Cooper Bay - 21/1/2012

Cooper Bay 21/1/2012 – morning landing
There were flakes of snow on deck this morning, and our passage along South Georgia’s coast was characterised by sightings of increasingly large ice-cubes in the water, bergs bobbing on the horizon and immense glaciers that forced the mountainous terrain to part and swept like giant pistes towards the coast, before concluding in luminous-blue cliff faces that crumbled, almost chalk-like, into the crashing surf below.

The M/S Expedition cruises past luminous Antarctic glaciers

Our morning landing was made at Cooper Bay, to the far Eastern tip of South Georgia. This was macaroni territory, but these dumpy little penguins – who closely resemble the rockhoppers – offer far less accessible viewing, in comparison to the Kings. We scrambled up a rocky slope, dodging fur seals and blubber slugs, clinging to thick tufts of tussock grass as we heaved ourselves over the hummocks so that we could peer down onto the Macaroni colony.

I can see you! - Macaroni penguins hide in the tussock grass

Sleepy fur seal at Cooper Bay

Macaroni penguins at Cooper Bay

Macaroni's live on the cliff top at Cooper Bay

After a spectacular viewing and safe descent, we boarded the M/S Expedition again and travelled up some of South Georgia’s the narrow fjords to gaze in awe at steep-sided gorges and gigantic glaciers, But before embarking on our two day voyage across the Scotia Sea to the South Shetlands and Elephant Island, my companion Sally and I decided to mark our departure of South Georgia with a polar plunge. We stripped to our swimming costumes and leapt into the near-frozen waters, which petrified our vocal chords and turned our toes glacier-blue. Luckily, the M/S Expedition has a sauna, which we had made certain was turned right up before we made the splash.

The M/S Expedition journeys up narrow fjords to find immense glaciers

My first polar plunge!

Still alive after the Antarctic freeze!

This blog-post forms part of a series of adventures experienced on-board the M/S Expedition in January 2012, whilst on an Antarctic Cruise - The Spirit of Shackleton - courtesy of Gadventures

Grytviken 19/1/2012 – afternoon landing

With much of its dangerous and toxic materials now removed, South Georgia’s first and longest-running whaling station, Grytviken, (1904-1965) is the only station that can still be visited today. Established by C.A. Larsen, every species of Antarctic whale were hunted, landed and processed for their oil in Grytviken – It’s estimated that more than 30,000 whales were processed here.

Former Grytviken whaling ship, complete with harpoon

Whale bones remind of Grytviken's past

At Grytviken, a whale could be stripped of its blubber and separated into bones and meat in just 20 minutes, before the three components were taken to their respective ‘cookeries’ for oil extraction. Walking around these rusting buildings in the hot sun, it’s hard to imagine that just 50 or so years ago, the ground would have been awash with blood and slippery with blubber, the air thick with the stench of whale flesh and the intoxicating smoke that would bellow from the blubber cookery.

The blubber cookery

Grytviken also diversified into seal slaughter, and today, the station’s ruins are inhabited by agitated fur seals and idle elephant seals which lollop amongst the redundant cookeries that once boiled-up their ancestors.

Elephant seals now enjoy happier days at Gryviken

Despite their long working hours and cramped, communal living conditions, there is evidence here that the whalers at Grytviken also enjoyed some leisure time; there was once a library, a cinema and a football grounds, as well as a ski-jump and a church, which was used more for meetings and events than prayer.

Grytviken church

A fascinating museum lies in the centre of the bay, in what was once the station manager’s house. The South Georgia Museum tells the story of Grytviken’s life as a station, displaying tools and charts once used by the whalers, as well as a reconstruction of their living quarters.  The museum also houses a stunning stuffed albatross, with a 7 metre wing-span and a penguin coat and fur seal hide for visitors to stroke and feel.

