Grytviken, the ‘capital’ of South Georgia, used to be the main whaling station until 1962, when it closed. The reason for closing it was that after having processed over 175 000 whales, there were too few left.
These days Grytviken is essentially a museum populated by seals and the odd penguin. In the surrounding waters, strenuous conservation efforts have enabled the whale populations to recover. The human population is limited – the odd seconded government representative, the museum and post office managers, and the researchers of the British Antarctic Survey.
The rusting whale oil processing equipment, rotting ships, and prevalent seals create a post-industrial (if not post-apocalyptic) atmosphere that attracts cruise tourists.
The tourist trade is strictly regulated, with ships having timeslots for the harbour, very strict biosecurity procedures to keep bird flu out, and well-outlined hiking paths.
The story of Ernest Shackleton lives on, and the captain of m/v Fram offered all passengers a toast of Ballantines at the grevesite of Shackleton (below), who died of a heart attack at Grytviken onboard ‘Quest’ while on another Antarctic exploration in 1922.
When the weather is good, the hills surrounding the bay provide views to the mountains, including Mount Paget at 2934m (below).
Rails, wines, worlds 