Today the seas were calm and the water blue as the National Geographic Explorer steamed towards the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Yesterday the ship left the British territory of the Falkland Islands, where the guests spent the day hiking and Zodiac cruising around these spectacular locations. South Georgia and the Falkland Islands are similar geographically, but differ hugely biologically. South Georgia is south of the Antarctic convergence, meaning the current system pushes cold water down to surround the island. The seawater temperature around the Falkland Islands sits in the low 40s on the Fahrenheit scale, about 6 degrees on the Celsius scale. South Georgia, by contrast, sits with a seawater temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, zero degrees Celsius. This changes the entire ecosystem, from the kelp communities to the fish that can thrive in the ocean, all the way up to the seabirds and whales that survive in these conditions.
On board the National Geographic Explorer for the first of two sea days, the guests had many opportunities for education and entertainment throughout the morning and afternoon. Mike Greenfelder gave a lecture on Cetaceans of the Southern Ocean in the morning, teaching the guests about the possible marine wildlife we may encounter on this voyage. The afternoon offered a photo talk from Michael Melford and Brent Stephenson, our Photo Instructor. Afterwards a photo breakout session taught curious photographers how to take photos of seabirds in flight off the sundeck, with staff member Santiago Imberti, a great photographer and avid birder, leading the session. The evening wrapped up with a nice recap from the natural history staff, highlighting photos from the day and from the Falkland Islands, plus undersea footage was shown and poems were read.
After dinner the first episode of the documentary Chasing Shackleton played in the lounge for those not rocked to sleep by the swaying seas. With one day at sea under our belt, and one day left, relaxed guests went to sleep content and secure awaiting another day.
Live from South Georgia—watch on Facebook!
Look for us live on Facebook from one of this island's enormous king penguin colonies! We'll chat with our National Geographic photographer and some of our staff and guests as we explore one of Earth's greatest wildlife spectacles. Follow us on Facebook to see it live!
