Larsen Harbour to Trollhul - Blog 9

The second morning in Larsen Harbour dawned cold, clear with little or no wind and open blue skies above the peaks, a particularly beautiful morning for October and the southeastern tip of South Georgia Island.  Jerome was studying the satellite images on the weather screen and informed us that rounding Cape Disappointment and Green Island on our way Trollhul we would have some rough seas, common for this time of year.  The storms appeared to have blown over for the time being.   Today it seems we have sun, blue skies and only gusty winds…what’s a little rough water when three other conditions are so good.

The night had been silent…no singing seals…no trills or click-click-clicks…not one note! 

Jerome raised anchor and we motored out of Larsen into the last reaches of Drygalski and hit the tossing sea outside the entrance to the fjord.  Along with the spray breaking over the bow it struck me that every day on the sea on this trip had been rough water, perhaps there were days on the previous journey that were frightenly ferocious, even scary…but there were a number of days of respite on which we could relax our guard as we made for some destination.  Once in South Georgian waters Jerome and his son, Dion, were always great at finding calm anchorages within our daily range, but not all coves, fjords or harbours were always calm…calm had to be found anew each time…sometimes the weather came directly from the sea bringing the swells up the valleys.  Sometimes the katabatic winds flowing down the inland mountains crashed into the harbours and raced toward the sea causing all kinds of washing machine agitation.  But the Poncets always seemed to find the calm for the night.    

My travel notes indicate that from Slossaczyk Crag to Cape Disappointment it seemed to get a little windier and rougher.  Captain James Cook, the first person known to set foot on the island, named the southern tip Cape Disappointment when he realized this was not the continent of Antarctica.  Captain Cook also named the island The Isle of Georgia in honor of his king.  We rounded Cape Disappointment and took a heading northwest toward Trollhul our destination 4 or 5 nautical miles up the coast from the Cape. 

After lunch, we went ashore.  What a beach jammed with Elephant Seals and King Penguins.  I probably should be more fearful of Elephant Seals but Fur Seals, easily 10 times smaller than the Elephant Seals, are so aggressive that they must never be trusted even if you think you are avoiding them by a safe distance.  Of course I would not want an angry, aggressive Elephant Seal coming after me but they do not seem particularly threatening if one avoids them by safe distances.  I have heard of tourists trying to touch, lean-against or rouse them for pictures, all are very dangerous actions in my opinion.  I think one of the bulls could easily grab an arm or leg and inflict enormous damage if not death.  I am not one for advice, but just because someone like me writes about Elephant Seals as a more popular seal to find on a beach, do not for a minute think they are as lazy or unprovocable as they appear.  I just prefer them on a beach I have to cross because I have been charged by Fur Seals I was attempting to avoid and Elephant Seals have never accosted me.  

There was a fair amount of fresh snow on the ground and the steep slope we selected to scale also was covered in tussock grass under the snow.  I have enough difficulty wading through nude tussock hummocks with mud underneath and perhaps a lurking fur seal.  The same climb covered in 8 to 10 inches of fresh snow was triple-difficulty for me.  Needless to say it was a slow climb to the first ridge where we found a fairly large number of nesting Northern Giant Petrels spread loosely along the flats.  And then almost directly in front was a single Wandering Albatross chick watching us intently from its grass lined home.  It was a bright sunny afternoon with really high direct lighting on the area.  We went into sitting mode, watching and shooting for nearly an hour.  In searching the area I did not see another Wandering Albatross chick.  But as usual I was thrilled, even if there was only one it represented one more potential future for this endangered species. 

The climb down was slow and strenuous.  The tussock kept trying to grab my ankle and send me head over heels down the slope, which would have been faster.  At the middle of the mountain I decided to walk the long way along the face to observe the King Penguin colony that appeared to be the best fed and healthiest group I had seen this trip.  I was surprised not to see even one carcass when everywhere else I had seen dozens if not a hundred.  The Elephant Seals had pretty well lined the beach along the way with the Kings behind them.  They all seemed to be content and I did not see any aggressive behavior even though hundreds of Kings were walking through the Elephants both to and from the water.  Curiously the Graae Glacier that faces Trollhul also appeared healthy and less receded than previously observed glaciers.

After a day on the mountains, in the snow, wind and cold it always ends with a hot mug of tea to watch the sun set and temperature drop even lower.  Dinner was followed closely with sleep.

Revisiting South Georgia: Previous Blog : Blog 8 < > Next Block : Blog 10