Cooper Bay & Drygalski Fjord, South Georgia
Trick or Treat? This day was definitely a treat for all aboard National Geographic Explorer.
During the night we traversed the southwestern side of South Georgia, arriving to Cooper Bay at the far eastern tip of the island. Here, we found protected waters and a bounteous array of wildlife along the bay’s many coves and offshore rocks. Halloween day began with Zodiac drivers dressed in a humorous array of colorful wigs as they ferried intrepid folks ashore to climb a steep slope to reach a colony of Macaroni penguins. Although these are the most numerous penguin species found on South Georgia (numbering in the millions) they typically nest in very inaccessible terrain.
Then began Zodiac tours where we had views of a few Macaronis coming ashore and heading inland up an even steeper slope to reach their colony. Adult male Antarctic fur seals were beginning to occupy shoreline territories, as immature seals played gleefully in the shallows. On the numerous larger beaches were breeding colonies of southern elephant seals, some with battling bulls, others with newborn pups calling to their mothers. Kelp gulls, snowy sheathbills and blue-eyed shags dotted the rocky shores. Antarctic terns fluttered gently over the fringing kelp beds, calling, then diving in hopes of catching food with which to entice their prospective mate.
At the south end of the bay we made a landing through heaving swells onto a rocky beach where shiny-clean penguins were swimming ashore. Above the wave-swept beach was a thriving colony of thousands of chinstrap penguins. This is the largest colony of this species in South Georgia, but this landing site has been closed to visitors since an outbreak of avian cholera in 2004. This is the first time since then that tourists have been allowed back to see this incredible sight.
During lunch the ship repositioned around the corner into Drygalski Fjord. The island’s mountain peaks reached even higher into the sky ahead of us as we made our way into the fjord where over the ages a fault line has severed this precipitous range. With chill winds funneling down into the fjord, we pulled down our hats and went out for another Zodiac cruise into Larsen Harbour, a separate finger that branches off of the main fjord. This is the only area on South Georgia where Weddell seals are known to breed, and we were lucky enough to find a small group of them still hauled out on a shoreline snowfield. There were eight adult-sized seals and three quite large pups of the year. The pups were nearly big enough to be weaned, so our arrival just before the end of their breeding season was quite fortuitous.
Back onboard the ship there was hot tea to re-warm chilly fingers as we cruised on farther into the dramatic reaches of Drygalski Fjord. Glaciers draped the mountain walls above us. At the far end of the fjord, Risting Glacier calved icebergs into the ocean’s waters that reach over eight miles inland from the open sea. This treat of a day was capped off by a festive and delicious Filipino dinner buffet.
