rocky cove, the stench of bird guano and pinniped poop is stunningly strong, a bracing waft of lung-shaking malodorous fumes. Nothing like a group of elephant seals lying in puddles of their own making to open up one’s sinuses. Everyone winces. Ahhh, to be alive on South Georgia Island! Indeed, this is the smell we traveled halfway around the world to experience. For a hour or so we watch Macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) as they walk to and fro from their nests in the tussac grass on bluffs overlooking the bay down to rocks at the water’s edge. As we do, we must avoid Antarctic fur seals and elephant seals resting on the rocks. Two lone chinstrap penguins are hassled by the larger macaronis, which we now realize are nothing more than 24” bullying avian thugs. Clouds break and the sun begins to light the beach. The air is actually fairly warm now yet snow still falls. What a morning! It is beautiful here, wow.

Hercules Bay, with the steep mountains and narrow waterfalls of South Georgia Island rising above. Image ID: 24417

Antarctic fur seal, adult male (bull). Image ID: 24569   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella

King penguins gather in a steam to molt, below a waterfall on a cobblestone beach at Hercules Bay. Image ID: 24557   Species: King penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus

After an hour we move by zodiac to another cove a short distance away, the one we saw earlier with a waterfall dropping into it. On a small cobblestone beach with mountains rising high above us, a group of about 100 molting King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are standing in the fresh water as it flows the short distance from the cliff to the ocean. A few young fur seals move about the edge of the king penguin group. Feathers dropped during the penguin’s molt gather in clumps in the stream, and blow about in the air when a breeze rises. They are very photogenic and cooperative. Besides the photos I take of them, I shoot a video to show my kids later, hoping that the audio track captures the croaking of the penguins, barking of the fur seals and elephant seals and the soft tap-tap-tap of the still-falling snow. Eventually it is time to leave Hercules Bay and the staff gathers the zodiacs back on board. As we motor away toward Grytviken, the skies open up and show us how really gorgeous this bay is.

Next: Grytviken, South Georgia Island
Previous: Stromness Harbour and Shackleton Hike, South Georgia Island
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Photos of Stromness Harbour and Shackleton Hike, South Georgia Island

After lunch on the boat we return to the far side of Fortuna Bay to set out on a 3.5m hike over a mountain pass to Stromness. This hike will follow the final leg in Ernest Shackleton’s heroic journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island. As Shackleton crossed over South Georgia Island, his goal was Stromness Harbour where he knew he could find help from the whaling station there. However, he mistakenly descended into Fortuna Bay. Upon realizing this, he made for Stromness Harbour by the most direct route, over a low pass. Our hike today is a reenactment of that final short traverse, one that he performed in winter. Thanks to the forgiving weather, our walk turns out to be fun and easy, but the thought of hiking up on the mountains above in winter as Shackleton did holds no appeal.

Walking up the slopes of South Georgia Island above Fortuna Bay. Image ID: 24591

Crean Lake near the pass over South Georgia Island between Fortuna Bay and Stromness Harbour. Image ID: 24589   Location: South Georgia Island

We leave from – what else – a small cobblestone beach with fur seals and elephant seals. The initial ascent is steep but simple, with open views of still-overcast Fortuna Bay below. The route (not a trail) is a over some type of slate scree, a fascinating debris that must be revealing the geologic history of the rock below but which I can’t read. I just like the footing it offers, and I can travel easily and quickly. On the way to the top of the saddle I pass a stream and several small lakes, and patches of snow. It is drizzling lightly. Once over the pass I see my first views of Stromness Harbour and the whaling station there. Several glaciers in the surrounding basin feed into the stream that winds across a wide flat alluvial flood plain below. A steep snow patch blocks the way – nothing to do but descend. Others who have gone before me have slid down on their butts but I left my foul weather pants on the boat so decide to schuss-ski the 300 yards run on my feet. It’s really fun. Below the snow I find Shackleton’s Falls (not sure what the actual name of this waterfall is), dropping in several parts nearly all the way to the flood plain. I shoot a few photos and a video, then head off across the wet plain alongside the stream. From this point a hill blocks Stromness Harbour from sight, so that one must either go over or around. I go up and over. Atop the hill there are a few colonies of gentoo penguins (why so far inland and high up?), skuas laying in grass, and lichen-covered ancient-looking rock formations. The drizzle now changes to snow, and I am forced to put my jacket on. Reindeer are running over the grassy hills a half mile away across a gap, travelling up the mountainside as far as the lower reaches of snow. More waterfalls can be seen from the top of this hill, each descending to the flood plain and into the bay at Stromness. The abandoned whaling station at Stromness can be seen clearly from atop this hill. It is a decrepit wreck of rusting metal, docks, cranes, barrels and old roads. I descend through beautiful spreads of tall tussock and mounds of short grasses to the beach below, passing by bachelor fur seals and gentoos walking from the water to their hilltop colonies.

