Prion Island/Right Whale Bay/Cave Cove
Royalty ruled our last day in South Georgia! The Kings and Queens of the beach were without doubt the feisty fur seals who were on fine fettle as we arrived at Prion Island. As some of the first visitors since last summer we are lucky to be here so early in the breeding season. The bulls are coming ashore to set up their territories and the female fur seals, the cows, are slowly beginning to arrive. As we arrive on the beach you start to have the feeling that the bulls view you as a rival and have no fear in showing you where their territory is. With as many staff ashore as possible we set up our temporary territory and began to bring guests ashore, eyed up by these large balls of fur.
It’s actually very refreshing to see a beach full of fur seals after their near extinction on South Georgia by 1825. In the space of a little over 50 years previously, over 1,200,000 pelts had been taken so maybe they have reason to be a little aggressive!
Prion Island, so named after the number of Prions that were found there in 1912-1913, is also the breeding ground of the wandering albatross. Whilst half of us hiked up through the snow and the fur seals, the rest of us enjoyed a leisurely Zodiac cruise along the bay. Later in the morning the groups swapped over so every guest had the chance for the land/sea options. To see the majestic wandering albatross nesting was quite literally a breathtaking experience.
After an early lunch we were ready for our second landing of the day – Right Whale Bay. A rarely visited site in South Georgia, Right Whale Bay is home to the King Penguin. The fur seals were in rare form and it was a little bit harder to define whose territory was whose! A couple of male elephant seals were also thinking of territory and trying to gather their harems. It was a pretty amazing sight to see these behavior patterns. By contrast the gentle Kings quietly went about their business – creating amazing photo opportunities and memories by walking up to us to say hello.
As we reluctantly left Right Whale Bay, we headed towards Cape Rosa through dinner. Captain Leif Skog brought the ship breathtakingly close inside Cave Cove and Shackleton entered our thoughts again. It was at this very spot that he ended his journey from Elephant Island and was about to embark on his epic journey across South Georgia.
Royalty ruled our last day in South Georgia! The Kings and Queens of the beach were without doubt the feisty fur seals who were on fine fettle as we arrived at Prion Island. As some of the first visitors since last summer we are lucky to be here so early in the breeding season. The bulls are coming ashore to set up their territories and the female fur seals, the cows, are slowly beginning to arrive. As we arrive on the beach you start to have the feeling that the bulls view you as a rival and have no fear in showing you where their territory is. With as many staff ashore as possible we set up our temporary territory and began to bring guests ashore, eyed up by these large balls of fur.
It’s actually very refreshing to see a beach full of fur seals after their near extinction on South Georgia by 1825. In the space of a little over 50 years previously, over 1,200,000 pelts had been taken so maybe they have reason to be a little aggressive!
Prion Island, so named after the number of Prions that were found there in 1912-1913, is also the breeding ground of the wandering albatross. Whilst half of us hiked up through the snow and the fur seals, the rest of us enjoyed a leisurely Zodiac cruise along the bay. Later in the morning the groups swapped over so every guest had the chance for the land/sea options. To see the majestic wandering albatross nesting was quite literally a breathtaking experience.
After an early lunch we were ready for our second landing of the day – Right Whale Bay. A rarely visited site in South Georgia, Right Whale Bay is home to the King Penguin. The fur seals were in rare form and it was a little bit harder to define whose territory was whose! A couple of male elephant seals were also thinking of territory and trying to gather their harems. It was a pretty amazing sight to see these behavior patterns. By contrast the gentle Kings quietly went about their business – creating amazing photo opportunities and memories by walking up to us to say hello.
As we reluctantly left Right Whale Bay, we headed towards Cape Rosa through dinner. Captain Leif Skog brought the ship breathtakingly close inside Cave Cove and Shackleton entered our thoughts again. It was at this very spot that he ended his journey from Elephant Island and was about to embark on his epic journey across South Georgia.
