St. Andrew’s Bay and Hercules Bay
At 4:15a.m. expedition leader Tim Soper’s gently coaxing voice came over the public address system and managed to stir 72 of us into action. After a light breakfast snack we boarded Zodiacs in the gathering light of dawn to marvel at one of one of nature’s most spectacular wildlife spectacles—St. Andrew’s Bay South Georgia. Like a giant amphitheatre embraced by 6000ft, snow-capped mountains, the grassy plain below is teeming with life. More than a 150,000 pairs of king penguins are the main attraction here, and they can be seen in all stages of their development and behavior. Young fur seals were everywhere frolicking playfully in the surf and on the beach. Giant elephant seals lie alongside one another higher up on the burn occasionally scratching, belching or sparring with a neighbor. Little dramas between predators and prey were being played out throughout the colony as skuas and giant petrels worked their way around the margins.
In the center of the valley we were able to climb a low hill to view the entire king colony and the glacial melt water river that runs down the middle. Small herds of Eurasian reindeer, descendants of a few animals that were introduced by Norwegian whalers in 1911, could be seen farther up the valley grazing on the tussock grass.
When we return to our ship for lunch the anchor was raised and we steamed a couple of hours farther up the coast to a scenic little inlet called Hercules Bay. Here the ancient tortured sediments of the Cumberland Bay formation rise precipitously out of the sea to form the near vertical walls of this protected harbor. Two rounds of Zodiac cruises along the shoreline filled the remainder of the afternoon as we explored the caves, kelp beds, waterfalls and especially a large macaroni penguin colony. A Zodiac serving laced hot chocolate was an added treat that warmed our hands and innards.
