The mating calls and brays from thousands of macaroni penguins echoed throughout the steep walls of the cathedral-like Hercules Bay. The ethereal and haunting calls of courting light-mantled sooty albatross punctuated the air while they soared in tandem on their elegant wings. Elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals gathered on a small gravelly beach with a cascading waterfall pouring down behind, while their bellows, grunts, and groans added an extra layer to this soundscape. Add to all this a visual smorgasbord of brilliant blue skies and windswept clouds passing over the tops of the striking, striated peaks that make up this stunning bight in the coast of South Georgia. We spent the entire morning soaking in the sights, sounds, and even the scents from the water by Zodiac and kayak, making for an intimate and unforgettable experience.
Shortly after lunch National Geographic Explorer had repositioned to Godthul. Like many other bays on this eastern shore of South Georgia, this place has a deep history dating back to 1908 and the whaling era here. Thousands of whale bones litter the shore and remains of some of the shore infrastructure are slowly being reclaimed by the tussock grass. As with nearly every bit of shoreline here at this time of year fur and elephant seals lay about. Our objective for the afternoon was to set out on foot to explore the plateau above the landing and visit a gentoo penguin colony one hundred meters or so above the water. This area once was crawling with introduced reindeer and, as with the entire island, rats plagued the nesting birds, in particular the endemic South Georgia pintail duck and pipit. After a four-year (and still ongoing) effort all the reindeer that once grazed freely on the grasses so vital to this ecosystem have been eradicated. Perhaps more important than that would be the eradication of the brown rat which for centuries ran amuck here. In 2012, the South Georgia government undertook the single largest project to remove rats and it is now in the observation and monitoring stage. Thankfully we can report that after just a few short years two bird species which were certainly facing extinction have rebounded dramatically. All afternoon pintail ducks flew overhead as pipits sang and foraged freely in their habitat. Even the grasses showed an incredible resilience—they have grown denser and now blanket areas that were once bare. The entire afternoon was simply brilliant: a semi-challenging climb through the massive tussocks to reach the more open plateau, and then a gradual stroll along the tarn lakes and a peaceful rest overlooking the nesting gentoo penguins, the bay and our home on the water, our fine ship.
