What a welcome to South Georgia- at last, the wildlife mecca, bustled before our eyes today. We explored Elsehul via Zodiacs as swarms of birds, pinnipeds, and even a bit of carnage could be found! Macaroni penguins were arriving at the rocky cliffs to nest and even a chinstrap penguin was spotted. Some of the naturalists noted seeing more light-mantled, grey-headed albatross in the air and nesting here in Elsehul than ever before. Indeed a fantastic sign of restoration to the seabird populations post rat eradication. The weather was so splendid that we were able to cruise, particularly closely, through the Willis Islands. The steep cliffs were teeming with yet more large birds, seemingly millions of small prions, and a humpback whale to boot! In the afternoon we all could hardly pull ourselves away from the bow after the expert navigation of our bridge team brought the ship nearly to the beaches of Salisbury Plain.
3/14/2022
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National Geographic Explorer
Ushuaia, Argentina
A storm system redirected National Geographic Explorer to dock in Ushuaia one day earlier than anticipated at the beginning of the trip. Our last day together was spent touring the countryside of Ushuaia via buses organized by our wonderful team of agents based in the area. These agents provided a day full of breathtaking landscapes and an assortment of weather patterns. The buses served as a comfortable transport to two different lakes, Lake Escondido and Lake Fagnano. Lake Escondido is also known as Hidden Lake. It earned this name by often being covered in a thick layer of fog that conceals its location. We were lucky the winds were strong enough to provide us with a view at the photo stop alongside the road. At Lake Fagnano, our guests were invited to stroll along the marsh to look for birds. After our visits to the lakes, we were escorted to the top of Ushuaia, giving us a great view for our lunch before returning to the ship. A great day of forest views, snow, and peat bogs.
