21.11. South Georgia

Today we were waked up at 5am for an early landing with Zodiacs in South Georgia, but the wind was too strong and it was canceled. That was disappointing, as we missed a huge conlonie of king penguins! So we continued to a little fjord with less wind and there it was possible to reach the land! On a second excursion we just went 90min the Zodiacs! Here I did a mistake and took my heavy 200-400mm lens with me, but I had no success as the Zodiac was too shaky and then there is the risk of salt water for camera and lenses!

On that landing was unbelievable wildlife. Thousands of king penguins and also lots of fur and elephant seals! Those seals are quicker than you expect and the best strategy is too make oneself big and stand your ground! I took nearly 1000 pictures today and 20 of them are great! Landscapes and wildlife!

The weather was sunny and surprisingly warm with about 10 degrees! I was not prepared for that but I would have been fine with shorts and only 2 layers of shirts! But I took off my raincoat and needed no gloves and hat!

So it was an unbelievable fantastic day! It is a great experience being surrounded by thousands of penguins! The chicks were even so curious and came as close as possible! Sometimes there are groups of 10-15 penguins walking the 500m from sea to their chicks! Then there are seals everywhere and one needs to make sure that one does have enough distance to them! Otherwise they try to attack and bite you! I have seen an old Chinese woman that was very close of being biten!

Tomorrow there are 2 excursions planned! The first will start before breakfast at 5:30am. There we will see more penguins! On the second excursion we will visit an old whaling village! Today there is a museum and also the cemetery with the grave of Ernest Shackleton! There is even a church! Google "Grytviken" and you will find some interesting pictures!

This is one of my most fascinating travels that combines landscapes with wildlife with history! A great region to explore! South Georgia alone is worth a visit! There are glaciers, spectaculat mountains, amazing clouds and millions of penguins!

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