Gold Harbour and St. Andrews Bay are two of the most scenic sites on South Georgia. Today we were guests among kings, and they were in the thousands! South Georgia truly earnt its reputation as the “Serengeti of the Southern Ocean”, exceeding expectations of even the most traveled wildlife viewer on the planet.
Gold Harbour was the first landing of the day, and already at 05:45, our expedition leader Russ made a wake-up call for those who would want to be ashore before sunrise. Sadly enough, most of the morning was rainy and wet, but this did not prevent a large number of guests from stepping on to the beach at the first light of day. Most of those who got up at normal wake-up time went ashore just after breakfast and spent the whole morning ashore. A group of hikers went uphill and walked on a carpet of lush, soft vegetation towards Gold Head.
After a good lunch and a quick lie-down, St. Andrews Bay was in sight. Fortunately, the weather conditions allowed for a landing on this largest king penguin colony of South Georgia. The numbers of king penguins on this site may vary, but an estimated minimum of 150,000 pairs plus chicks can be observed onshore at any time.
The excitement we felt during this day of our exploration leaves us in awe and wonder. Those of us who were fortunate enough to set foot on Gold Harbour and St. Andrews Bay today will treasure these remarkable moments, and will certainly no longer wonder why South Georgia is such a rare gem on the planet.
