SOUTH GEORGIA - Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris - … · Fortuna Bay and Stromness 8 November 18-19 ... We bid farewell to ... 1 November 2015 At Sea to South Georgia Island Day 2 By

S O U T H G E O R G I AA N D F A L K L A N D I S L A N D SC H E E S E M A N S ’ E C O L O G Y S A F A R I S E X P E D I T I O N L O G 2 0 1 5

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E X P E D I T I O N L O G

South Georgia and Falkland Islands 31 October to 16 November 2015

CHEESEMANS’ ECOLOGY SAFARIS

Designed by Teresa FlobergEdited by Gina Barton and Teresa Floberg

Written by Gina Barton, Pauline Carr, Joe Kaplan, Artie Morris, Rosie Seton, Dave Shoch, Janet Wiener and Jon Wiener

Images by Passengers and Sta� as credited

Cover PhotoKing PenguinBy Glenn Bartley

Back Cover PhotoSouthern Elephant SealsBy Tashi Tenzing

Title Page Photo Male Southern Elephant SealBy Ty Smedes

This Page Photo Landscape with South Georgia ShagsBy Pat Lillich

Next Page Photo King PenguinsBy Muriel McClellan

COPYRIGHT NOTICECopyright ©2015 Cheesemans’ Ecology SafarisPhotographers hold the copyright to their work.

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Introduction 2

Flight to Falklands and Embarkation 31 October 3

At Sea to South Georgia 1 November 4

At Sea to South Georgia 2 November 5

South Georgia Island 6-7

Undine Harbour 3 November 8-9

King Haakon Bay and Elsehul 4 November 10-11

Grytviken 5 November 12-13

Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord 6 November 14-15

Gold Harbour and Godthul 7 November 16-17

Fortuna Bay and Stromness 8 November 18-19

St. Andrews Bay 9 November 20-21

Salisbury Plain and Prion Island 10 November 22-23

At Sea en Route to the Falklands 11 November 24-25

At Sea en Route to the Falklands 12 November 26

At Sea and Stanley Disembarkation 13 November 27

At Sea O� shore of Falklands 14 November 28

At Sea and Ushuaia Disembarkation 15-16 November 29

Expedition Sta� 31

Species List by Date 32-33

The Many Faces of Nature 34-35

Photo Montage 36-37

Friends of South Georgia Island 38

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By Ted Cheeseman, Expedition Leader

A FANTASTIC VOYAGEWelcome friends! Wander through the pages ahead and let yourself remember the glory and intensity of our South Georgia voyage. �ere is no place like South Georgia on our blue planet, its

very remoteness and inaccessibility heightening the treasure we found on its coasts.

Now is a special time for South Geor-gia, on land and at sea rebounding to a wildness not enjoyed for centuries; we saw how the rat and reindeer eradica-

tions are allowing South Georgia Pipit populations to explode and vegetation to recover. At sea, we believe whale pop-ulations are rebounding, even while cli-mate and ocean chemistry is changing.

�ank you for joining us; these images speak volumes but only hint at the full

scale of beauty, and I can think of no better group to have shared the expe-rience with. I want to extend a special thanks and dedication of this voyage log to all of our fantastic expedition sta� who made such an ambitious itinerary possible.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Zodiac Cruising Lynne Bergbreiter

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Day 1 Flight to Falklands and Embarkation 31 October 2015

By Gina Barton

FLIGHT TO STANLEYWe awoke early to enjoy our breakfast before checking into our �ight to Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands. All but those already in Punta Arenas or the Falk-lands shared the �ight together, so there was talking and excitement despite the early hour. During our �ight we expe-rienced beautiful views of the glaciers, valleys, and lakes of the Andes Moun-tains plus an interesting menu of snack choices for our meal service. During our quick stop in Punta Arenas to go through Chile customs, we got some looks at Upland Geese running at the runway edge. Despite the winds whip-ping across the plane making it wobble side to side, the pilot made an impres-sively smooth landing in the Falklands, which welcomed us with windy, cloudy, and drizzly weather. �e tiny Mount Pleasant Airport was a little chaotic with lines to get through customs weav-ing alongside the one luggage carousel.

