A visit to South Georgia provides incredibly beautiful sceneries and an overwhelming amount of wildlife. On this first day of exploring the wonders of this island we certainly got a convincing proof! The first wake-up call sounded at 04:45, and quite a few guests took the opportunity to get ashore before sunrise. We were at Gold Harbour, one of South Georgia´s most spectacular landing spots. Gold Harbour is formed like an amphitheater, with a wide, flat beach, framed by lush slopes and steep rocks with a glacier on top. The beach is home to a colony of king penguins as well as fur seals and elephant seals. Those who got up at normal wake-up time were shuttled to the beach just after breakfast and spent the whole morning ashore.
2/23/2025
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National Geographic Endurance
Antarctic Sound
Excitement was high as we arrived in Antarctica today, marking the start of our expedition to the White Continent and beyond. Over lunch, massive tabular icebergs — once part of an ice shelf — began to appear all around us, sending guests rushing to the windows for photos. In the afternoon, we launched our fleet of Zodiacs for the first operation of the trip — a cruise along the brash ice. Despite the sharp wind chill, we had incredible first encounters with humpback whales and seals. Meanwhile, the undersea team, a unique program at National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, suited up for a scuba dive, capturing footage of krill swarms below the surface. Just when we thought the day couldn’t get better, an emperor penguin made a surprise appearance — a lucky sight this time of year. What a spectacular start to our Antarctic adventure!
