ESCAPESEEKER is privileged to feature our outstanding Antarctica Advance Research Team member, John Hempelmann. One of our program’s goals is to deliver the “JOY of TRAVEL”…and no one exudes more #joy than our #brilliant, #adventurous adviser and friend!
South Georgia Island ~ “Simply Amazing!” Add this to the superlatives in the Title above, and you have the exact sentiments expressed by our own ART [Advance Research Team] member, John Hempelmann, describing our January 5th premiere exploration of South Georgia Island via One Ocean Expeditions.
John’s report is so eloquently written, and reflective of his contagious enthusiasm for the wonders of our planet, that it seems only apropos that I share it with you verbatim! And, yes, in case you are wondering, above is a picture of John I captured during the most flawless, unforgettable Antarctic sea-kayaking day. More on that adventure later…but for now, please permit me to share John’s eloquent report…and you’ll understand why he is so contagiously #happy!
In his own words…
Incredible! Beyond Description! Out of this World! Amazing! These words do not begin to describe accurately our experiences today on South Georgia Island. Even the stunning pictures and videos will not be enough to convey the majesty and uniqueness of what we have seen and experienced.
It is so appropriate today is January 5 because that is the day Ernest Shackleton died here on South Georgia Island in 1922. It was here he started his ill-fated expedition to cross the Antarctic Continent. After his ship, the Endurance, was crushed by the ice in the Weddell Sea on Antarctica, it was here he landed after 17 days at sea in a small boat in his successful, arduous effort to save all his men. This is the 100th Anniversary of Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
We sailed for two days and three nights, mostly in fog, to get here. We crossed the Antarctic Convergence Zone and the temperature plummeted below freezing. Finally, this morning the fog began to dissipate as we sighted icebergs, and then cliffs, waterfalls and glaciers running into the sea. (There are 160 glaciers on the Island.) The sea had come alive with many species of birds, seals and fast swimming penguins. Then the winds blew all the fog and clouds away and it was white mountains, icy glaciers and the Salisbury Plain lying before us. The Plain was left by the retreating glacier and now it is home to thousands of fur seals and more than a hundred thousand King Penguin breeding pairs (YES, more than two hundred thousand big funny birds).
It was a mind blowing experience coming ashore through the surf on the Zodiac and walking into this huge conglomeration of wildlife. There were darling baby fur seals and penguins everywhere.
[Image captured by Mel Gee Henderson]
The huge parent seals snoozed in the sun–until you got too close and then a huge mammal would jump up and bark at you. Occasionally, a big seal would charge but we could deter them with the point of a walking stick (a ski touring pole). One big guy tried to bite the tip of my pole but I snapped back at him and he retreated. They were EVERYWHERE–hundreds of them. We walked across the Plain as King Penguins came up to check us out. We climbed a very steep hillside of tussac grass and mud to get to the edge of the penguin colony. You will find this hard to believe or envision but there were hundreds of thousands of brown furry juvenile penguins and their parents in their beautiful black and white coats and they were all jammed together like a huge river running down to the sea. It was incredible! This description is completely inadequate. We watched for a long time and looked out over the Plain at the wildlife, the craggy white mountains and our white Ship in the distance floating in a blue sea against a blue sky.
After Dinner on the Ship, we set out again in the Zodiac and explored the fur seal colonies along the shore of King Olav Inlet in Cook (yes, the Captain Cook) Bay. Our scientists carefully counted the seals and made notes. As the light faded, we cruised by an old whaling station abandoned early in the 20th Century. It was a wreck and there was an old whaling ship wrecked on the beach. After the whaling parties completely depleted the whales, they just packed up and left. Eerie!! We are in a new era and saw the history of an old era.
Tomorrow, we sail to Stromness Harbor and Grytviken Whaling Station.
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Our Adventure Continues…
We hope you’ll stay tuned as our Russian vessel, the Akademik Iofee navigates across these icy waters and brings us ever closer to the GREAT WHITE CONTINENT!
From our entire Antarctica team pictured above, yours truly, Roy Henderson, Mary McGill, and John Hempelmann…
Here’s to #blissful, #endless #ESCAPES,
Mel aka the ESCAPESEEKER