BOARDING THE ORTELIUSDuring our hour-long bus drive to Stan-ley to board the Ortelius, we got brief glimpses of wildlife along the rolling hills dotted with rocks. Upon arrival we learned that a storm was headed in so the Captain wanted to depart earli-er than planned, so we had to quickly

check-in on board the Ortelius, brie�y settle into our cabins (our new home!) in time to have a safety brie�ng and emergency test run. A�er our brie�ngs we were introduced to our Captain and Expedition Sta� and enjoyed a toast from our Captain. We bid farewell to the protected harbor at Stanley as we entered the choppy seas and began the rocky voyage to South Georgia. Our �rst dinner on board was quiet as folks unaccustomed to the motion of the ship retreated to their cabins. But for those that remained, we could feel the excite-ment of our journey to South Georgia and what it would bring.

The Ortelius Approaching a Rainbow Clemens Vanderwerf

Janet Cole Ready to Set Sail Teresa Blase Chief O�cer Sven Haindl on the Bridge Teresa Blase

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1 November 2015 At Sea to South Georgia Island Day 2

By Dave Shoch

SAILING EAST�e Ortelius shuddered and heaved through the night and into the morning, generously redistributing loose items in our cabins. On the bridge, the gauges re-corded Force 10, at least 50-knot winds, and swells averaging a healthy 6 meters. A few stalwarts stepped out in the early morning, amid bouts of snow and hail, before the captain made the call to close the outside decks. �e force of the sea was on full display, with occasional 25- to 30-foot swells belying the 300-foot length of the Ortelius. �e intensity of the weather seemed to kindle the �ight of the southern ocean birds to exhila-rating extremes. We were accompanied

by Cape Petrels, Southern Fulmars, Northern and Southern giant-petrels, and Black-browed and Gray-headed albatrosses. �ose fortunate few out on deck in the morning were also treated to the appearance of a single Antarctic Petrel, a bird seldom seen away from the Antarctic continent and unexpected in these waters, perhaps brought north-ward by the storm. Following the deck closure, many gathered a�er breakfast on the bridge, where we continued to observe the southern ocean spectacle through the spray-soaked windows.

LEC TURES AND BIOSECURIT YLectures carried us through much of the day: Dave reviewed the identi�cation of southern ocean birds at sea, Moe gave

a lecture on landscape photography, Hugh presented an orientation on the operation of the Zodiacs and landing protocols … In the a�ernoon we began the slow, steady, sometimes tedious, process of inspecting and cleaning and re-cleaning our onshore gear in prepa-ration for our landings on South Geor-gia. �e South Georgia government re-quires intensive biosecurity screening to prevent the introduction of non-na-tive organisms that, especially given the rapidly changing climatic conditions in the region, have the potential to severely disrupt the unique natural communities on the island. We would do our part to protect the integrity of the crown jewel of the Antarctic.

DAY 2 AT NOONLocation Scotia Sea

Latitude 52˚11’ 9 S

Longitude 53˚12’ 4 W

Total Sailed 180 miles

Wind 45 knots SW

Air Temperature 4°C

Weather Overcast

ON DECKA�er the weather lessened some in the a�ernoon, the outside decks were re-opened and many of us re-emerged to enjoy the seabird show. It is interest-ing to imagine being plopped down to some unknown stretch of ocean, with no bearings or sense of latitude or lon-gitude, and having to locate your gen-eral position by inference from the bird community around you. �e fast-�ying Atlantic Petrels arcing over the ocean swells and visible from the deck of the Ortelius in the a�ernoon indicated that we are somewhere in the south Atlan-tic and north of the Antarctic Conver-gence, as they are birds typical of the warmer waters of the Falklands current. We ended the day with an impressive count of great albatrosses, the masters of the southern ocean winds: 5-10 Wan-dering Albatross and 10-15 Southern Royal Albatross.

