Salisbury Plain, Hercules Bay, 12/4/2016, National Geographic Orion
Aboard the
National Geographic Orion
Antarctica
Land Ho! In the early dawn light the National Geographic Orion sighted the island of South Georgia, just as Captain Cook did in January, 1775. Our morning outing was amongst king penguins and Antarctic fur seals on snow-dusted Salisbury Plain. Afternoon found us cruising the waterfalls and incredible geological inclines of Hercules Bay.
Our first day exploring the amazing beauty of South Georgia, a place where my heart lies. There before the grace of you go I…
Michael Nolan was born in Bitburg, Germany to an Air Force family stationed there. His first experience of the ocean came at age 12, when he learned to snorkel in the Italian Mediterranean. At age 17 he moved to Tucson, Arizona and became a PADI SCUB...
Born and raised on Vashon Island in Washington State, Taylor grew up exploring the forests behind his house and attending the island’s Pirate Camp during the summers. He considers himself lucky to have grown up in a place that allowed him to experien...
It was a day for reflection. Our journey was coming to an end as we left the Falklands behind and National Geographic Endurance steamed towards South America and Ushuaia. The seas were kind to us, and despite low winds, we had black-browed albatross, among other birds, around us. In the morning, we listened to the naturalists onboard as they presented on different subjects in the ice lounge. Land-ho! Mid-morning we had land in sight, South America was appearing on the horizon. Upon entering the Beagle Channel, we saw possibly a hundred sei whales. While the seabirds were waiting for the wind on the surface, the whales were feeding a short distance from the ship. As our vessel waited for the pilot to arrive, we could still see whale blows in the distance. We enjoyed a teatime extravaganza with Chef Sara and her team. Cheese and wine brought most of the ship’s inhabitants to deck 8, and while sipping wine we watched sea lions, dolphins, and stunning views of Tierra del Fuego go by until it was time for Captain Aaron’s farewell toast. As much as we are reflecting on our expedition today, it has also been a day of celebration! It has been an incredible journey of many miles, great people, and wonderful experiences. Thank you all!
What a fabulous day we’ve had for our last expedition day of this incredible adventure! We arrived at West Point Island’s sheltered settlement harbor after a windy night off the coast of the Falkland Islands. The colony at Devil’s Nose was a spectacular sight and we were so thrilled to get our fix of albatross up close after seeing them following us at sea for so much of this voyage. Black-browed albatross chicks were sitting patiently, waiting for their parents’ return, and rockhopper penguins were quietly completing their molt. In the afternoon, we made our final landing at Marie-Paul and Luc’s beautiful piece of the Falklands, Grave Cove. It was an easy, although windy, walk to the beach on the opposite side of the headland to see thousands of gentoo penguins on one of the Falklands’ most picturesque sand beaches. The waves were crashing, the sea lions were hunting, and Johnny rooks kept us entertained among the penguins coming and going to the sea! It was an absolutely fabulous final spot for our last taste of the Falkland Islands.
We arrived in the morning at the beautiful Saunders Island, home to the family of Expedition Leader Russ. It is always very special to visit this island, and the welcome we get is absolutely amazing. Today we visited the settlement and got a tour of the farm. The working dogs of the island met us on the beach and gladly joined our Zodiacs for a tour around the bay, happily barking at the many Commerson’s dolphins playing around us. In the afternoon we tried to go to the rookery on the other side of the island for a chance to see rockhopper penguins and black-browed albatross. The weather was not on our side, and halfway through the landing operation we decided to change our plans. It was an adventurous Zodiac ride back to the ship and the joy of being greeted with a warm beverage from our bar team was enormous.
