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Background: The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908, except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The islands have large bird and seal populations, and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island.




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And what a sunrise it was! Overnight we had cruised slowly to Gold Harbour, and from our balcony we were greeted with the sight of a pink and yellow sky over a bank of icebergs to the east, and a dark blue sky above us and to the west over the large, deep Bertrab glacier. When we were ready to brave the cold and we emerged onto a windless deck just before four o’clock, the sun crept above the horizon and the mountaintops at the end of the bay lit up with the warmth of its first rays. Over the next [View Full Entry]

howard and lisa - Howard Banwell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
977 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 18 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: February 11th 2009 | 108 Views | [diary=372513]

Sunrise at Gold Harbour
Sunrise at Gold Harbour
Sunrise at Gold Harbour

We cruised slowly on a flat sea into Fortuna Bay, dominated by the beautiful Konig Glacier at its southern extremity. The sky was perfectly blue, and the temperature was 11°C - how lucky were we with the weather? By eight o’clock we hit the beach amidst a bunch of adult male Fur Seals, and walked up onto the grassy plateau at the foot of the glaciers. Away from the beach, it was all much more relaxed. Amongst the icy streams trickling down to the sea, thousands of King Penguins and many Fur and Elephant Seals make their home. In the distance, [View Full Entry]

howard and lisa - Howard Banwell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
571 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 15 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: February 11th 2009 | 79 Views | [diary=372478]

Reindeer - introduced by whalers in 1911
A relaxed female Fur Seal
Follow me, son

Back on Minerva, Santa Claus and his elf arrived by Zodiac to much applause and amusement, after taking a couple of celebratory turns around the ship, and everyone took a photo with him seated next to a Christmas tree on the stern. And I always thought Santa lived at the North Pole… During lunch we saw an Orca (Killer Whale) surfacing very near the ship, plus our first iceberg as we steamed south-east to the Bay of Isles and Salisbury Plain where we anchored early afternoon and set off for shore fifteen minutes later. This is an amazing place, with one [View Full Entry]

howard and lisa - Howard Banwell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
444 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 16 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: February 11th 2009 | 174 Views | [diary=372366]

Santa and his elf arrive...
The Captain asks Santa for a gift
Bull Fur Seal

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning with only a gently rolling sea under the ship. I spent the morning sorting and deleting most of the hundreds of photographs taken the previous day, and catching up with email communications, with an occasional foray onto deck to watch the Giant Petrel, Black-browed Albatross and - later - the enormous Wandering Albatross that criss-cross the ship’s wake and occasionally soar right over one’s head. As the day progressed and I found excuse after excuse to avoid visiting the gym, a damp mist crept up on the Minerva, and by late afternoon the s [View Full Entry]

howard and lisa - Howard Banwell | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
724 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 11 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: February 11th 2009 | 130 Views | [diary=372360]

Shag Rocks
Wandering Albatross, probably older adult male, breeding
Juvenile King Penguin

It was a night like any other night in the vast Southern Ocean. The stars were hidden behind a veil of clouds, the moonless sky was as dark as India ink and it was so cold that the salty ocean froze to the deck in thick, slushy sheets. My watch group was serving the dreaded 'dog' watch from midnight to four. Under ideal conditions the dog watch could be a very pleasant time to be on deck, due to brilliant, moonlit seascapes and star-filled skies, but, on this particular night, danger was lurking in the darkness ahead of us and the [View Full Entry]

explorer_keith - Keith Martin | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
9743 Words | 12 Comment(s) | 80 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 9th 2007 | 2993 Views | [diary=165590]

Elephant Island
The Icy Deck House
The Icy Deck

What a magical location. This is how our travel agent described it and I now I also believe this is the truth. Where else can you see Penguins, seals and reindeer in the one location. Day 11- Monday 13th Feb The Facts: Arrival at South Georgia Zodiac Cruise and landing at Elsehul Bay Right Whale Bay landing Many Fur Seals and King Penguins The longer version: First trip of the day to Elsehul bay was supposed to be just a zodiac cruise. The waster was teeming with seals and often there is too many to land. Some Macaroni Penguins were spotted [View Full Entry]

Rog Kaz - Roger and Karen Biddle | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
1288 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 28 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: May 1st 2006 | 1606 Views | [diary=55901]

Fur Seal on Tri Pot
View on landing at Right Whale Bay
King Penguins Galore