Gray-headed Albatross Ted Cheeseman Southern Fulmar Ty Smedes

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Day 3 At Sea to South Georgia Island 2 November 2015





Wind 32 knots NW


Weather Overcast

and Southern Ocean wildlife,” Pauline’s discussion of “Environmental Issues Facing South Georgia”, and �nally a vi-sually-pleasing a�er dinner lecture by shipmate Clemens Vanderwerf “South Georgia: A perspective from a Wildlife Photographer”.

PREPARATION FOR SOUTH GEORGIABetween bird spotting and informative lectures we also commenced the nit-ty-gritty task of denuding our clothing and equipment of foreign biomass un-der the well-regulated South Georgia

Biosecurity Requirements. �e sound of vacuums and a full compliment of twee-zers, headlamps, and watch-full eyes is our assurance that our visit to South Georgia would leave only footprints and take only a terabyte or two of memory.

By Joe Kaplan

BIRDS AT SEAWith the sea-state continuing to im-prove so does our enthusiasm as we steam towards South Georgia in open ocean. �is morning delivers our �rst iceberg bits unexpectedly early into fo-cus along with a full complement of sea-birds and lectures. By mid-morning the Bridge opens the bow quickly followed with �rst views of King Penguin, Brown Skua, Slender-billed Prion, Kerguelen Petrel, Light-mantled Albatross, and diving-petrel the “�ying football.”

Our lecture series complemented this rich assortment of seabirds; Ron pre-sented his popular “Animal Scapes” and “Shooting Video and SLR Cameras”, Pauline and Tim’s “Grytviken ‘Antarctic Outpost’”, followed by Moe’s “Creative Photography Techniques for Land-scapes,” Joe’s primer on “South Georgia

Black-browed Albatross, Cape Petrel, Southern Giant-Petrel Ted Cheeseman

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S O U T H G E O R G I A I S L A N D

King Penguin Colony, St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Ron Niebrugge

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S O U T H G E O R G I A I S L A N D

Point Landing Date

1 Undine Harbour 3 Nov

2 Elsehul 4 Nov

3 King Haakon Bay 4 Nov

4 Grytviken 5 Nov

5 Cooper Bay 6 Nov

6 Drygalski Fjord 6 Nov

7 Gold Harbour 7 Nov

8 Godthul 7 Nov

9 Fortuna Bay 8 Nov

10 Stromness 8 Nov

11 St. Andrews Bay 9 Nov

12 Salisbury Plain 10 Nov

13 Prion Island 10 Nov

Antarctic Fur Seals Douglas Bullock

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2

3

4

56

7

8

910

11

12

13

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3 November 2015 Undine Harbour Day 4

By Joe Kaplan

�e early morning �nds us within the territorial boundaries of South Geor-gia, approximately 40 miles east of Shag Rocks – a set of rocky fangs that rise 250 feet out of the ocean along the Scotia Ridge. �e day is beautiful as we greet our �rst (of many) Snow Petrels along with Blue Petrel, Fairy Prion, and South Georgia Shag (com-pliments of Shag Rocks). An all-too-brief Sperm Whale also cruised by the ship providing our �rst ver-i�able cetacean of the voyage.

LAND HO!With Biosecurity measures complet-ed we are ready for South Georgia. Shouts of “Land Ho!” rever-berate across the bow at 2 p.m. as we continue to sail towards our destination of Undine Harbour through the scenic and rugged Willis and Bird Islands. We �nally reach our destination and begin Zodiac operation at 4 p.m.; our �rst taste (and smell) of South Georgia.

As expected, hoped, and realized, the rocky beaches of Undine Harbour are

active with the likes of Gentoo Pen-guins, molting King Penguins, feisty Antarctic Fur Seals, harem-gathering Southern Elephant Seals, inquisitive sheathbills, marauding gi-ant-petrels,

watchful Brown Skuas, hovering Antarctic Terns, winging Yellow-billed (South Geor-

gia) Pintails and much to our surprise diminutive and singing South Georgia Pipits.

Adjectives and accolades aside, this short three-hour

landing

servesup nearly a full compliment of South Georgia wildlife along with four sea-

View through a Hawsehole

Phil Marcus

sons of weather – and, no doubt, an indelible memory for all a�er such a long journey to this special and isolated station.

