Chapter 7: Spectacular South Georgia

Our guides kept telling us to wait until we got to South Georgia. While we wowed over wildlife in Antarctica, they simply smiled. Despite all their proclamations of South Georgia’s brilliance, we still weren’t prepared. We made 6 stops along the eastern side of the island over the course of 3 days. Every moment was awe-inspiring.

Three different species overwhelming the beach

South Georgia is in the middle of nowhere, right where the currents cross between the Atlantic and Southern oceans. A dozen or so scientists temporarily inhabit the island on any given year. Besides their base in Grytviken, the rest of the land is owned by the wildlife. Hundreds of thousands of birds call South Georgia home. There are also tens of thousands of seals. It’s simply a wildlife phenomenon unlike anything else on Earth. You feel you’ve entered a National Geographic documentary when visiting.

We were treated to remarkably good weather while visiting all the main destinations: Grytviken, Salisbury Plain, Fortuna Bay, Gold Harbour, St. Andrew’s Bay, and Cooper Bay. The dramatic scenery, completely visible in the clear weather, was only surpassed by the jaw dropping amount of wildlife. We laughed at the clumsy and playful baby fur seals as they swam over each other in the shallows and bounded through the tussock grass patches. We watched elephant seals bounce out of the water to rest on the shore, some of the males well over a thousand pounds. We picked our way carefully on long walks, careful not to bump into one of the tens of thousands of king penguins on the way to their rookery. It was impossible to take a photo without some type of bird or animal in it. And all the commotion and noise echoed off the backdrop of blue glaciers, jagged peaks, and snow covered fields.

King penguins basking in the last remaining sun

We booked the expedition to see Antarctica, a place completely foreign to anything we had ever experienced. But South Georgia stole the show. The complete isolation, the scenery, and the astonishing proliferation of wildlife… it was a perfect crescendo to our trip. We were sad to leave, and faced four days at sea to return back to Ushuaia.