Today was Penguin day in South Georgia with a seven hour landing at St Andrews Bay. For anybody who loves Penguins, and it's hard to imagine wildlife fans who don't, then the chance to visit a King Penguin colony of over one hundred and fifty thousand pairs is a must. I was lucky to have visited this colony on my last visit to South Georgia and it was even better than I remembered.
The first zodiac heads for the beach on another great morning for weather
At the previous evening's briefing we were told the zodiacs will taking us ashore from five and the last zodiacs would be leaving the beach at midday. For those who wanted breakfast, there would be a normal cooked breakfast between eight to nine. But I certainly wasn't going back to the ship for that. So, like many of the passengers, it was some cakes, biscuits and tea for breakfast when I got up at four. It was going to be a morning of pacing ourselves, as toilet breaks aren't allowed ashore. So, it was important not to eat or drink too much, to ensure I didn't need to return the ship for a toilet break.
We landed on the beach to the West of the colony
Soon after I got back from the Antarctica trip, I bumped into a couple while I was volunteering on a Winter Brownsea Visitors Day. They had just got back from Antarctica on another cruise ship. They had booked on the larger cruise shop as they were attracted by the nice cabins and greater comfort on their ship. My first question was how many passengers were there on the ship. It was around the two hundred and fifty passengers. In comparison, I was on a comfortable expedition ship with good food, a lovely crew and cabins that suited my budget and around one hundred passengers. I was attracted to Oceanwide Expeditions as their priority is to maximise the landings and the wildlife experiences.
The beach gave way to this plain of short grass
There is a rule in South Georgia and Antarctica that landings are restricted to one hundred passengers. Therefore, the Plancius was allowed to land all the passengers in one go. Whereas, this couple had landed in groups of one third of the passengers at a time. To allow the passengers to have two hours ashore, took around six to seven hours, which is not enough time to take in a location like St Andrews Bay. In comparison, we had a fantastic seven hour ashore landing, with another destination planned for the afternoon. This was far more important to me, than a more comfortable cabin to sleep in and even more food.
Northern Giant Petrel: Resting in the early morning light
King Penguin: We followed a route across the grass that the Expedition team had marked before reaching this river. There was a gap in the King Penguin bathing area where we could cross
King Penguin: There were plenty of King Penguins trying to distract me from crossing the river
King Penguin: Looking back towards the landing beach
We had to wade this river to get to the King Penguin colony: It's fast flowing with slippery stones underfoot. Care was needed, given I hadn't taken the camera's dry bag ashore. A slip into the water, could be a disaster for the camera
Assistant Expedition Leader Eduardo explaining something to some of the passengers
Along the marked track I found a very photogenic group of King Penguins. I spent some time just watching and photographing them.
King Penguin: This group were very photogenic group of King Penguins and the mountain backdrop helped
King Penguin: You can add your own caption
Caroline enjoying the King Penguins: Caroline spends most of her life guiding tourists around the game parks in Tanzania
King Penguin: There were quite a few groups of three King Penguins. It appeared that they were a couple of males looking to pair up with a female. Every now & then one would slap the other male to encourage him to move on
King Penguin: I was editing these photos whilst playing a Madness concert on the TV. This line of King Penguins reminded me of one of the Nutty Boys trademark walks
Although the King Penguins were the clear stars of the landing, there was plenty of other Wildlife to enjoy.
South Georgia Pipit: There were a few around the edges of the King Penguin colony
South Georgia Pipit: This one became spooked and stood up as far as possible to see what was going on. I had seen another second South Georgia Pipit doing the same behaviour earlier in the morning
South Georgia Pipit: Panic over, it quickly went back to feeding
Antarctic Fur Seal: There were Antarctic Fur Seals scattered around the edge of the King Penguin colony
Antarctic Fur Seal: I think this is my favourite Antarctic Fur Seal
Southern Elephant Seal: This individual is starting to moult
Southern Elephant Seal: Sleeping can look quite undignified when you are this large
Eventually, I decided to head on towards the viewpoint overlooking the main colony.
Esther (left) and Annelou have one of the best jobs going as Expedition Staff on the Plancius: The Expedition Staff get a bit of time to enjoy the wildlife. However, they also spend a fair bit of their time looking after passengers, getting them on & off the beach etc
King Penguin: The marked track continued behind this group of King Penguins towards this small hills which provided a perfect viewpoint of the colony and were as far as we could go without disturbing the colony
King Penguin: Overlooking a small part of the main colony
King Penguin: Every time I stopped, a few inquisitive King Penguins appeared
King Penguin: The view of the main colony
King Penguin: The right end side of the colony
A close up of a small part of the King Penguin colony: I enjoy counting the Wildfowl & Waders at Brands Bay, but you have to draw a line at counting at some point
Make sure you have your sound turned up for these videos of the King Penguins colony.
The left hand side of the King Penguin colony
Panning across the King Penguin colony
I've forgotten who took this photo of me looking at the main colony
Elodie, another member of the Expedition Staff, enjoying the view over the King Penguin colony
It was time to start heading back to the beach.
King Penguin: There were plenty of moulting juveniles when I got back to the river crossing
King Penguin: Looking up the river bank while I was crossing the river
Once in the zodiac, we asked if we could hang around off the beach for a few final photos, before heading back to the Plancius.
It had been a fantastic morning ashore at St Andrews Bay: Time to head back to the Plancius for a cuppa tea before lunch
King Penguin: Final photos taken it was time to leave
Panning across the landing beach
This South Georgia Shag was just off the beach as the zodiac prepared to return to the Plancius
Over lunch, we moved onto Godthul, where we had a zodiac trip planned for the afternoon. In the end, I decided to skip the zodiac trip and catch up on lost sleep. I wanted to be on deck in the later afternoon and evening, as we travelled to Cooper Island, for our final day in South Georgia. I was hoping to see some Cetaceans, but unfortunately, none appeared.
