From Cape to Cape on the Explorer.

[drron29]

Close up of seals-

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Not all were happy.

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But some are nearly adorable-

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[drron29]

No to the skuas.

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Now one day this fellow will fly-

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But not today-

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[drron29]

Finally the King Penguins-

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Time to get out of here.

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[drron29]

Now my hike.2.5km to the king penguin colony.Beautiful scenery.

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Follow the leader.

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The young seals look cute but a lot like to charge us humans-

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But this one stole the show-

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[drron29]

Still a long way to go-

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Over a rise and the view unfolds-

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Oh no.The king has lost his head.

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I often try to imitate the animals.I had this fellow bemused-

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[drron29]

What a sight-

Some are still sitting on eggs.Unfortunately those are doomed as it is too late in the season to produce a viable youngster-

Apart from keeping the egg warm if you let too much be seen a giant petrel will have eggs for breakfast-

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The young need to be this size to have a good chance of surviving-

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[drron29]

This little fellow will be lucky to survive-

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Here's one chick that didn't make it-a few brown feathers left.

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But these older chicks should do well as they lose their baby feathers-

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[drron29]

Nearly there-

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But there are 2 less chicks-

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But it wasn't the skua who made the kill-

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The giant petrel reclaims his meal.The one behind him is a much larger chick.And another that met it's end not long ago-

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Another who I imitated and was wondering what I was-

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[frantic36]

Now my hike.2.5km to the king penguin colony.Beautiful scenery.

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Follow the leader.

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The young seals look cute but a lot like to charge us humans-

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But this one stole the show-

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Oh, I think this little guy is so cute. Thanks for all your wonderful photos drron.

 

Julie

[RachelG]

loving all the penguin and seal pics. Keep them coming.

[drron29]

Lots more pics to come Rachel.Soon a lot more snow and ice as well.

But now time to get back to the Explorer.

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I swear the ball went in the hole-

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[drron29]

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So those 3 fellows walked up to me,walked around me then moved to the side to have a little discussion probably along the lines-"do you really think that is drron?"

The scenery on the walk back was stunning-

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[57 varieties]

We are loving the pictures, Ron and especially that last one of the beautiful Explorer.

[rojaan19]

We are loving the pictures, Ron and especially that last one of the beautiful Explorer.

 

Yes - the Explorer is our favourite ship, have another 4 cruises booked for 2018, both B2Bs :D

[drron29]

One last thing to do before I get in the zodiac.Annoy the twitchers by getting South Georgia's only songbird to walk up to me-

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On the way back to the ship a leopard seal followed the zodiac.boy are they big and fast.Rojaan was there to see me come back-

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The ship then repositioned to Prion island whilst we had lunch/a few last shots as we sail away-

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[drron29]

The sea had started to get a bit of a swell and the anchorage not protected so a bumpy zodiac ride until we got to shore and then clambering over lots of kelp on the beach.

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A lot of the penguins were moulting.Of course there were fur seals and a duck-

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But that's not why we are here.

[drron29]

We didn't climb the hill just to get a good shot of the Explorer-

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And we weren't here for these-

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A skua and chick.

These are the reason for our visit-

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The Wandering albatross.This island is opened for visits only in March to tourists so the nesting and chicks wont be disturbed.The population was declining but in the last 8 years there has been an increase of 2 new breeding pairs.A start but a long way to go.Wingspan of up to 4 metres so a very large bird.You have to stay on a walkway so not too close to the birds.There was a very small chick in the nest of the far bird in the last photo.

[drron29]

Back to the beach-

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Had to wait a fair while for a zodiac back to the ship so wandered around the beach-

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[Bill B]

drron29,

 

I'm following this thread with great interest because I'll be doing the same cruise (but on the Cloud) in 2019. Keep up the good work... thanks.

 

I have three questions -

Did you have a veranda? If so, how 'usable' was it?

 

I've booked a Vista Suite because I figured, for much of the cruise, it would be very cold and windy on the veranda.

 

Would you recommend I switch to a Veranda Suite?

[drron29]

On the Explorer apart from deck 7 the balconies are only French balconies so no sitting outside anyway.However it was useful for taking photos as you can open the door.

However you can get more pics if on deck.So there is not a real reason for a verandah on this particular itinerary.

Rojaan does get claustrophobic so a cabin with an opening door is a must for us.

[Bill B]

I hadn't looked at the deck plans of the Explorer.

 

I did the math. On the Cloud, to upgrade from my Vista Suite to a Veranda Suite would cost me $121.30 per day. The suites are essentially identical except the 'Vista' doesn't have a veranda. That's way too much to pay!

[drron29]

The reaction of the locals to the news we had to stay on the beach longer-

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[drron29]

Wednesday and our second day in South Georgia.There were meant to be 2 landings today but a fair swell and strong winds from the east put paid to those plans.Instead we did 2 fjord cruises.They were spectactular.First is Drygalski fjord at the south eastern tip of the island.

First Rojaan's photos.

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[drron29]

Prepare to be blinded by the ice-

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[drron29]

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And finally the terminal glacier-

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