Gold Harbour & Royal Bay, South Georgia
We arrived in the darkness of pre-dawn off the beach of Gold Harbour. While standing on deck we could hear strange noises hinting that something was out there waiting for us in the dark. There was just enough time for a quick dose of caffeine before Zodiacs were lowered and loaded as the sky brightened in the east. We landed where we could. Others had arrived before us and were not going to give up their patch of waterfront for us. Then we waited, watching as the scene before us slowly unfolded as the light increased like a curtain drawn back by the dawn. Wildlife. In abundance. And in a setting that is scenic to the point that it is hard to comprehend.
As the sun rose the mountain tops glowed pink, the winds of yesterday were gone and the whole morning was spent on the beach enjoying perfect weather conditions by South Georgia standards. The sun sparkled like glitter on the water and time was spent wandering the beach and trying to take in just how many southern elephant seals were packed in flipper to flipper like rows of sunbathers on the beach. Lacking SPF 30, they threw sand onto their backs to try to deflect some of the heat. Behind the beach, king penguins – thousands of regal adults with large downy brown chicks waiting to complete their moult to become a fully fledged penguin. Many of these birds stood in the meltwater streams flowing over the plain as if to cool their feet in the water.
In the tussac-grass covered bluffs overlooking this spectacle, we climbed and scrambled to discover light-mantled sooty albatrosses watching from their nests, perhaps enjoying one of the finest views in South Georgia as much as we did.
