With its overwhelming wildlife, South Georgia well deserves to be called “The Serengeti of the Southern Ocean.” Today we had the fortune to walk amongst tens of thousands of colorful king penguins—literally “a field of gold!” We thought that yesterday´s encounter with the kings in Right Whale Bay might have been hard to exceed, but today we realized that yesterday´s landing was just a taste of what was to come. Today we heard expedition leader Russ´ voice already at 5:30 a.m., calling out for a landing at Salisbury Plain; not only the second largest colony of king penguins on South Georgia, but also rich in other birds and marine mammals: skuas, petrels, the South Georgia pipit, the South Georgia pintail and seals. Holding an estimated 60,000 breeding king penguin pairs plus chicks, this site is truly one of the most spectacular places to visit on South Georgia. Although the sun was hidden behind clouds, the light was soft and great for photography. Many a guest reluctantly finished watching and clicking their cameras before they had to pack their gear and jump on the last Zodiac left to leave the beach.
After lunch we sailed over to Prion Island, just a short distance from Salisbury Plain. We walked in groups up a boardwalk to look for nesting wandering albatrosses, the largest flying bird (for wingspan) in the world. At the upper end of the walk we saw a number of adult albatrosses, mostly on their nests.
In order to find time for a third adventure today, Recap was skipped, in exchange for an early dinner, and following dinner a Zodiac cruise at Hercules Bay. Although the light was slowly ceasing, we did get super views of colonies of macaroni penguins, and also a glimpse of a pair of light-mantled sooty albatrosses up above. This albatross only breeds in very limited numbers on South Georgia and is a special treat to any bird lover visiting the Southern Ocean. During the Zodiac cruise we were boarded by some “Vikings” from the Choco boat, providing a hot drink to round off a truly great day to remember.
