Saturday January 20th 2024
St Andrews Bay & Gold Harbour
South Georgia
Expedition Morning
07:15 Wake-up call
This morning, depending on wind, weather and ice conditions, we plan to zodiac explore at St Andrews Bay.
Expedition Afternoon
This afternoon, depending on wind, weather and ice conditions, we plan to zodiac explore at Gold Harbour.
We found ourselves in St. Andrew’s Bay, stage to the island’s biggest King Penguin Palooza. The beaches were jam-packed with Kings stretching out to the horizon. Ah, it was just another Nat Geo day in South Georgia.
The day kicked off with a cloudy start, and low fog threatened to obscure our view of the penguins. Once on the zodiacs, the sky finally cleared up, promising another fantastic day in South Georgia. Little did we know that this was just the calm before the storm.
Our journey began towards a rocky outcrop where hundreds of King penguins were just chilling out. As we approached, a leopard seal made a quick appearance, most likely trolling for its next meal. It went under a few times before heading out to sea, choosing to hunt elsewhere. Phew, these penguins were safe for now.
The beaches were buzzing with activity: Kings getting their steps in, some entering the water for a quick dip. Fur Seal pups chasing each and lumps of elephant seals snoozing, indifferent to the bustle around them. All the while, the kazoo-like calls of the Kings filled the air, adding to the atmosphere. The rhythm of nature played over and over again, no matter how many times, it never gets old. Like watching a cute cat video or playing your favorite song on repeat, not that we would do that.
We stopped to watch two huge Juvie Elephant Seals, practice their WWE moves, rearing up and body slamming each other.
We were slowly making our way to the section of the beach over flowing with Kings when out of nowhere, ferocious katabatic winds kicked in, violently churning up the bay and tossing our little defenseless zodiac around. The calm conditions were no more. Scott, our zodiac captain, turned back to where we came from, hoping that the winds wouldn’t be as fierce, but it was only slightly better. While some zodiacs were making a beeline for the ship, there were a few bravely continuing their exploration in the face of the relentless winds. Our group was one of the first to head back to the ship. Gus and I were bummed as we wanted to stay out longer, winds be damned. Later, we learned that we missed out on witnessing rafts of penguins taking turns surfing down a torrent of water gushing from a break in the glacier. Of course, Jonathan said he had never seen anything like this before, adding to our bad case of FOMO or Feeling of Missing Out (Yeah, I just made that up). Ugh, Nature is a moody bitch.
The weather in the afternoon didn’t turn out any better. We were in Gold Harbour, a small bay surrounded by snowy peaks, thick with Kings. One of the more spectacular sight was the huge hanging glacier cascading down to the sea. It was extraordinary but the low heavy fog obscured our views. The weather just got progressively worse as it started to rain. The zodiacs were still going out, however, as the winds calmed down. Gus and I bundled up, prepared for winds and rain hoping that the weather would let up some. The low visibility and the pelting rain in our face made it difficult to see anything around you. Taking pictures was pointless though I foolishly tried to capture the moment with my inadequate iPhone mini.
Even in crappy weather, Gold Harbour was still astonishingly stunning. At one point, we were hoping to cross into the lagoon to get a closer view of the hanging glacier but it was impossible due to low tide.
During the recap, we found out there were 2 Covid-19 cases, and those poor individuals were now in isolation, likely missing out on some excursions. We did notice that more people were wearing masks, but there was also a lot more coughing and sniffling going on as the trip went on.
Oh, and get this, someone was seen taking a pebble from one of the spots we hit up on South Georgia Island, even though we were all told not to take anything. I’m sure it was an innocent mistake. Cue 🙄. Seriously, who does that? Tourons, that’s who! Why can’t people just behave and stop acting like Tourons?
Three Short Vignettes
- Parade of Penguins
- WWE Summer Slam
- Penguin Palooza
It's Opener There 
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