Finally, Andy and I could set out on this adventure!
Andy joined the first group who spent a week on the Falklands before the main trip to South Georgia.
I joined two others at Gardermoen Airport, and we had a long journey in front of us: first to Paris and 4 hours waiting for the flight to Santiago, nearly 14 hours, where we spent the night, then early next morning, 7 hours flight to the Falklands.
(click for large images)
The Andes, near Santiago
The driver communicated via Google! It took about 40 min to get into the center, so we had a lot of fun! :-)
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| Santiago |
From the car window ...
Great art!
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| Iglesia Catedral de Santiago |
Beautiful
Peacefully
Back into the hustle and bustle ... and to the hotel for dinner and some sleep ...
Eirik and Martin to the left, two of the expedition leaders, were at great help at the airport
Short stop at Punta Arenas, the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and the Antartica Chilena.
He was pleased, although they had a lot of weather during the week; wind, rain, hail, snow ...
Wild Photo Travels trip report. I have added my photos.
What an adventure! We knew it would be good, but this trip was way over expectations.
The main expedition was our South Georgia odyssey, but we added a week extension on the Falklands for two small groups. The groups were hosted by Ole Jørgen Liodden and Roy Mangersnes, and consisted of 5 to 7 clients in each group. One group would start far south at Sea Lion Island while the other traveled northwest to Saunders.
In the afternoon we met up with the rest of our clients, partners and
the WildPhoto guide team. Martin Enckell is our preferred expedition
leader on these trips and also Eirik Grønningsæter joined the team with
his experience from this region. In the evening we boarded the MS Polar
Pioneer and our journey towards South Georgia could begin.
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| Port Stanley |
... no complaints :-)
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| Our cabin :-) |
I maid some attempts. The ship was moving, but it kept me occupied :-)
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| Black-browed Albatross |
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| Grey headed Albatross |
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| Northern Giant Petrel |
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| Northern Giant Petrel |
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| Snowy Petrel |
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| Snowy Petrel |
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| Macaroni Penguins |
Day 4 – 10.11.2015 In the morning of day 3 we passed
Shag Rock and soon after we spotted Bird Island and the north western
point of South Georgia.
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We had to "turn our tag" before leaving/entering the ship by the
zodiacs :-) Very important to know who had left or not come back!! (this
shows the day I stayed on board, no 44, Andy was no 12)
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| Right Whale Bay |
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| Fur Seal and Josh Anon |
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| Fur Seal |
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| Elephant Seal |
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| Elephant Seal |
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| King Penguins |
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| King Penguins |
With some snow still on the ground several of us took the opportunity to photograph the Kings against a white backdrop. During the afternoon is started to snow lightly and the clouds covered the dramatic mountains.
Kjekt sted for tørking av klær :-) ... handy for wet clothings :-)
Day 5 – 11.11.2015
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| Salisbury Plain |
As photography in these conditions rarely is rewarding several of us took the opportunity to enjoy the extreme wildlife density at Salisbury by talking walks in the area. In addition to the King penguins and the seals on the beach there was also a good number of the endemic South Georgia Pipit and South Georgia Pintail. Both seem to do well, as the final rat culling has been very successful.
An absolutely amazing place! Like being in a nature film, expecting David Attenboroughs voice telling us what we were seeing :-)
Nursery :-)
Have to keep the wings in order ...
This Fur Seal did NOT like us! He was chasing us all the time ...
South Georgia Pipit, this sparrow-sized songbird lives only on South Georgia
For me, Grytviken was the highlight on the trip. Will have to make a special blogg...
As expected the wind picked up as we headed for the Drygalski fjord in the evening. All around we saw large icebergs coming up from the Antarctic Penninsula, and they made perfect subjects for photography in the rough conditions. We decided to spend time with the icebergs and not go into the dark fjord. As the evening came to an end we were lucky to spot a small group of Chinstrap penguins on a beautiful iceberg, and we all enjoyed some great photography in the last hour of the day.