By Janet Wiener

HIKE AT UNDINELand ho! It was great to �nally set our

feet on solid ground. A�er all Zodi-acs were ashore Tashi led the hike

up through the tussock grass for a view. �e trek through

a stream, mud, and the grass itself proved to be a challenging climb. We lost a few hikers a�er one took a fall into the water and mud at the start of the hike. From up above, the views of the mountains, beach, a Gentoo Penguin col-

ony, and across the is-land were rewarding. We

saw our �rst South Georgia Pipit here, as well as a Yel-

low-billed (South Georgia) Pin-tail. Upon descending, we trekked

back along and through a stream, crossing it several times to avoid the fur seals. A few Gentoo Penguins trekked up the stream towards us and here an-other hiker took a bath in the cool water when she slipped on the rocks.

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Day 4 Undine Harbour 3 November 2015





Wind 35 knots NW


Weather Overcast

Launching the Zodiac Phil Marcus Poses Teresa Blase

Bellowing Southern Elephant Seal Teresa Blase Gentoo Penguin Alan Lillich

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4 November 2015 King Haakon Bay and Elsehul Day 5

DAY 5 AT NOONLocation Stewart Strait




Wind 25 knots WSW


Weather Overcast

By Pauline Carr

SHACKLETON CROSSING THWARTEDOur alarm went o� at 4 a.m. so that the climbers who were planning to do the Shackleton Route could get an early breakfast before disembarking. Recep-tion was full of skis, big packs, and men wearing climbing harnesses - an excit-ing scene. �e weather had been clear early on but snow squalls began to come storming down the long �ord and guide Tashi Tenzing’s face showed concern. A�er breakfast the decision was made - better to have another try later than be caught in strong winds on the glaciers.

We were anchored o� Peggotty Blu�. �is is the historic site where Shackle-ton’s boat, the James Caird, was hauled up the beach and turned upside down for three men to live underneath until Captain Worsley could return with the whale catcher Samson to rescue them. Some of the passengers were able to view the hallowed blu� and beach from the ships decks and marvel at the dra-matic scenery all around. By the time everyone was up and about the ships anchor began to drag, so the time was clearly right to depart.

REPOSITIONINGOrtelius repositioned to Elsehul where we had better shelter for the ship. On the way we detoured slightly to view a spectacular tabular iceberg at least one mile long, probably grounded on near-

by reefs.

Pauline read aloud from Captain Wors-ley’s account of approaching this dra-matic coast in the tiny James Caird in hurricane force winds and high seas. A

chilling tale of almost unimaginable hard-ship.

�is was followed by Tim and Pauline’s third entertaining lecture in their series about their 14 years exploring South Georgia by boat, by ski and by “boot.”

ELSEHULElsehul beckoned - calm waters in a wildlife amphithe-atre.

Light-mantled Albatrosses Alan Jones Southern Elephant Seals Les Sharp

Giant-Petrel in Front of a Tabular Iceberg Phil Marcus

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Day 5 King Haakon Bay and Elsehul 4 November 2015

kings, gentoo, Black-browed Albatross, giant-petrels and - for some the high trilling territorial song of South Ge-origa Pipits was the “icing on the cake”. Joe photographed three wee chicks on the nest. Pauline saw tiny tracks in the snow and stopped in alarm to examine them in case they were from rats that had escaped the eradication program three years ago. But the long lines that might have been rats tails were made by the South Georgia Pipits’ spurs (long hind claws) and it seemed entirely right that the once common rat tracks had been supplanted by South Georgia Pipit tracks. Tim and Pauline had never seen a pipit in Elsehul during 23 years of vis-its - now, suddenly, there were dozens.

