December 30 Drygalski Fjord & Gold Harbour, South Georgia

 

What a beautiful morning!  After a couple of days with blustering winds and snow crossing the Scotia sea we woke this morning to blue skies - and yes wind but it was a weeny bit warmer. We have arrived at South Georgia! When I say we woke, we got a wake up call at 4am because we had just rounded the point at Cape Disappointment and were entering Drygalski fjord. The fjord is rather spectacular. Towering snow-patched mountains, rugged rocks showing slabs of red and green here and there. As someone said it’s like the Swiss Alps had been plonked into the Scotia sea. We all huddled in the Observation lounge dashing out every now and then on deck to get photos. It was chilly and extremely windy! We drank the coffee machine dry and then once 5:30 came ducked down for an early morning pastry. It was a marvelous couple of hours but then we scuttled back to bed for a bit of sleep before the breakfast call. 

Just a little about Drygalski because there are a number of places named for him, the first I remember was in the Ross sea when we were there in 2020; his name fascinated me. He, Erich von Drygalski, was a German geographer, geophysicist and polar scientist. In 1901, he led the first German South Polar expedition with the ship Gauss to explore the unknown area of Antarctica lying south of the Kerguelen Islands also known as the Desolation Islands, a group of islands partially submerged in the southern Indian Ocean.  A small party of the expedition was stationed on the Kerguelen Islands while the main party proceeded further south. Drygalski also paid a brief call to Heard Island (now an Australian territory) and provided the first comprehensive scientific information on the island's geology, flora and fauna - I want to go there. Despite being trapped by ice for nearly fourteen months until February 1903, the expedition discovered new territory in Antarctica. 

In the meantime back to the Drygalski fjord .... we were all a bit bug-eyed but excited about an imminent landing amongst the wildlife! From our cabin we could almost hear the seals and penguins calling to us! We were after wildlife! So the ship sailed on to Gold Harbour where we piled into the zodiacs to wend our way through seals and penguins knee-deep on the beach. 

The scene that greeted us reminded me a little of Macquarie island where we visited in 2020 except here the penguins didn’t come out to meet the ship nor circle the zodiacs as we headed for the beach and unlike Macquarie Island they didn’t wade out to the greet us as we hoisted ourselves over the sides of the zodiacs – Macquarie Island penguins were so curious.  Maybe those who gather on the beaches of South Georgia are used to human visitors that we no longer hold any novelty value.  Nevertheless, the setting was rather spectacular against its backdrop of lush green slopes cushioned with thick tussock grass sliced through here and there with waterfalls and topped with a huge glacier.  

The penguins were predominately King penguins

When they're molting they can't feed. They looks so resigned as they wait.

The big brown fluff balls are the babies.

These two were courting

On the beach the Elephant seals were lolling around like ginormous slugs peeling chunks of fur, belching, groaning and coughing while their young ones flopped around playing or snuggled up to each other; they are thigmotaxic – they love to cuddle! Such sweet faces. Incidentally 54% of Southern Elephant seal mate on South Georgia.  Antarctic fur seals, particularly the young ones, were fighting for prized tussock grass castles or careered about in mock fights. We picked our way carefully through seals and penguins, mostly Kings but a few Gentoo strutted through the crowd. 

"Out of my way I'm coming through!" 

The elephant seals threw sand over themselves to stay cool

This little guy was trying to chill out - head on rock and feet stretched out on the damp sand,

Fearless

Adorable young elephant seals

Hungry, hopeful Giant Skuas crouched nonchalantly here and there and snowy white Sheathbills scrounged for titbits on the perimeter. Scattered about here and there amongst the cacophony of life were a few picked-over carcasses – this was life in the raw.

After what seemed like hours, we headed back to the mothership for lunch – and a longed-for sit down. While ashore we were not allowed to sit or kneel or put our bags down for fear of introducing a nasty invasive species or other.