Point Wild, Elephant Island
It's all relative, really. To many people, the grey, exposed clump of rock shown here would be a horrible place to visit and certainly not the kind of spot you would choose to live. But for Frank Wild and 21 other members of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance Expedition, it was not only home, it was the spot to which they upgraded, after their initial landing site proved to be too dangerous from overhanging ice cliffs. In 1916, these men spent close to four months camped here in a makeshift hut constructed of overturned boats, sails, and packing cases. As we visited this point on a wild summer's day, it was easy to imagine how much worse it would be in winter, when the men were living here. While Shackleton and four others were making a difficult journey to South Georgia to seek rescue, Frank Wild had the arguably tougher task of staying behind and keeping the men together physically and mentally during a wait of unknown duration. He must have been quite a leader because all of the men were still alive when the Chilean Captain Pardo, who answered Shackleton's plea for a relief ship, eventually rescued them. Our brief visit to this historically significant desolate place showed us how much tougher men were in those days. Although our visit lasted only a few hours and was finished with a cup of delicious hot cocoa on our return to the warmth of the Endeavour, it also gave us a better understanding of a little piece of history, and a little more appreciation of those who preceded us.
It's all relative, really. To many people, the grey, exposed clump of rock shown here would be a horrible place to visit and certainly not the kind of spot you would choose to live. But for Frank Wild and 21 other members of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance Expedition, it was not only home, it was the spot to which they upgraded, after their initial landing site proved to be too dangerous from overhanging ice cliffs. In 1916, these men spent close to four months camped here in a makeshift hut constructed of overturned boats, sails, and packing cases. As we visited this point on a wild summer's day, it was easy to imagine how much worse it would be in winter, when the men were living here. While Shackleton and four others were making a difficult journey to South Georgia to seek rescue, Frank Wild had the arguably tougher task of staying behind and keeping the men together physically and mentally during a wait of unknown duration. He must have been quite a leader because all of the men were still alive when the Chilean Captain Pardo, who answered Shackleton's plea for a relief ship, eventually rescued them. Our brief visit to this historically significant desolate place showed us how much tougher men were in those days. Although our visit lasted only a few hours and was finished with a cup of delicious hot cocoa on our return to the warmth of the Endeavour, it also gave us a better understanding of a little piece of history, and a little more appreciation of those who preceded us.
