Our vessel, the ice-strengthened "Professor Molchanov"
On another expedition,
this time it was to a remote, uninhabited island in Antarctica: South Georgia Island. Our means of transportation was a Russian icebreaker. The
ship was a former Soviet hydrometeorlogical vessel, now chartered by an
expedition company.
Getting there from Ushuaia
at the southernmost tip of Argentina (there are no airstrips on the island), we
slalomed amongst giant icebergs.
Aboard one of the ship’s Zodiacs, South Georgia Island
The ship had zodiacs and
we came up close to leopard seals, elephant seals, whales, and – of course –
penguins. We could smell the whales’
breath and see the barnacles on their skin, that’s how close we were.
Elegant and majestic wanderer of the oceans, the Albatross
Seabirds such as Giant
Petrels and Wandering Albatross abound. One
bird was a menace, the Skua, a predator of other birds’ chicks, also they dive bombed
us! South Georgia has recently
been discovered to have one of the highest levels of biodiversity amongst all
ecosystems on Earth. In 2012, in order
to protect marine biodiversity, the territory's government created the world's
largest protected area – the South
Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protection Area –
comprising 1.07 million sq. kms.
Elephant Seal with King Penguins, South Georgia Island
Ashore we encountered Macaroni
and Adele penguins. One spot had
thousands and thousands of King Penguins with their chicks. We ascended a
slippery path to view Albatross sitting on their nests.
Black-Browed Albatross with chick, South Georgia
Island
On one of our wanderings
ashore, I was suddenly made aware of another presence. A big roar, right behind me. I thought, “Uh oh, a giant Bull Elephant Seal”. Then turning around, I spotted a small
Elephant Seal calf. Talk about pretence
and imitating his father. Maybe only a
couple months’ old.
Henri on South Georgia Island, Antarctica - where an Elephant Seal pup makes big, “scary” noise
As for the elements, we
had weather galore. Four cyclones! These forced the Captain to keep the vessel
in protected bays. It definitely is a
bonus to have a good pair of sea legs if you contemplate visiting this part of
the planet.
Henri van Bentum, South Georgia Island, with King
Penguins
I was fortunate to experience
this extraordinary place, a privilege to witness the wildlife and have these
wonderful encounters.
Coming next: Part Six
Henri van Bentum
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