Departing the Falklands, we traveled 900nm over three nights to reach our first stop in South Georgia at Elsehul. Here we toured the area by tender, sighting a large rockhopper penguin rookery perched on the cliffs, and hundreds of baby and adult seals. Among them was a relatively rare blonde Leucistic fur seal. Not quite albino because the eyes remain dark, these animals are most common in South Georgia.

We also had an unexpected visit from a Gentoo penguin, who decided to jump into the tender to investigate further and landed right beside Jennifer. It was highly curious and in no rush to leave.

At Fortuna Bay that afternoon, we retraced part of Ernest Shackleton’s 32-mile (51 km) trek across the island on foot to reach the Stromness whaling station in 1916. There he secured aid to successfully rescue his crew, who were stranded on the Antarctic Peninsula. Our hike was in the summer with relatively warm, clear weather and plenty of daylight, and the scenery was rugged and dramatic. But the exhausted Shackleton likely did not appreciate the view, as he crossed nearly in the height of winter over much more treacherous terrain, following a 15-day open-boat passage from the Antarctic Peninsula. The temperature then would have been much colder, with more snow and little light.

Prince Olav Harbour, just west of Fortuna Bay, was one of the seven main whaling stations in South Georgia. A Norwegian whaling station operated there from the early 1900s until 1931. Just offshore from the station is remains of the ship Brutus, intentionally grounded there to serve as coal repository. While in the area, we also sighted our first King Penguins, and many baby seals, including a Leucistic.

Next on the itinerary was Grytviken, where Ernest Shackleton was buried. Nestled beneath soaring mountains, Grytviken was once the largest settlement in South Georgia, with a major whaling station operating there until 1966. Wildlife is reclaiming the land, and today only a small group live there during the summer months to host the increasing number of cruise ship visitors.

We’d finally reached Shackleton’s grave, and made a traditional whisky toast to the “Boss,” as he was known by his crew. Later, we explored the whaling station and settlement remains, and visited the small but detailed museum there. Of particular interest was a replica of the James Caird, the 24-ft (7.3m) open boat that Shackleton and five others sailed across the Drake Passage from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula to South Georgia.

The absolute highlight of the trip, and our last stop in South Georgia, was a visit to the 150,000-strong King Penguin colony at St. Andrews Bay. Kings stand 28-39 in (70-100 cm) tall, weigh 21-40 lbs (9.3-18 kg), and are the second-largest penguins after the Emperor. They are striking birds, with vivid orange cheek and mandible patches, and yellow-orange breast feathers. Seeing that many beautiful birds in one place is absolutely incredible. If our entire trip consisted of just this one outing, we would have been more than satisfied.

We’ll cover the Antarctica portion of the trip in the next post.

Our routes around South Georgia are shown on the interactive map below. Click here for a full-page map.