By Janet Wiener

HIKE TO GRAY-HEADED ALBATROSSUnable to land on the desired beach, we trekked a steep ascent and weaved through tussock to see Gray-headed Albatross nesting. We had clear views of these birds both in their nests and �ying overhead. Wildlife on this hike was plentiful with Gentoo Penguins, fur seals, birds, and a fantastic view of the beaches below. Giant-petrel nests were particularly plentiful mid-hike and we had to be cau-tious about maintaining distance so we would not disturb them. And at one overlook we watched

Gray-headed Albatross showed up white across the cove - a long walk for the hardy but amply rewarded. A short-er walk took us to Light-mantled Alba-tross sites and incredible views out to sea on both sides of the anchorage. We saw

several giant-petrels on the beach with bloody heads as they feasted on the carcass of an animal.

Glen

n Bar

tley

S no w PetrelGentoo Penguin on Nest Teresa Blase

Elsehul Teresa Blase

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5 November 2015 Grytviken Day 6

DAY 6 AT NOONLocation Cumberland Bay




Wind 10 knots N


Weather Partly Cloudy

By Dave Shoch

HIKE FROM MAIVIKEN TO GRY T VIKENWith our plans for a morning landing at Hercules Bay thwarted by danger-ous swells, we redirected the Ortelius to Maiviken, where our intrepid contin-gent of hikers would begin their over-land crossing to Grytviken. Here con-

ditions were calmer and inviting, with brilliant blue skies and sculptured ice in the bay just o� the beach. �e coast-al tussock above the cobble gave way to short dry grassland, and easier stepping, as we ascended toward the pass between Maiviken and Grytviken. �e snow was brilliant o� the slopes of Mt Hodges, to the point of blinding, but allowed a more e�ortless descent from the pass for

those of us with skis or snowshoes. �e church steeple was the �rst sign of civ-ilization to appear, a welcoming sight, but a�er rounding the bend into Gry-tviken, abruptly juxtaposed against the rusting remains of the whaling station, presenting a microcosm of humanity’s range of achievements.

Hike from Maiviken to Grytviken Glenn Bartley

Overlooking Grytviken Phil Marcus Macro Janet Cole

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Day 6 Grytviken 5 November 2015

GRY T VIKENHere in Grytviken the hikers met up with the rest of the group, which had sailed around from Maiviken into King Edward Cove. We all gathered at the cemetery to pay tribute to Sir Ernest Shackleton. Pauline led our toast, and we raised our plastic cups of scotch to �e Boss -

“For scienti�c discovery give me Scott; for speed and e�ciency of travel give me Amundsen; but when the chips are down and all hope is lost, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” [Sir Raymond Priestly]

In Grytviken proper we took full advan-tage of our brief access to civilization,

exploring the whaling museum, shop-ping in the museum gi� shop, and mail-ing post cards (which we were destined to beat home as the last mail shipment had gone out just a few days before). In the evening we brought most of the pop-ulation of Grytviken and King Edward

Point aboard the Ortelius for a bar-beque on deck, with gluehwein on tap to warm us against the descending cold. A�erward, Sarah Lurcock present-ed the ongoing work of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, inspiring our upcoming auction.

Maiviken Mark Maletsky

Zodiac Phil Marcus

Posing Antarctic Fur Seal Liz Green Grytviken Church Marian Herz Derelict Whaling Ship, the Petrel Marian Herz

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6 November 2015 Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord Day 7

By Joe Kaplan

COOPER BAY AND DRYGALSKI FJORDFour-season weather (mostly winter) appeared again this morning in Cooper Bay – our “last chance” destination for a quality Macaroni Penguin experience and our “only chance” to see Chinstrap Penguin from shore (an avian cholera outbreak among the Chinstraps in past years keeps this colony closed for land-ings). Fortunately, our tenacity paid o� – Macs were enjoyed by Zodiac and on foot against a backdrop of fresh snow as these krill-dependent penguins arrived fresh from months at sea to their nesting colonies hidden in the rock and tussock of the south end of South Georgia. As our luck would continue this morning

we found a narrow window of oppor-tunity to thread ourselves through the rocky tidal islets of Cooper Bay to view Chinstrap Penguins along the beach and then again in the a�ernoon spotting a group of ten hauled out on an iceberg. With Macaroni and Chinstrap mem-ories safely secure we sail towards the geologically rich Drygalski Fjord and enjoy a bridge-side lecture by Hugh on the complexity and signi�cance of the Fjords basalt lava �ows, and the meta-morphic material remaining from the original Gondwana continental plate margin. �e day �nds its conclusion with a chilly Zodiac cruise up Larsen Harbor in the company of Snow Petrels, Antarctic Terns, and the Weddell Seal – the southerly most ranging mammal.

