Drygalski Fjord and Cooper Bay, South Georgia
Spectacular Drygalski Fjord.
Late last evening, the M.S. Endeavour heaved her anchor, we said goodbye to our friends at Grytviken whaling station and King Edward Point, and sailed out of Cumberland Bay heading to the South end of South Georgia. This morning our Expedition Leader Matt Drennan gave an oh-so-gentle wake up call alerting us that we had entered Drygalski Fjord, and were slowly making our way to the glacier. The approach along the fjord is quite spectacular. The entrance is about 1.6 km wide and 11 km long. The Endeavour made her way slowly so that all could absorb the breathtaking scenery of the Salvesen Mountain Range rising to our east, (the highest point reaching 7650 ft,) and Mt. Sabatier rising to our West. The sharp gray rock slopes, at times covered with green moss, were a wonderful contrast to the white/gray and blue ice of the glacier. The water was filled with ice that had very recently calved off the glacier, turning the dark blue water a psychedelic swirl of blue and white.
Macaronis. The colorful and rambunctious penguins.
After spending some time enjoying the fjord the Endeavour made her way to her last expedition stop on South Georgia this season, Cooper Bay. What an expedition stop it was. The stop gave us the very best of the wildlife that South Georgia had to offer. There were king penguins, gentoo, chinstraps, and macaroni penguins there. The macaronis are often the most difficult penguins to see, as they like to make their homes on sometimes-inaccessible cliff edges. But today luck was with us, and some were able to take a hike up to see these colorful and rambunctious penguins. The Macaronis are so named from the 18th-century streaked hair dos of Italy. Upon seeing the penguins on polar exploration, the US and British sailors promptly christened them so after the hairstyle. “Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his hat and called it Macaroni.” These crested penguins are just about to finish their molting, and head out to sea for the winter. There was also an abundance of other birds, including Antarctic terns, southern giant petrels, Wilson’s storm petrel, and blue eyed shags. And of course we could not leave South Georgia without seeing our friends the fur seal one last time.
For those who did not want to hike on shore, a Zodiac cruise was offered, and those taking that opportunity were afforded as close a glimpse at the wildlife as anyone, Our Zodiacs were able to drive up to the rocks where many of the macaronis and shags were perched. The Zodiacs had visits often from the curious fur seals, swimming through the kelp, and poking their head up to say hello and check out the scenery.
What a spectacular last day on South Georgia! We now have a few days to really soak in what we have seen on the island, as we make our way to Gough Island.
Spectacular Drygalski Fjord.
Late last evening, the M.S. Endeavour heaved her anchor, we said goodbye to our friends at Grytviken whaling station and King Edward Point, and sailed out of Cumberland Bay heading to the South end of South Georgia. This morning our Expedition Leader Matt Drennan gave an oh-so-gentle wake up call alerting us that we had entered Drygalski Fjord, and were slowly making our way to the glacier. The approach along the fjord is quite spectacular. The entrance is about 1.6 km wide and 11 km long. The Endeavour made her way slowly so that all could absorb the breathtaking scenery of the Salvesen Mountain Range rising to our east, (the highest point reaching 7650 ft,) and Mt. Sabatier rising to our West. The sharp gray rock slopes, at times covered with green moss, were a wonderful contrast to the white/gray and blue ice of the glacier. The water was filled with ice that had very recently calved off the glacier, turning the dark blue water a psychedelic swirl of blue and white.
Macaronis. The colorful and rambunctious penguins.
After spending some time enjoying the fjord the Endeavour made her way to her last expedition stop on South Georgia this season, Cooper Bay. What an expedition stop it was. The stop gave us the very best of the wildlife that South Georgia had to offer. There were king penguins, gentoo, chinstraps, and macaroni penguins there. The macaronis are often the most difficult penguins to see, as they like to make their homes on sometimes-inaccessible cliff edges. But today luck was with us, and some were able to take a hike up to see these colorful and rambunctious penguins. The Macaronis are so named from the 18th-century streaked hair dos of Italy. Upon seeing the penguins on polar exploration, the US and British sailors promptly christened them so after the hairstyle. “Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his hat and called it Macaroni.” These crested penguins are just about to finish their molting, and head out to sea for the winter. There was also an abundance of other birds, including Antarctic terns, southern giant petrels, Wilson’s storm petrel, and blue eyed shags. And of course we could not leave South Georgia without seeing our friends the fur seal one last time.
For those who did not want to hike on shore, a Zodiac cruise was offered, and those taking that opportunity were afforded as close a glimpse at the wildlife as anyone, Our Zodiacs were able to drive up to the rocks where many of the macaronis and shags were perched. The Zodiacs had visits often from the curious fur seals, swimming through the kelp, and poking their head up to say hello and check out the scenery.
What a spectacular last day on South Georgia! We now have a few days to really soak in what we have seen on the island, as we make our way to Gough Island.
