Antarctic Sound separates the continent from the island of Joinville. The sound is 56 km long and 13 – 22 km wide and has been nicknamed ’Iceberg Alley’ as numerous icebergs drift northwards through it. The rapidly changing weather conditions and the drifting icebergs create a dance of blues and whites that is strangely fascinating.Continue reading “Antarctic Sound and Hope Bay, Antarctica”
Category Archives: Worlds
Brown Bluff, Antarctica
At the end of the Antarctic Peninsula stands Brown Bluff, a 745m high volcanic mountain. It has been named after its steep slopes and its brown-black stone. The stone is eroded by the constant winds (below). The redeeming feature of the mountain is the cobble and ash beach at its seaside. Elsewhre it is surroundedContinue reading “Brown Bluff, Antarctica”
Elephant Island, off the coast of Antarctica
Elephant Island is covered by mountains, glaciers and snow. No humans here, but there are penguins (gentoos and chinstraps) and some seals. The island is named after elephant seals (or its form, or both). The island was found by the Brits and charted by the Russians. It is famous for providing shelter for Ernest Shackleton’sContinue reading “Elephant Island, off the coast of Antarctica”
A76A, South Atlantic
The imaginatevely named A76A is currently the world’s largest iceberg, about 135 km long and 26 km wide. It separated from the Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica as part of en even bigger iceberg, the A76, that soon broke into three parts. The biggest of these, A76A, has been drifting around Antarctica for a year,Continue reading “A76A, South Atlantic”
Macaroni in Hercules Bay
Hercules Bay is a small sheltered bay on the North coast of South Georgia. Its inhabitants consist mainly of macaroni penguins, and fur and elephant seals. The rocky and slippery coast poses some difficultes, even though the animals are quite adept at climbing it. The macaroni penguins are distinguished by the yellow feathered crest onContinue reading “Macaroni in Hercules Bay”
Grytviken, South Georgia
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,Continue reading “Grytviken, South Georgia”
Godthul, South Georgia
Godthul is a somewhat sheltered bay on the Northern coast of South Georgia. Until 1937 it hosted a whaling depot to keep some essentials. These days gentoo penguins, fur seals and elephant seals have the place to themselves, with giant petrels, sheathbills and Arctic terns flying around. Off the coastline humpback whales also enjoy theContinue reading “Godthul, South Georgia”
Salisbury Plain and Prince Olav Harbour, South Georgia
Both places can be found on the north shore of South Georgia (see below) – the Salisbury Plain is slightly inland from the Bay of Isles and Prince Olav Harbour is the small inlet just under Cape Buller. You could not land at the coast of the Salisbury Plain, as the beach was already occupiedContinue reading “Salisbury Plain and Prince Olav Harbour, South Georgia”
King Haakon Bay, South Georgia
King Haakon Bay on the southern coast of South Georgia is famous as the landing spot of Ernest Shackleton after him and a few of his crew had to sail a small boat from the Antarctica to South Georgia. This was the Imperial Trans-Antarctica Expedition of 1916 that got shipwrecked and most of the crewContinue reading “King Haakon Bay, South Georgia”
Stanley, Falkland Islands
Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, has a certain frontier town feeling to it despite formally being a cathedral city. The harsh surroundings and the small-scale building stock contribute to this feeling, as does the smallness of the place (about 2000 inhabitants). The harbour has the wreck of ‘Lady Elizabeth’ to remind everybody ofContinue reading “Stanley, Falkland Islands”
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