Shackleton's grave at Grytviken

At the far ends of the bay are reminders of the Antarctic’s most respected explorer; Shackleton’s grave and imposing granite headstone lie in the cemetery, next to Frank Wilde’s ashes, which were only recently brought here. To the other end of the bay lie memorial crosses, to commemorate the revered leader, and in the centre of the bay, next to the museum, a reconstruction of The James Caird – the reinforced life-boat that carried Shackleton and his men from Elephant Island to South Georgia – can be found.

Shackleton's grave at Grytviken  

Frank Wild's grave - just recently established in 2011

This blog-post forms part of a series of adventures experienced on-board the M/S Expedition in January 2012, whilst on an Antarctic Cruise - The Spirit of Shackleton - courtesy of Gadventures

Off to Antarctica - my trip to come

Photo by John E. Lester

As a prize for winning the Guardian's 2011 'Adventure' Travel Writing Competition, for my entry about the Amazon,  I'll be heading to Antarctica on the 10th of Jan, for a three week tour of the coldest, windiest place on earth, courtesy of G-adventures. I'm going to be blogging about my adventures before, during and after right here.

Let's kick off with an overview of the trip...

Flying from London to Ushusaia, via Amsterdam and Buenos Aires, my first adventure will be one heck of a plane ride, to get myself to the southern-most city in the world, where my G-adventures expedition begins.

Day 1 will be spent on the shores of the Beagle Channel: Ushuaia was originally inhabited by the Yamna people and was once a penal colony for political prisoners and hardened criminals. I'll be interested to see how tourism has shaped the modern-day town, which is now a hopping-off point for Antarctic cruises, as well as a magnet for skiers, hikers and nature lovers.

Photo by 23am.com

Day 2 is the day we set sail. Embarking on our vessel - the M/S Expedition -  at 4pm, I'm looking forward to exploring the ship and meeting my fellow passengers.

Day 3 is a school day
En-route to the Falkland Islands, we'll begin our lecture and information sessions to start discovering all about the human and natural history of the Antarctic region.

Day 4-5 we set foot on The Falkland Islands 
Experiencing the biological diversity and scenery of the southern islands, I've been promised penguins, elephant seals, sea lions, king cormorants, black-browed albatross, skuas, night herons, giant petrels, striated caracaras, plenty of sheep, and some hardy local inhabitants.

Day 6-7 School time in the Southern Ocean
On course for South Georgia, we'll spend more time at school to prepare us for South Georgia, with the distraction of sea bird and whale-watching en-route.

Day 8-11 South Georgia - the true spirit of Shackleton
I can't wait to follow in Shackleton's steps, see his grave, walk through the former whaling stations and be bombarded by king penguins. If this doesn't mean much to you, then book yourself a few hours to watch this fantastic 4OD film about his South Georgia self-rescue.

                     Photo from www.shackletoncentenary.org

Apparently, there's around 300,000 elephant seals, 3 million fur seals, and 25 species of breeding birds, a king penguin rookery of 100,000 and around five million macaroni penguins - good job i got a new camera for Christmas.

Day 12-13 Shackleton's Scotia Sea voyage
Retracing Shackleton's epic sea voyage, we'll be sailing towards Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands, where the rest of his expedition team, awaited his return. The  rich nutrients of the Scotia Sea, make for an abundance of whales, seals, and seabirds.

Day 14-17 Setting foot on the white continent
Four days exploring the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula! The weather makes the rules down here but, if all goes to plan, we'll be standing next to penguins, sighting whales, watching seals in the  ice floes, seeing the wingspan of the albatross and visiting scientific research bases, all with a backdrop of  ice-choked waterways, glistening icebergs, immense glaciers and snow-capped mountains.

Day 18-19 back via the Drake Passage
Sailing north across the Drake Passage, there'll be two more days to absorb the epic scenery of the south before arriving back in Argentina.

Day 20 Goodbye Ushuaia 
Ending as we started, we arrive back in Ushuaia before the long flight home.