Macaroni Penguin Debra Herst Snowy Sheathbill Ty Smedes

Weddell Seal Heather Cunningham Gentoo Penguins Pat Lillich

Chinstrap Penguin Poses Cindy Kassab Oakum Boys at Gold Harbour Les Sharp

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Day 7 Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord 6 November 2015

DAY 7 AT NOONLocation Cooper Bay




Wind 25 knots SW


Weather Mostly Cloudy

By Janet Wiener

HIKE AT COOPER BAY�e decision to do a trek or spend time at the Macaroni Penguin colony was a di�cult one to make. �is meant we’d also miss an opportunity to see the Chinstrap Penguins on a Zodiac cruise. But, for those who opted to follow Tim and his skis, whether walking in snowshoes, or following behind on the packed snow while sometimes stepping into deep snow, there was a tremen-dous reward ahead. We walked up over snowy tussock hills, a bit inland from the beach, and enjoyed beautiful land-scape. Passing fur seals, elephant seals, gentoos, giant-petrels, and then seeing our �rst King Penguins, this hike en-chanted and rewarded all who opted in. It was here that the hikers saw their �rst Oakum Boys as the snow and wind pelted us. A sailboat was anchored in the bay and Tim indicated they had

ni�cant area around her. So we diverted inland up over a snowy hillside covered with tussock grass rising to the right of us on another hillside where the fur

seals were resting and returned to spend about 15 more minutes with the Maca-roni Penguins.

navigated further into this same bay with the Curlew. On our return a fur seal gave Tim a good chase and clearly indicated her intention to guard a sig-

Dahlia Battles the Elements at Gold Harbour Les Sharp

Macaroni Penguin Alan Jones

Weddell Seals Cindy Kassab

King Penguins Entering the Surf Elaine Heron

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7 November 2015 Gold Harbour and Godthul Day 8

DAY 8 AT NOONLocation Gold Harbour




Wind 25 knots WSW


Weather Overcast

By Gina Barton

GOLD HARBOUROur 4:30 a.m. landing was cancelled because of gusting winds over 60 knots, but thankfully the winds died down enough to allow us some time at beloved Gold Harbour. Approaching the dark beach of Gold Harbour you could start to see that the beach was not dark from the sand, but from the many bodies of Southern Elephant Seals inhabiting it. We landed overwhelmed with many elephant seals on the beach – weaners, pups, young males practice �ghting, weaners trying to cuddle with our gear (and sometimes people!). Kings wan-dered around the beach. We �nally had our �rst good looks at Oakum Boys who were interactive with each other and us while listening at the cacophony of their whistles. We still took it all in despite the strong gusts and low visibility, nev-er quite getting a view of the stunning

mountains and glacier backdrop to the colony. We also had to watch our back as male elephant seals bellowed to pro-tect their harems and on occasion chas-ing each other. Sadly, the gusts eventu-ally became too strong and the landing was cut short.

By Janet Wiener

HIKE AT GOLD HARBOUROur �rst colony of King Penguin chicks was delightful. We trekked back

break in the colony in this area and with increasingly strong winds, this looked like it might be the safest and quickest route back. We successfully navigated through this area, to the beach and back to the Zodiacs.

through the tussock grass over to a ridge that overlooked the colony. Wind speed increased almost immediate-ly a�er we reached the ridge and visi-bility of the colony below worsened. We’d just been ordered to get down o� our feet to wait for a break in the wind when a call on the radio reached out to sta�. Wind speed was gusting to over 60 knots and we needed to get back to the boat. We estimated 40 minutes or more to backtrack the route we’d taken to this spot. But, there was potentially a shorter route through the tussock and across a river to the beach, provided it was crossable. �ere appeared to be a