Hiker looks down on Stromness Harbour from the pass high above. Image ID: 24582

Shackleton Falls, named for explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, formed from glacial meltwaters, near Stromness Harbour. Image ID: 24636

Glacial melt waters, runoff, flows across an alluvial flood plain between mountains, on its way to Stromness Harbour. Image ID: 24587   Location: Stromness Harbour, South Georgia Island

Gentoo penguins, permanent nesting colony in grassy hills about a mile inland from the ocean, near Stromness Harbour, South Georgia Island. Image ID: 24635   Species: Gentoo penguin, Pygoscelis papua Location: Stromness Harbour, South Georgia Island

Next: Hercules Bay, South Georgia Island
Previous: Fortuna Bay, South Georgia Island
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Photos of Fortuna Bay and Antarctic Fur Seals, South Georgia Island

Fortuna Bay, with icebreaker M/V Polar Star at anchor. Image ID: 24593

This morning we awake anchored in Fortuna Bay. Some early birds opt for a 6am landing, while others wait until after breakfast to go ashore. I go early. The beach has many fur seals and king penguins, more broadly spread about than what we saw yesterday. It is very overcast, and the light is low. The animals are soaking wet, as is the grass in which the fur seals bed down. I decide to shoot portraits, using as much lens as I have. My goal is to illustrate the long whiskers that are characteristic of Antarctic fur seals. The fur seals use these whiskers when foraging for food, although the exact sense that the whiskers provide is not yet fully known. The whiskers may serve as a crude form of close-proximity radar at depths so great there is no light, providing exceptionally sensitive touch for sensing vibration in the water caused by their prey: squid and fish.

Antarctic fur seal, adult male (bull), showing distinctive pointed snout and long whiskers that are typical of many fur seal species. The long whiskers are exceptionally sensitive and are believed to help the fur seal find food in the ocean by sensing vibration and movement of nearby fish and squid. Image ID: 24632   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella

Most of the group arrives after breakfast by which time the fog is lifting and it is getting brighter. Above us, on the lower slopes of the mountains that tower above Fortuna Bay, is a small herd of reindeer and an area with nesting terns. I hike about 300-400’ up to see the reindeer, and am surprised to find many fur seals that have settled down on the grassy slopes high above the beach. Why do they feel the need to climb so high? It must be for the view. After returning down to the beach I sit down to watch a group of king penguins, several of whom approach me so closely I can photograph a single king penguin’s head full-frame. Their plumage is really something to behold. What great birds. There are fur seal pups scattered among the tussock grass and playing in small pockets of water on the beach. I find one leucistic antarctic fur seal pup, so lacking in pigmentation that it appears blond. We will ony see a few leucistic fur seals then entire trip, they are quite uncommon.

King penguin, showing ornate and distinctive neck, breast and head plumage and orange beak. Image ID: 24581   Species: King penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus

Antarctic fur seal, on grass slopes high above Fortuna Bay. Image ID: 24583   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella

An antarctic fur seal pup plays in the water. Image ID: 24605   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella

Next: Stromness Harbour and Shackleton Hike, South Georgia Island
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Photos of Right Whale Bay and Antarctic Fur Seals, South Georgia Island

Antarctic fur seal colony, on a sand beach alongside Right Whale Bay, with the mountains of South Georgia Island in the background, sunset. Image ID: 24315   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella Location: Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island

Upon reaching South Georgia Island late in the day today, we made straight for Elsehul, a small bay at the north end of the island. The island is rugged, with sea cliffs rising almost vertically from the ocean. The peaks above, some of which are hidden in clouds, rise to over 9,000′. They are covered in snow and glaciers. Glaciers lead from the peaks down almost to sea level and are clearly what has formed the many bays, inlets and notches to define the coastline. Gray-headed albatrosses are seen here, the first I have seen of them on the trip, flying alongside the boat and about the cliffs at Elsehul upon which they nest. Antarctic fur seals are swimming in the waters of the bay. Using binoculors one can easily see that the beaches at Elsehul, however, are so plugged with fur seals that a landing is untenable, so we move down the coast to Right Whale Bay. After dinner the staff surveyed the beaches within Right Whale Bay and decided that there was room for us to land without disturbing the inhabitants, so at 7:30 pm we made for shore. Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) cover this beach too (a common theme for the trip, as we shall see). At our landing spot there are many bull fur seals (adult males) managing their harems of females. Occasionally a bachelor male will move too close to a harem, perhaps hoping to pick off one of the females on the outskirts and and try for a quick opportunity at mating, but usually the harem’s bull will quickly chase the interloper away.

