Monday 6 March 2006
Mount Hodges and Grytviken
Today I stood on solid ground for the first time in two years, saw my first plant life, climbed my first hill, saw my first house fly and saw rain again for the first time (predictably, just before the barbecue). Yes, we arrived at South Georgia this morning and what looked like it was going to be a big anticlimax has turned out to be a fantastic day.
I got up early so I could get a view of the mountains and glaciers of South Georgia as we sailed towards Cumberland Bay. Unfortunately I awoke to 50 knot gales and fog which obscured any sight of land. Although I had been hoping for good weather here since we set sail I resigned myself to the situation pretty quickly - poor weather around here is unfortunately all too common.
Then, as we got closer to our destination the weather made an incredible U-turn. First the fog started to clear, and South Georgia's glorious glacier covered peaks came into view. As we steamed along the coastline all kinds of wildlife started appearing, as if they had come out to meet the ship. First albatross and giant petrels started escorting us. Then, a fur seal or two swam along side, jumping out the water like dolphins. Next a king penguin came into view, darting around gracefully just below the surface.
An albatross following the ship as we sail along the coast of South Georgia.
As we turned into the sheltered bay the wind dropped down - the Sun even started breaking through the clouds. It was turning into just the kind of day I was hoping for all along. We cruised slowly into Cumberland Bay and towards King Edward Point, where another one of BAS's bases is located.
The ship's crew prepare the mooring lines.
Just round the corner from King Edward Point is Grytviken, an old abandoned whaling station that is now open to tourist ships and the site of a small museum. After a couple of years of construction work to remove asbestos and some of the less safe buildings it has now been reopened so were able to wander freely amongst the old, rusting machinery.
The old and the new: On the left is Grytviken, an abandoned whaling station dating back to the beginning of the 19th century. On the right is King Edward Point, a BAS base partly funded by the South Georgia Government dedicated to fisheries science and fishing quota control. Behind them both Mount Hodges rises to 630m (2067ft).
Although I visited South Georgia on my way South to Halley, I didn't really get a chance to explore properly so I was particularly keen to get out and about as soon as we had moored up. A few of us decided to climb Mount Hodges, the large, slate-covered hill that dominates the bay and gives spectacular views across the rest of South Georgia. By now the weather was sunny, if a little windy, and it was fantastic to feel a warm breeze against your face for a change (another first for a while). We climb up the hill through grass covered ground, alongside a winding stream before reaching the scree slopes which formed a large portion of the route.
Green vegetation: Normal perhaps but not to me.
The view from the top was truly incredible with rugged mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. It was definitely one of those 'you have to be there' moments, although I hope this panorama (which shows the full 360 degree view) will give you some idea what it was like (use the scrollbar at the bottom of the picture to view the rest).
360 degree panorama from the top of Mount Hodges. Use the scrollbar to view the full picture.
Craig looking down at Cumberland Bay from the top of Mount Hodges. Grytviken is visible in the lower centre. The RRS Ernest Shackleton is the red ship moored next to King Edward Point on the far side of the bay.
After taking in the views for a while we worked our way down the scree slopes back to Grytviken, and spent a bit of time looking around the abandoned station and the museum. Back in its heyday whaling was big business here and it was amazing to see the huge machinery that had been transported to this remote location to help process whales into oil and other products. We were told that once there were so many whales in these oceans that when the slaughtering began it took two years before the whalers even had to venture out of the bay in search of a kill.
Views of the abandoned whaling station. Top: The boilers and oil tanks used to produce and store the oil. Bottom Left: Heavy machinery for processing. Bottom Right: A harpoon gun on an old whaling ship that is still moored in the bay.
Thankfully, there are now signs that the whale numbers are starting to recover - the museum curator was telling us that there had been a sighting of a school of over 100 fin whales in recent weeks, and even a dozen rare blue whales were spotted earlier this year.
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