Day 11 – 17.11.2015
The morning was rather brutal with a landing at a very dense Fur Seal colony. When we made it through the first ranks of territorial seals, the valley was perfect for a scenic hike or for shooting seals and Giant Storm petrels.
Being able to spend this much time on South Georgian beaches is quit
unique and we wanted to make the most of it. Therefore we went for one
more landing at Salisbury Plains in the afternoon on our last day. The
light was very nice, but some clouds deprived us from the sunset we were
hoping for.
The forecast for our crossing back to the Falklands were not very good, with strong winds straight ahead. We decided to start one day early to make sure we reached the only flight that leaves the Falklands per week, but as we started our crossing the storm died of as we were looking. It turned out to be just another normal crossing with a bit of rock and roll, but nothing big. We think most people were happy for this.
South Georgia can be a quit challenging destination due to exposure to
heavy weather systems. This is one of the reasons we wanted to spend
more days here, and make sure we could land on all the prime locations.
In the end we were extremely lucky and spent a total of 60 hours on the
beaches and did 14 landings in just over 8 days. This must be some kind
of record!
In Santiago on the way back. Summer ahead, I was going home to enjoy winter season :-)
In the evening we were lucky to get access to Prion Island. Here we
would follow the boardwalk to the top of the hill.
The view over By of
Isles is amazing up here, but the target was the breeding Wandering
Albatross. Everyone was treated with a couple of large chicks on the
nest near the trail, being very photogenic. The size of this bird is
difficult to grasp until you stand next to it. With a wingspan of 3,5
meters it has the widest reach of any bird in the world.
Have to keep the wings in order ...
This Fur Seal did NOT like us! He was chasing us all the time ...
South Georgia Pipit, this sparrow-sized songbird lives only on South Georgia
Day 6 – 12.11.2015
After breakfast we headed for the old Norwegian whaling station
Grytviken to register at the authorities. During the few hours we spent
ashore several of us enjoyed shooting the local wildlife that has taken
the bay back after the whalers left it in the late 60’s. Pintails and
Antarctic Terns were numerous, and also seals and penguins were found
among the rusty buildings and stranded ships. Some also took the
opportunity to update themselves on the dark history of whaling in the
southern ocean at the local museum.
... more later :-)
The evening was spent in the small bay of Godthul. Some took the
opportunity to hike up to the Gentoo rookery and got some really nice
sunset colours up there. Others shot birds and seals from the zodiac
while others spent all the time on the beach with Gentoos and seals. The
last boat returned to the ship long after sunset.
Will they succeed??
Calling for a mate??
Lovely afternoon!!
Very early next morning!!
Day 7 – 13.11.2015
St. Andrews Bay is possibly the best
wildlife destination in the world and after detailed planning and a bit
of luck with the weather we were able to land everyone on the beach
long before sunrise. The operation started before 2am and by 3 o’clock
everyone was ready to shoot. 15 minutes later, when the sun washed over
the beach, thousands and thousands of King penguins and seals was
covered in golden light. The photography was out of this world and we
were only back for breakfast 5 hours later.
Family on a morning walk :-)
Ole Jørgen Liodden, Wild Photo Travel, enjoying himself :-)
Straight out of the sea ...
Fur Seal in morning sun ...
Roy and a cute Elephant seal cub :-)
Roy and a cute Elephant seal cub :-)
Elephant Seal cubs having fun :-)
Happy Elephant Seal :-)
Safe ...
Overwhelming place! Too many photos from this place...
Are you pleased??
After a well deserved rest mid day we landed on Moltke Harbour after
lunch. This small beach is a peaceful place compared to St. Andrews, but
the many Elephant seals kept everyone busy until the night.
I was more occupied with Gentoo Penguin :-)
... but was charmed by these two :-)
Ole concentrated on under water photos :-)
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| Gold Harbour |
Magic! ... and a sailing boat in the background ...
