All the ingredients were there: gentle weather with just a few clouds, a beach open to the east awaiting the dawn light, a stunning backdrop of rock and ice, tens of thousands of birds and beasts, and skilled staff and crew to get guests ashore.
Gold Harbour was the destination this morning as we continued our late season expedition of South Georgia. The beach here is not long or deep but the wildlife covers almost every square foot. The stream behind the landing was teaming with fur seals and elephant seals. Farther down the beach thousands of king penguins made their way to and from the shore. The Bertrab Glacier front was an amazing backdrop for the colony as the golden light came from the rising sun. At this time of the season the fur seal pups are large enough to be exploring all aspects of their environment. One of the new arrivals for these small young animals is the largest pinniped on earth, the male southern elephant seal. While a fur seal pup may be 10 lbs, an adult elephant seal may be 10,000. Despite this 1000:1 weight difference, the pups still harass, tease, and bother the elephant seals. It is in their nature to be curious and, in turn, entertaining to us.
Once we left Gold Harbour numerous whales were sighted. Along with humpback and southern right whales a very rare sighting was had of a hybrid whale. This was a combination of a blue and finback whale, the two largest whales. With its mottled but brown coat, it was the only conclusion we had as to its origins.
Later we ventured to St. Andrews Bay in search of the largest colony of king penguins on South Georgia. The penguins were there, but the beach was awash with huge swells and there was no way to land safely so we moved on to Ocean Harbour. This scenic cove was quite picturesque as the captain expertly maneuvered the ship into the tight confines of the bay. Fur seal pups came out to greet the ship only to realize just how large it was and ventured back to shore quickly.
It was a great finish to a long and fruitful day in South Georgia.
