Day 9 - St Andrew’s Bay & Gold Harbour

Day 9 - 12th Nov

Awesome day and probably my favorite day so far. St Andrews bay, full of elephant seals, being very aggressive, and lots of king penguins with chicks.

The place stank but it was worth it. Sadly there were lots of dead babies, both penguins and seal, but i guess that is nature. Seeing the Skuas tearing them appart was actually intersting if not a little to graphic.

There was lots of fighting amoungst the elephant seals, the beachmaster and the sneaky guys. As we walked along they had no care that we were so close, or in some cases on their path. They crush women and baibes to chase of the competition so a human was going to be no exception. We had to keep very aware of the surroundings, it was pretty scarey when they came running towards you, and they did, regularly.

The chicks are hillarious, they run around like crazy things. The noise is incredible, each mother baby has an individual call. They are facinating to watch, i could sit here all day.

Gold harbour in the afternoon, more penguins, more babies and more elephant seals. We also saw the gentoo penguins here, they are lovely. We got off the zodiacs and stood watching the baby elephant seals, wieners. One came up to Toms leg and was snuggling in to his waterproofs, Ian explained they are attracked to black. When Tom left the wiener started to suck on my boot, they have no teeth so no damage done. I can`t belive how close we can get to these amazing creatures, they are approaching us and it is one of the best experiences.

More crazy penguins, we headed over a ridge and there were tens of thousands of them in a valley at the bottom of a glacier.

The elephant seals were active, even got to see a little elephant seal porn.

In the evening i took a long nap, not feeling 100% and the last few days have been pretty busy, i just need time to take it all in. Managed to wake up in time for a few rounds of cards, which was a nice way to end the day.

There are lots of photos. I took over 2000 and it has been hard to pick the best. As this has been one of my favorite days it was even harder. Enjoy........


When you all live on top of each other it can sometime get a little to much. A female elephant seal saying get away from me, NOW!

Mother and a very new born baby.

King penguins coming back from feeding

and heading back to feed the hungry tums of this little lot. The Creche, a few adults stay behind to watch them whilst the other adults fish.

Curiosity, gets Sara incredibly close to these very cheeky chicks.

Huge groups of penguins stood invarious stages of their ‘catastrophic’ moult which begins at the end of their breading season and takes 14 days during which time the birds are unable to go to sea and feed.

The pink bit on the beak, which is sometimes orange or yellow, shows what stage they are in the breeding cycle. (I think)

Skuas, they hang around waiting for stray eggs or dead chicks. They also attack and kill live penguins but not without a fight. Sadly this little fellow lost.
I love this pic. This is Michael, he sat for ages taking photos and attracked quite a little crowed of curious chicks.
Taking it easy.
Taking a strole
Oneof my favorite shots, and it is one of mine. You can see his little foot prints behind him.

The beachmaster, who was kind of forcing this young lady. I think bitting her and holding her down is a little bit naughty, but who is going to argue with a 3 ton giant.
Chasing away the competition,the sneaky f**ckers are always on the prowl
sadley there is always a looser. These giants fight to the death sometimes.
A new pup, having a scratch.

Walking with urgency.
Penguins breed about every 18 months. These adults will be getting ready to mate and breed. Other adults will be looking after last years chicks
Of which there are many
Feeding time. The parent and baby call to each other to make sure that they are feeding the right baby. There may be babies that have lost their parents looking for a meal.
Another one of my favorites. Old mans meeting.
before heading off for the seas to catch fish for tea.
This big guy is racing down the beach to scare off a sneaky guy.
Who is hidding behind Chris and Joel, the beach boys, which is a smart move as they are 6ft4 giants.


A wiener, extremely close and looking for something
to suck on. Here he is with my boot in it`s mouth
i didn`t want to move, it was incredible to be so close to those big soppy eyes.
The babies were all in a little estuary, learning how to swim under the careful supervision of a very large female-
Gentoo penguin carefully crossing the estuary, keeping out of the way of the playful babies
These guys stand about 8ft tall in a fight, then slam down oneach other with great force. To see this was amazing
but at the same time very sad. They cause a lot of damage to each other. Most of the big guys are covered in scars.
beautiful king penguin
Mother and baby calling to each other before the mother will give the baby any food.
and finanlly he gets it. Regurgitated squid, yum
A life changing experience, i just wanted to scoop them all up and take them home
The snowey sheaths that keep the poop levels under control, by eating it. The peguins eat squid and krill. There are parts that they don`t digest so there is some nutrients left in it for the birds.