Day 8 – 14.11.2015
The weather was good and the team
was on a roll, and already the next morning we did another sunrise
landing. This time we had moved to another hot spot – Gold Harbour. A bit
of drizzle in the early morning didn’t stop us, and as the sun broke
through we were even rewarded with rainbow in front of the classic
glacier backdrop. The King penguins were lined up along the river and
displayed eagerly as the sun sent warm light through the colony. People
spent the time onshore well and went for hikes to discover their own
little paradise. Gold Harbour has many of them.
Gold Harbour ... sure!
Waiting for mum and dad ...
<3
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| Cooper Bay |
Mid day we arrived in Cooper Bay. The area is exposed to the weather and
since the conditions were favourable we went for a mid day landing at
the Macaroni penguin rookery. This is one of the easiest places to see
this flamboyant bird at the nesting place. A short climb over snow and
tussock grass we found ourselves pretty much in the colony. Heading out
some of us were also treated with a Chinstrap penguin on the nearby
rocks.
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| South Georgia Shag Lucky to see this on the way back. My favorite bird :-) |
As expected the wind picked up as we headed for the Drygalski fjord in the evening. All around we saw large icebergs coming up from the Antarctic Penninsula, and they made perfect subjects for photography in the rough conditions. We decided to spend time with the icebergs and not go into the dark fjord. As the evening came to an end we were lucky to spot a small group of Chinstrap penguins on a beautiful iceberg, and we all enjoyed some great photography in the last hour of the day.
Alone ...
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| St Andrews Bay |
Day 9 – 15.11.2015
As the conditions seemed to improve
during the night we went for another sunrise morning at St. Andrews Bay.
As the sun was painting the mountains in the background everyone was
scattered around the beach and enjoying their own little paradise. It
was incredible to think that many travel down here without being able to
land on St. Andrews due to heavy swell and strong wind, and we were
able to land twice before sunrise.
:-)
They were keeping an eye on our photo bags :-)
A lot!!!
+ more kept coming!!!
Babysitter ;-)
Filled the frame :-)
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| Ocean Harbour |
As a slight contrast from St. Andrews we landed late in the evening at
Ocean Harbour. The wind had picked up, but this bay was nice and
sheltered. Here we photographed seals and cormorants, as well as some
nice landscapes from the zodiacs.
An old Norwegian whaling station
We circled around the wreck in zodiac :-)
My dream bird, South Georgia Shag!
Day 10 – 16.11.2015
We did try for our fourth sunrise
landing, but the weather was grey and wet when we got up. Therefore we
waited until after breakfast before landing at Salisbury Plains. Its was
still wet, but after a couple of hours the clouds lifted and we had
some very nice moods as the mist and clouds covered the nearby
mountains. Just as we packed up and started bringing clients back, the
katabatic winds came falling from the mountains and within minutes we
had 60 knot winds offshore. It did make our departure difficult, but
with a sturdy expedition leader everyone was relaxed on the beach.
I stayed on board :-)
The evening was rather windy and we cruised with the ship in the Bay of
Isles, shooting petrels following the ship in beautiful evening light.
The morning was rather brutal with a landing at a very dense Fur Seal colony. When we made it through the first ranks of territorial seals, the valley was perfect for a scenic hike or for shooting seals and Giant Storm petrels.
I stayed on board, again!
Andy coming back ... :-)
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| Salisbury Plain |
A very special place, indeed!
Day 11-14 – 17-21.11.2015The forecast for our crossing back to the Falklands were not very good, with strong winds straight ahead. We decided to start one day early to make sure we reached the only flight that leaves the Falklands per week, but as we started our crossing the storm died of as we were looking. It turned out to be just another normal crossing with a bit of rock and roll, but nothing big. We think most people were happy for this.
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| Port Stanley, the Falklands |
Farewell ...
The Gift Shop was closed :-(
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| Historic building |
Just one hour is not enough!
In Santiago on the way back. Summer ahead, I was going home to enjoy winter season :-)
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