Australian_Geographic_-_December_2015_AU_

Bird I.

C.^ Pa King Haakon Bay

radigm

GRYTVIKEN

STROMNESS

A L L

A R

D

Y C

E

R A

N G

E

Cooper Sound

Start/Finish

King Edward Cove

Hercules Bay

Day 1 Camp

Bjelland Bay

Day 2 Camp

Blue Whale Harbour

Day 3 Camp

Prion Is

Right Whale Bay

Day 4/5 Camp

Saddle Is

Nilse Hullet

Day 6 Camp

Cape Darnley

Day 7 Camp

Larsen Harbour

Day 9 Camp

Trohul

Day 8 Camp

Wirik Bay

Day 10 Camp

Calf Head

Day 11 Camp

Cobblers Cove

Day 12 Camp

Island Circumnavigation (kayak)

Shackleton Traverse (on foot)

Toto

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Pt

Cha

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Sali
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ain
Godthul
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Diaz^ Cove
C.^ Disap
pointm
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Gold^ Ha
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Gre
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0 25 km 50 km
North
WATCH
Use the free viewa
app to scan this
page and see a fi lm
about the South
Georgia kayaking
expedition.
We sheltered inside, listening
to the storm as it escalated. By the
afternoon the wind gauge was
consistently registering above 50
knots and during dinner there
was a loud crash. The 3cm-thick
anchor snubbing had snapped
and the squall had lifted the
Zodiac out of the water and
flipped it over. Another gust
threw crew member Kirsten
Neuschafer into the air as we
struggled to right the Zodiac.
Luckily, Chris grabbed her just in
time and she escaped an icy swim.
O
N DAY SIX the grey conditions reflected our thoughts
as we approached the turning point south at Cape
Paradigm, imagining the worst about the treacherous
south coast around the corner. It was famed for its sheer cliffs
and massive swells; my mind flashed images of kayaks dashed
onto rocks and of paddling through the night to avoid treach-
erous big-surf landings.
The world, however, didn’t end as we rounded the corner.
We could almost touch the rocks of the cape as we were joined
by a flying escort of hundreds of Antarctic prions, small south-
ern latitude seabirds on a feeding sortie from their onshore
breeding sites. Almost immedi-
ately the sun came out, and,
instead of the menacing environ-
ment we had feared, the majesty
of the south coast opened before
us in myriad crystal colours.
We set off towards an iceberg
that lay ahead like a jewel, but
hours later we were still paddling.
We completely misjudged this
lump of ice. Up close we could see its full grandeur, almost the
size of a container ship, with 50m-high ice walls.
Idyllic conditions continued as we paddled past sea cliffs and
threaded our way through anvil-like sea stacks until we reached
the mouth of the massive King Haakon Bay. To our left was the
landing point for famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and
five of his men, but I doubt they appreciated the same grandeur
in the glaciers that tumbled down its sides. After their ship
Endurance became trapped in Antarctic pack ice (AG 117) in 1916,
they trekked across the island to reach Stromness whaling sta-
tion on the north coast. Here they raised the alarm to rescue
the remainder of their stranded crew.
SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND
November–December 2015 85
Home alone. A giant petrel chick waits
at Right Whale Bay for its parents, likely
to be out fi shing. These birds also take
the chicks and eggs of other seabirds.
Macronectes sp.
HIGHEST PEAK:
Mt Paget 2934m
SOUTH GEORGIA and the South
Sandwich Islands is a British territory
covering 3903sq.km in the South
Atlantic. It has a temporary population
of 30, spread between settlements on
South Georgia. There are also historic
settlements and bases. Captain Cook
fi rst landed here and claimed the
islands for Britain in 1775. They were
a base for whaling and sealing opera-
tion throughout the 19th and 20th
centuries. The South Sandwich Islands
are 700km to the south-east.
LENGTH: 170km
POPULATION AT
PEAK OF WHALING: 2000
WIDTH: Up to 40km
South
Georgia
South Sandwich Is.
SOUTHPOLE