Seeking Shelter near Elephant Island, 12/12/2017, National Geographic Orion
Aboard the
National Geographic Orion
Antarctica
Today was an at-sea day aboard National Geographic Orion. Although we had no activities planned for off the ship, we kept busy with presentations, photo projects, and enjoying the relatively gentle seas. We also had an incredible opportunity to view a massive tabular iceberg from the bow of our ship. And, of course, we ate far too many desserts.
Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Andy moved from the whale-impoverished shores of Lake Ontario to the west coast of British Columbia to pursue his passion for marine mammals and marine biology. Andy received his bachelor's and master's deg...
Born in Hollywood with a camera in his hand, Ross is a documentary filmmaker and photographer who is inspired by a good-organic-wholesome-LA-vegan cause and strives to raise awareness wherever he can through his pictures and films. While majoring in ...
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Sea days usually mean a sleep-in, but as we made a small deviation on our course towards our next stop to see the biggest iceberg in the world, A23a, the wake-up call came around 06.00, and it was well worth it. The stunning scenery of an iceberg that seems never-ending was definitely worth getting out of bed for. Big waves were hitting and rising above the face of the berg which was about 30 meters high. As we came closer to the point where we were changing our course to get to our destination, there was a massive aggregation with numerous species of seabirds and whales feeding on the nutrients and prey that came with the upwelling against the berg. What a sight! And all before breakfast! The day continued with a nice relaxing program where our naturalists and National Geographic experts were offering presentations on everything from geology to storytelling and history.
Our final day in South Georgia was another fantastic one. We started the day early, dropping more than 30 brave souls to embark on the Shackleton hike. They started in Fortuna Bay, climbing until cresting the ridge, and came down into Stromness. This hike gave our guests the chance to experience the final stretch of the hike that Shackleton, Crean, and Worsley traversed until they finally arrived at the whaling station 17 months later. Others got the chance to hike out and back to Shackleton Waterfall. In the afternoon, National Geographic Endurance repositioned to Hercules Bay where we got to do one final Zodiac cruise here in South Georgia.
Today we awoke to another beautiful day in South Georgia. After a delicious breakfast we started the day with a Zodiac cruise around the bay of Godthul. The sun shone and we enjoyed viewing various wildlife and the beautiful Echo Falls from our Zodiacs. We even saw a leopard seal lazily rolling in the kelp surrounding the bay. After a beautiful morning, we returned for a delicious sushi lunch while the ship repositioned. At 12:20 it was time to disembark the long hikers who had bravely chosen to hike across from Maiviken to our final destination, Grytviken. After all the hikers were gone, the ship moved directly to Grytviken where we had our inspection with the South Georgia government officers. We then took our Zodiacs ashore and spent a wonderful afternoon wandering through the old whaling station and museum. It was a thought-provoking afternoon, and all too soon it was time to head back to the ship. We boarded National Geographic Endurance and headed to the lounge for recap and tomorrow’s plans before enjoying another incredible meal prepared by the galley team.
