Day 8 - Saturday 28th December

It was a bright and sunny morning – 15C and a 20kt breeze (like a summer day in Newhaven) – when we moored in Fortuna Bay – we were last off the ship for a zodiac cruise around the bay and then landing on the beach where we saw all the usual suspects - King Penguins, Fur Seals, Elephant Seal pups and lots of seabirds.

In addition, we managed to see a number of South Georgia Pipits – we could hear them in the grass but they moved too quickly for a good sighting. However, one of them came down to pose for Linda as he picked the insects off an old seal carcass on the edge of the beach.

As we strolled along the beach - always wary of the fur seals which can be very aggressive if you invade their territory, our historian, Miko, pointed out where the sealers of old had built a shelter in a cave behind the beach which had now been reclaimed by the fur seals. As we were heading back to the ship, we could see the clouds rolling in over the glacier.

Back on board and a short voyage to Cumberland Bay and Grytviken Harbour where we had a talk from the director of the South Georgia Heritage Trust while the customs and immigration formalities were completed. 

Then a short but bumpy ride ashore for a visit to the old whaling station and museum which included a tour of the whaling station, a visit to the church and walk up to the cemetery to pay our respects to Ernest Shackleton who died here in 1922 and his right-hand man, Frank Wild, whose ashes were brought here in recent years.

Whaler Petrel abandoned on the beach

 We toasted their memory with a plastic cup of Bushmills and on our way back to the zodiacs, we saw that a young newlywed Chinese couple had arranged for the Captain to bless their wedding in the church and they posed for some very special wedding photos –

Of course there was a shop and a post office which were doing a good trade – interesting to note that they reckon on 90 ship visits during their summer season – November to March

While the Heritage Trust are working to restore the site as a museum, the wildlife has definitely taken over and we saw all the usual suspects along with Gentoo Penguins and a solitary Chinstrap Penguin as well.

Gentoo Penguin

PS We are now proud sponsors of a couple of hectares of South Georgia and while it does not confer any ownership, it should give me some bragging rights over Jimmy C!