Day broke across an unseasonably calm Atlantic Ocean this morning as National Geographic Explorer made passage eastbound for South Georgia. The early risers were greeted with stunning conditions and a variety of wildlife. Before the wake-up call this morning from our expedition leader Russ Evans, we had already spotted a right whale, a pod of sperm whales, and joined by several wandering albatross. Weather conditions look favorable for the remainder of the passage and we will likely be within sight of South Georgia tomorrow morning.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 12 Mar 2020
At Sea, Bound for South Georgia, 3/12/2020, National Geographic Explorer
- Aboard the National Geographic Explorer
- Antarctica
Jimmy White, Expedition Leader
Jimmy has been coordinating education and research teams for national universities, international non-government organizations, and documentary companies for more than 10 years. Jimmy’s expertise lies in the coordination and implementation of field e...
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South Georgia and the Falklands
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West Point Island
Our destination this afternoon remains my very favorite place in the Falklands. A warm welcome is always given by the caretakers of this lovely place, Theis and Kiki – Swedish and German respectively. They were at the end of their nine years here and we were among the last ships to visit this season. Of course, we visit the island because of the wildlife, and, after a nice forty-minute walk, we arrived at the Devil’s Nose albatross colony. Here, we found thousands of black-browed albatrosses living cheek by jowl with hundreds, if not thousands of rockhopper penguins. It is not always a happy marriage, but generally they get on, the albatross helping protect the penguin eggs and chicks from predation by the local Johnny rooks aka striated caracaras. A good walk deserves a fine afternoon tea, and we were treated to just that back at the farmhouse. In the garden, a yellow rose flowered beautifully overlooking the place where Lars Eric Lindblad’s ashes were scattered.