Day 37 – Royal Bay, South Georgia

I never know what I might find when I open the blinds every morning, but I had a very pleasant surprise today. It was another beautiful day, with patches of blue sky and the sun peeking through from time to time. The weather isn’t supposed to be like this on South Georgia, but no one on the ship was complaining! Some passengers were even sunbathing on the Aquavit Terrace.

A Beautiful Morning in Royal Bay, with a Great View of Weddell Glacier

Although we had been scheduled to visit Moltke Harbour today, we anchored instead in nearby Royal Bay along the east end of South Georgia. Expedition Leader Olivia opted to change the destination because she wanted us to see Royal Bay’s large penguin colony, numbering around 30,000 King penguins. Royal Bay is known as one of the windiest bays in South Georgia, with occasional hurricane force squalls. Luckily, we did not experience those winds today.

Alas, the beautiful morning weather had already changed to heavily overcast skies by the time Tim and I boarded our zodiac this afternoon, and fog seemed likely to roll in. Sara was our guide again, which was great, and she steered us toward the rocky shoreline of Royal Bay to see the thousands of King penguins on this narrow, mile-long stretch of land.

Heading Out on Our Zodiac Cruise

All Those Black and White Dots Are King Penguins

The sheer number of penguins in one area was astonishing, and it seemed as though there were nearly as many juvenile penguin chicks as adults. Olivia later called the chicks “fluff nuggets,” a perfect description of these adorable birds. A few fur and elephant seals were also lounging on the shore.

So Many King Penguins

The Brown "Fluff Nuggets" Are Juvenile King Penguin Chicks

A Few Seals Were In and Out of the Water

I’m glad that the crew from Viking Octantis can participate in at least some of the excursions. For many of the crew members, this is their first expedition cruise, and most of them, like us, have never experienced destinations like this. Today, Daria and Ashley from Guest Services happened to be on our zodiac, which I was happy to see.

Tim, Daria, and Ashley

Before long, it began to snow, and the fog was beginning to obscure Weddell Glacier and the surrounding mountain peaks.

Snow and Fog Began to Obscure Weddell Glacier and the Mountains

As we started to make our way back to the ship, we saw a rare, but gruesome, sight – a fur seal had killed a penguin near our zodiac. Fur seals normally only eat fish but have been known to kill penguins on occasion. Yes, I know it’s nature, but I didn’t care to watch, and I took no photos.

After returning to the ship, Tim waited around for his SOB cruise an hour later. As I looked outside, at least what I could see of it, I was happy I had previously decided not to join him. Tim, however, ventured back into the snow and wind. By the time he returned, the fog was so thick that his SOB pilot needed to use his GPS to find Viking Octantis.

I knew that it had been snowing, but I had no idea how much snow had accumulated until Tim and I went to dinner and looked outside on the deck. The crew had recently shoveled a path, which was getting covered again. Ah, spring in the southern reaches of the world – sunbathing in the morning and snow in the afternoon.

It Was Still Snowing This Evening