Joining the Group Janet GarrisonMacro Janet Cole

King Penguins Janet Cole

Macro Janet Cole

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Day 8 Gold Harbour and Godthul 7 November 2015

By Gina Barton

GODTHULA�er everyone was safe on board, we headed to our next scheduled a�ernoon stop, St. Andrews Bay. Unfortunately, the weather (70-knot winds) was no better at St. Andrews, so we scrapped the landing there and headed to God-thul known for being a sheltered spot from South Georgia’s weather – the word is Norwegian for “good cove.” �e harbor was very quiet, no winds, and sunny, demonstrating the varied weath-er conditions of South Georgia. Our landing was small with some resident elephant seals, gentoos, and kings with some whaling remnants along the shore from a time long past.

By Janet Wiener

HIKE AT GODTHULWe ascended with Tim and Tashi up to summit. As we arrived on the sum-mit, Tashi exclaimed “this is just like the summit on Everest, there’s room for about 30 people up here.” He warned us to move away and not walk on the snow cornice at the top of the mountain. We all took in the wonderful views of the other side of the mountain, celebrated with pictures, and waved to the boat below. Later on the ship, someone who had been on the boat when we called and said we had reached the summit indicated that they could see us way up above dotting the summit. Descending

we passed two gentoo nesting areas and found an empty gentoo egg, which had likely been a skua’s dinner.

Cracked Egg Janet Cole

Summit Tashi Tenzing

Godthul Douglas Bullock

Oakum Boys Thierry Deschryver

Curious Oakum Boy Brian Snell

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8 November 2015 Fortuna Bay and Stromness Day 9

By Pauline Carr

FORTUNA BAY

Ted’s dulcet tones awoke us to �nd Ortelius in another spectacular anchor-age. High peaks encircled the bay, two glaciers and steep grassy buttresses embraced a black sand beach. Fortuna Bay is steeped in Shackleton history, so we were able to see the route that Shackleton, Worsley and Crean took to descend from the glaciers onto safe terrain, trek around the bay and head o� back up into the mountains on the last leg of their epic self rescue.A�er breakfast we landed between ter-ritorial fur seal bulls, and most folk headed up the bay to a beautiful king penguin colony of about 12,000 pairs.

Oakum Boys (King Penguin chicks) were easily accessible at the edge of the colony and several were very inquisitive inspecting us and our gear. A pair of Light-mantled Albatross circled above us but we were not able to �nd a nest site this time. However Joe, ever eagle-eyed, found a South Georgia Pipit nest and a juvenile being fed. It came out of the nest for some lucky photographers - still without a proper tail and its feet looked huge and out of proportion to its tiny body. �is was probably the �rst South Georgia Pipit nest seen in Fortuna for perhaps 200 years or more.

A�er lunch a band of keen and hardy hikers followed Tim, Tashi and Hugh up to the col some 300 metres up a long moraine ridge. Ted brought up the rear. Out of our sight they then continued past the lake named a�er Tom Crean

where their tracks converged with Shackleton’s. Up at the top, surround-ed by steep crags, the wind increased dramatically and it was di�cult to keep their footing.

STROMNESSMeanwhile in the quiet comfort of Or-telius the rest of us steamed out to sea and made the short voyage to Stromness Bay. Here the Captain took us into Leith Harbour before reaching Stromness where we were to pick up the climbers from the beach by the whaling station. Tracks high in the mountains traced across a great snow slope marking a fun glissade or ski that greatly speeded up and simpli�ed their descent into Shack-leton Valley.

Before we le� Fortuna, Pauline had read from Captain Frank Worsleys ac-

count of part of the journey, and then in Stromness she recounted more of this epic story, as well as some whaling details and insights into the life of the whalers. She also told us, a surprise to many, how the 1982 con�ict with Ar-gentina had begun in South Georgia, in Leith Harbour and details about the �ghting.

�e wind had really picked up and wil-ly-waws, small whirlwinds whipping up the waters of the bay, sealed the deci-sion for us not to go ashore. However the climbers were picked up safely and came aboard tired but extremely happy with their hike and satis�ed with their e�orts.

