South Georgia Island
When Captain Cook discovered this magnificent island he named it after King George III. Cook was sorely disappointed when he found that it was an island and not the fabled Terra Incognita Australis for which he had searched so arduously. Our experience was far different. Exhilarating is one of many words that people have used throughout this magnificent and very rewarding day.
Gold Harbour teems with wildlife. The scenery is striking. Most of us took advantage of a pre-sunrise landing to enjoy the company of tens of thousands of king penguins, thousands of gentoo penguins, plenty of snowy sheathbills, kelp gulls, northern giant petrels, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, and various other birds plus thousands of young, ridiculously amusing, and fascinating Antarctic fur seals and many molting southern elephant seals. All the while, the rising sun cast a light show on the surrounding Salverson Mountains and the hanging Bertrab Glacier. Stunning. We stayed at Gold Harbour through the morning and came back to the National Geographic Explorer with experiences that will enrich all of us.
Heading to Godthul (Good Harbor), we encountered southern right whales. Our numerous fine sightings of these animals in the last few days is highly encouraging, as we do not often see many of these unique whales. At Godthul we broke into various hiking and exploratory groups. Many of us headed through the tussock, avoiding that amazingly abundant Antarctic fur seals, towards a scenic lake system. We sighted reindeer and enjoyed panoramic views on this sunny afternoon. Others chose to explore along the beach on their own or with our photo team. A group of hearty walkers took the challenging Reindeer Valley hike, ending up in Cumberland East Bay where our ship picked them up, while we all enjoyed the magnificent backdrop of the Nordenskjold Glacier.
A fabulous finish to a fine and full day!
