09 Dec, 2008

A young king penguin is having a bad day after getting soaked to the skin.

After our fantastic morning at Fortuna Bay we sailed east to King Edward Point, Grytviken, where we would anchor for most of the night next to the research station set up in this natural harbour at South Georgia in the South Atlantic. This is where the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton is buried – a place that is incredible in its beauty.

It holds somewhat grim reminders of the history that started this tiny settlement. On one side of the bay sits a rusting and ramshackle skeleton of an old whaling station; huge piles of reddened chains bear testimony to the thousands of whales that were processed here.

Now, King Edward Point is devoted entirely to scientific research – much of which will go towards preserving the whale and seal species whose numbers were previously so reduced.

We were once again lucky with the weather. Apart from the occasional snow squall, the sun was out, still above the high mountains ringing the bay and sparking off the numerous icebergs. A breathtaking place.

On the lower slopes tussock grass provided a little shelter for hundreds of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) and the beaches were dotted with the liquid-eyed elephant seals (Mirounga leonina).

Crew member Pierre Minnie and I went out on a Zodiac boat towards an iceberg, hoping that the water would be calm enough for us to film the intricacies and colours of these huge blocks of ice. Unfortunately, as soon as we crossed the mouth of the harbour the wind took hold once again and turned everything far too choppy.

We had to head back and spent a pleasant evening with some elephant seals, which we're both getting remarkably fond of.

It's incredible being able to walk so close to such large animals without them showing distress or aggression. I sat with a group of three as the sun went down behind the mountains and was delighted when one edged even closer to me so it was only about 2m (6.5ft) away and went back to sleep.

We had a barbecue on deck, celebrating the still water and watching the elephant seals wake up and begin to play in the dark water.

Tomorrow is another big day. St Andrew's Bay, if the weather allows us to land, is supposed to be the highlight of the trip. It gets better than this?

– by Vanessa Stephen, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch

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