Antarctica · Antarctica
South Georgia and the Falklands.
South Georgia holds the largest concentrations of wildlife anywhere on earth, and is a longer voyage than the Peninsula alone.
Photo Paul Carroll / Unsplash
King penguin colonies here run to hundreds of thousands of birds, and the beaches carry elephant and fur seals in numbers that are difficult to describe. Shackleton is buried at Grytviken.
Adding South Georgia and the Falklands turns a ten-day trip into something closer to three weeks, and it is the version most experienced polar travellers recommend.
How do you get to South Georgia?
Only by ship. South Georgia lies about 1,400 kilometres east of the Falkland Islands, and voyages usually sail from Ushuaia by way of the Falklands, spend several days around South Georgia's northern coast, then continue to the Antarctic Peninsula before returning across the Drake Passage.
Where are the king penguin colonies on South Georgia?
The largest are at St Andrews Bay, Salisbury Plain and Gold Harbour, on the island's north-eastern coast, where the birds stand shoulder to shoulder across whole valleys. Landings depend on swell and wind, so no single beach can be promised.
What is Shackleton's connection to South Georgia?
In 1916, after the loss of the Endurance, Shackleton and two companions crossed the island's unmapped interior on foot to reach help at the whaling station at Stromness. He is buried at Grytviken, which also has a museum in the old whaling station. Some voyages offer a walk over the last section of his route, from Fortuna Bay to Stromness.
Why is biosecurity so strict on South Georgia?
Because the island was declared free of rats and mice in 2018 after one of the largest eradication projects ever attempted, and its ground-nesting birds depend on it staying that way. Clothing, boots and bags are checked and cleaned before every landing.
What is there to see in the Falkland Islands?
Rockhopper, gentoo, Magellanic and king penguins, and colonies of black-browed albatross on the outer islands, with Stanley, the small capital, as the usual call. It is the first stop on most South Georgia voyages.
What is there to see in South Georgia and the Falklands?
What does South Georgia and the Falklands pair well with?
- The Antarctic PeninsulaThe Peninsula is where the great majority of visitors go, and where the wildlife and the landscape are most concentrated.
- The interior and the Weddell SeaFlying into the interior from Cape Town reaches emperor penguins and the South Pole itself — the most expensive and most committing way to visit.
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