Antarctic fur seals, adult male bull and female, illustrating extreme sexual dimorphism common among pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and fur seals). Image ID: 24324   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella Location: Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island

Pups are literally strewn about on the sand, small and black, some near there mothers while others gather in small groups a few yards away from the adults. About 100 yards in from the ocean the sand beach transitions to a gravel alluvial flood plain created by streams leading down from the mountains that rise so quickly above us. King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) occupy much of the plain — singletons, small groups and gatherings of hundreds and thousands. Dead fur seals lie in the stream, testament to the difficulty of survival here. Giant petrels and skuas bury their heads deep into the carcasses, emerging with blood covered beaks draped with bits of entrails. Dominant skuas chase away lesser competitors from some of the better carcasses. We walk along the outskirts of the fur seal colony, watching them and taking photographs. The sun is behind the mountains already and it is growing dark. About the time we must depart the beach and return by zodiac to the big boat for the night, we receive a final surprise: the clouds above catch their last sunlight of the day, lighting up with pink and orange. Awesome!

M/V Polar Star, an icebreaker expedition ship, lies at anchor in Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island. Antarctic fur seals on the beach, and the rugged South Georgia Island mountains in the distance. Sunset, dusk. Image ID: 24318   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella Location: Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island

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Approaching South Georgia Island

Stern of the M/V Polar Star, foggy weather, sea birds flying in the wake of the ship, at sea. Image ID: 24137   Location: Southern Ocean

This was our third day sailing for South Georgia Island. We are fortunate to have had calm seas the entire time. Today I woke up at 5am, hoping to see Shag Rock which we were estimated to pass at about 5:30am. However, it was heavily overcast and drizzly. We never saw Shag Rock which is not surprising since, if I were the captain in this weather, I would have steered clear of that hazard by several miles. The water is a different color now, steel gray or sometimes black depending on the light. We crossed the Antarctic Convergence Line sometime during the night, and were now officially in “southern waters”. Crossing the convergence line, a transition which can be a brief as 100 yards, led us into water that was only 1’C, about 3-4 degrees colder than yesterday. The air is noticeably colder too, so I put on my heaviest sweater and jacket, gloves and an ugly woolen hat. No more flipflops now (well, until we get to Antarctica that is).

Before industrial whaling, the waters below our ship were teeming with behemoth blue whales, right whales, fins, humpback whales and sperm whales. In the depths over which we are now sailing whalers plyed their bloody trade, taking hundreds of thousands of whales. In terms of biomass, whale hunting in the Southern Ocean, which is still ongoing, is arguably the greatest killing spree mankind has ever embarked upon, more than any of humanity’s wars. South Georgia whalers were a major part of that gruesome machine. The whaling station at Grytviken, which we will visit in a few days, was active into the 1960s and took more whales than any other station in the Atlantic. It is a somber thought. We see no blows today.

Icebreaker M/V Polar Star approaches Elsehul harbor on South Georgia Island. Image ID: 24323   Location: South Georgia Island

For much of the day I assumed a spot on the back deck hoping to see more albatross. Since we were now only about 150nm from South Georgia, today figured to be a better day for bird sightings than yesterday. Albatrosses – black-browed, gray-headed and occasional wandering – could be seen soaring through the troughs and over the peaks of waves, riding the updrafts of the wind that was following us, but they were hard to see. The looked like ghosts as they appeared along the edge of the fog surrounding us. Prions and other small seabirds flitted about the boat throughout the day and I tried to photograph them. Epic fail. They are too damn small and fast. I could not track them they moved so quickly and erraticly. Big, slow birds are what I prefer. I take very few photos today, instead listening to Mark Isham’s Vapor Drawings on my iPod and staring out to sea. Chill. We are scheduled to arrive at South Georgia Island about 6pm hoping to make a evening visit at Elsehul (Else’s Bay) after dinner. The visit may morph into a Zodiac ride along the shore if there are too many Antarctic fur seals on shore. It is mating season for fur seals. They come ashore in such vast numbers, and are so stoked up on hormones, territoriality and sex, that it may be impossible for us to traverse the beach at Elsehul. A few hours before we sight the island, we began to see Antarctic fur seals swimming in groups in the open ocean. The fog lifts occasionally letting the sun through, then it settles in again around the boat. It feels very “South”, quite different than the balmy temperatures and sunny skies we experienced in the Falklands. This is the weather I expected.

South Georgia Island coastline, showing the island’s characteristic rugged topography. 56% of the island is covered by 161 glaciers, which have created numerous large bays and inlets that provide excellent habitat for marine animals and seabirds. Mountains meet the sea in steep-sided seacliffs covered with sparse vegetation. The highest point on South Georgia Island is Mt. Paget at 2,915m. Image ID: 24317   Location: South Georgia Island

Finally, after three days of quite comfortable and uneventful sailing, we make our first sighting of South Georgia Island. As we approach, the island rises steeply out of the ocean. A brief clearing of blue sky closes out and we find ourselves below the cloud layer that envelops the island. It is ominious and exciting. The island is imposing. Tortured earth. I wonder about the geologic tale of upheaval and torment that is written in the rocky seacliffs that burst from the depths and reach hundreds of feet into the air. This island was once part of the Andes Mountains. I would love to see the eons-long time lapse movie illustrating the tumultuous forces that parted this island from it’s mother South America, leaving it so distant, rugged and alone. I really look forward to going ashore.

Next: Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island
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