The glacier in Goldharbour. Home to 400,000 pairs of penguins and a lot of seals

MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG

Wednesday 12th November - St Andrew’s Bay & Gold Harbour

Time: 12:00

Latitude: 54° 26.1' S

Longitude: 36° 10.2' W

Wind: Force 4 North West

Sea Conditions: Slight (wave height 0.50 – 1.25m)

Pressure: 998

mbTemperature: 9ºC

During breakfast this morning we heard the clunking of the ship’s anchor being dropped, it was 08:30 and we had reached our destination, St Andrew’s Bay. The staff scout boat located a good landing site and soon after the Zodiac drivers began their ferrying operation, through rather choppy waters, to the shore. Huge bull elephant seals lay around on the black sand as we came ashore while hundreds of king penguins walked around the landing area, obviously intrigued by our sudden arrival. Many of us seized the opportunity to work off the calories from last night’s BBQ and walked right around the bay, avoiding elephant and fur seals along the way. This effort was not without its rewards as we arrived at the largest king penguin colony in South Georgia and sensory overload. The sight, sound and smell of the colony,estimated at 400,000 birds, was breathtaking. Nothing could have prepared us for this experience, something that too few people ever have the chance to see. Huge groups of penguins stood invarious stages of their ‘catastrophic’ moult which begins at the end of their breading season and takes 14 days during which time the birds are unable to go to sea and feed. Large crèches of chicks stood together waiting for their parents to return from the sea with food. The brown ‘woolly’feathers give these youngsters a comical look, it is hard to believe that in the near future they willshed this plumage for the stately black, white and yellow of the adults. It was difficult to tear ourselves away from this spectacle as the call of "last Zodiac" was heard across the radios and wewere forced to retrace our footsteps back to the boats.

The ship navigated towards her new anchor in Gold Harbour while we ate lunch. On our arrival into the bay a southern right whale was seen off the bow. Those of us on deck at this point may have noted the absence of any dorsal fin, a diagnostic characteristic of this species. After a short time the whale dived, raising its huge fluke as if to wave goodbye. John Harrison explained that these whales were hunted heavily throughout the 19th and 20th centuries; their exploitation ending in the 1960s. The fact that they float when dead, where so many other whale species sink, gave them their name as the ‘right’ whale to hunt. Soon we were heading into shore by Zodiac, approaching the ‘wader boys’ who were duly waiting for us, waist deep in the surf. Directly behind the landing site was a wide meltwater stream flowing down toward the sea; offering a safe harbour for hundreds of young elephant seals. These wide eyed wieners were exceptionally curious, oneeven made its way into a shore briefing and much to Tom Bobak’s surprise, sat down on his foot.The sheer number of elephant seals on the beach was astounding, the expedition staff suggested that this was the busiest they had ever seen the black sands of Gold Harbour. Huge harems of females meant large numbers of males, both beachmasters and ‘sneaky breeders’. This concentration of males created an exciting and often violent scene, we would routinely find ourselves very close to these 3-4 tonne giants rearingup and attacking each other with tremendous force. No video or photograph could ever fully capture the energy that surrounds these encounters; to be so close to one of nature’s most powerful displays was incredible. We weaved our way along the beach, avoiding confrontations, until we arrived at the tussacgrass that marks the foot of a huge glacial moraine which dominates the southern part of the bay. John Sparks was based at the top of the hill, photographingthe huge king penguin colony below and answering our questions.

Back aboard the Polar Star we looked back on the bay;recap and briefing highlighted how exceptional the day had been from the staff’s combined years ofexperience. Dinner was a great chance to regale each other with stories of the day. At 20:30 the film Island Life: Macquarie Island was shown, a documentary ofthe rich wildlife that lives on this Australian sub-Antarctic Island.