Work early and looked out of my cabin window at the wonderful view of Gold Bay. It was simply to gorgeous to stay in bed so I donned my multi layers and ventured onto deck. We left the bay around 6am and the ship chugged along the coast to another splendid location, Cooper bay. As we travelled Icebergs were becoming more and more frequent, and not just little ones, but big Tabular ones. The bay was the location of another Penguin colony, this time Macaroni ones. They nest on cliffs, so up we climbed for a wonderful view over the whole colony. The location was stunning and the weather sublime. It was so good the captain agreed we could take a cruise up Drygalski Fjord. And thank goodness we did. It was simply stunning. A tremendous stretch of water leading up to a vast wall of ice, at the end of a massive glacier. All around mountains soared to tremendous heights with snow capped peaks visible far far above. As we made our way up the channel Albatross’s soared over the ship showing how graceful and elegant flight can be. It must be one of the most beautiful places on the planet and one of the most inaccessible. And there was more to come. As we left the fjord a vast table of ice lay ahead. Apparently is was one of the fragments from the vast B15 ice sheet which broke away from the Ross ice shelf, the other side of Antarctica in 2000. As we went around it the captain measured this ice berg as 36m high and 10km long. It’s presence revealed the reason for all the smaller bergs we had been seeing on the way down. As we got nearer it became more beautiful with the ice turning a brilliant sapphire blue as it meet the water. We left Cape Disappointment anything but. It may have been disappointing to James Cook, who thought he had found a new continent but South Gerogia has been a thrilling experience to all of us on the ship. We set course for South West, next stop Antarctica.

A fantastic day spent literally knee deep in King Penguins. This morning we visited Saint Andrews Bay, home of a massive King Penguin colony. A staggering sight. Everywhere you looked nothing but Penguins. Thousands of chicks, big brown bundles of feathers flapping around. Some walking, some squarking and some running around in blind panic. And then the older birds, strolling about the beach wondering what on earth were all these red jackeded invaders doing. It wasn’t just Penguins. There were the Elephant Seals as well. Massive things grunting and belching and generally defending their neighbourhood.. The Beachmaster with his great hocked nose, covered in scars and wounds gained while protecting his territory, warning all pretenders to keep clear and keep their slimy paws off of his women. And the Fur Seals, snarling and baring their teeth and they tried to prove how strong they were. In the afternoon we moved to Gold Bay, which more than lived up to its name. As we entered the bay a Southern Right Whale left with a flash of its fluke. Not only did the bay have another enormous Penguin Colony, but the whole setting was dominated by a massive glacier on top of a mountain overlooking the bay. As we landed an avalanche sent tons of snow cascading down the cliff. It is a truly beautiful and serene place. After the sun set the whole thing was lit up by the full moon, and from the boat all you could hear was the cornucopia of grunts and squarks from the beach.

Had our first actual landing on South Georgia today. Landed at Fontura Bay, home of a large King Penguin colony. An amazing sight as we walked right up to the colony, picking our way between the fur seals and hoping they would behave. Apparently when they charge you need to stand your ground and clap if you don’t want to be bitten. There was an endless parade of penguins making their way to and from the sea, and in the centre of the colony vast huddles of chicks, shivering in the cold and wet waiting for the return of their parents. From the colony we traced the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton on the last part of his walk across the island. We just climbed over the last ridge into Stromness bay. Shackleton had already walked for 36 hours across the island after several weeks in a rowing boat at sea and 18 months frozen in the ice pack when he did the trek. Some fantastic views over the glaciers and bays as we came down. Stromness has an old Whaling station stations at the bay. It’s rusting and falling apart now, but it gives you a sense of what the place must have been like in the height of the whaling years. After lunch we travelled round to Grytviken - South Georgia town with a population of 25 it is the capital of the islands and the seat of government. The old whaling station has been preserved here and the part of it turned into a museum. It’s very interesting, well worth a visit if you are passing by. Shackleton is buried in the Whalers churchyead and many sailors pay their respects at the graveyard. In the evening we had a barbeque on the ship with some of the locals. The sun came out and it was a glorious setting.

Arrived in islands this morning. A more wild and bleak place can scarcely be imagined, and yet it is teaming with life. We attempted to anchor at Elsehul but conditions were to rough so we moved onto Right Whale bay. It was fantastic. We went for a zodiac cruise past King Penguin, Fur Seals and Elephant Seals, massive great blobs of blubber lying on the beach. This afternoon we moved onto Salisbury Plain, home of a massive King penguin colony. The original plan was to land but it was just to rough so we cruised just off shore, watching the Penguins strolling up and down the beach, watching the fur seals racing up and down, protecting their territory and watching the massive male Elephant seals protecting their harem and making sure their rivals, the so called sneaky breeders, didn’t live up to their name.