It was a happy ship, and the volume of chatter and laughter over another splen-did dinner ended another exciting day.

King Penguins Tashi Tenzing

South Georgia Pipit Juvenile Marian Herz

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Day 9 Fortuna Bay and Stromness 8 November 2015

DAY 9 AT NOONLocation Fortuna Bay




Wind 25 knots variable


Weather Overcast

By Janet Wiener

HIKE FROM FORTUNA TO STROMNESSPauline Carr pointed to the pass where Shackleton and his men came into For-tuna Bay on their hike and we anxiously loaded onto the Zodiacs to begin our hike. Beautiful blue icebergs �oated in the bay below as we gained altitude, ascending from the beach, over tus-sock grass, scree slopes, and onto snow again. �e wind was �erce and we bat-tled it on foot while Hugh, Tim, and Ted did so on skis. At times, the strength of the wind brought us all to the ground to avoid being blown over. �e wind remained strong throughout this hike and gave us all an appreciation for the weather Shackleton and his men faced as they trekked this same �nal stretch into Stromness. A�er descending part way down the steep slope on foot to-

wards the old whaling station structures far below us, we slid on our bums down the mountainside. Sta� had been alert-ed that the wind was blowing 60 knots at the ship and so Hugh said that prob-ably meant 80 knots or more up where we had come from. We headed prompt-ly towards the beach, across the braided riverbed, past the fur seals guarding the Stromness whaling station, and loaded immediately into Zodiacs to return to the ship. �e wind had the ship listing rather noticeably as we approached it during the semi-wet ride back to the ship, grateful as ever for the skill of our

Zodiac drivers and crew who brought all aboard safely in the wind and sea swell.

King Penguins in the Surf Janet GarrisonKing Penguin and Chick Marian Herz

King Penguin Denise Ippolito

King Penguin Molting Denise Ippolito

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9 November 2015 St. Andrews Bay Day 10

DAY 10 AT NOONLocation St. Andrews Bay




Wind 17 knots N


Weather Overcast

By Dave Shoch

ST. ANDREWS BAYA�er our shutout from St. Andrews Bay two days before, we planned our sec-ond landing attempt for this morning, hopeful but cautious of the potential for deteriorating weather conditions. St. Andrews Bay is directly exposed to incoming easterly ocean swells, and landings there are o�en challenging and subject to suspension at short no-tice. With the Ortelius parked a cau-tious distance o�shore, we guided the Zodiacs to the beach at 4 a.m., mindful that our time ashore would likely be curtailed by mounting seas in the af-ternoon, and ready to make the most of the morning. �ose early risers were

treated to a transient, but brilliant pink/peach alpenglow cast o� the peaks of Mt Brooker and Nordenskjold Peak, light-ing a magical backdrop to St. Andrews Bay. On arrival, we quickly �agged out a route from our landing site to the top of the moraine overlooking the main King Penguin colony, fording the river bisecting the beach and full of molt-ing King Penguins. From the moraine, the immensity and decibel level of the colony was on full display. St. Andrews Bay is the largest King Penguin colony on South Georgia, and second in size only to the colony on Macquarie Island on the other side of the world. �e last estimate (Clarke et. al. 2012) was of ~ 150,000 pairs and growing, which, to-gether with this year’s Oakum Boys and

non-breeding subadults present, would potentially approach half a million birds at St. Andrews. From Zodiac cruis-es along the beach we took in the full expanse of the colony, and beyond the icy lake growing at the foot of the Cook Glacier. �e Zodiacs a�orded point blank views of King Penguins in the surf, Cape Petrels and Antarctic Terns, and we discovered along the beach a fresh elephant seal carcass lorded over by blood-drenched Southern Giant-Pe-trels, which a�erward, somehow out of character, rested o�shore to carefully wash themselves clean.

Most of us returned to the Ortelius to warm up on board and recharge with a hot lunch, though with waning hope for an extended a�ernoon landing. Re-

Southern Elephant Seal Lynne Bergbreiter Southern Elephant Seal Weaners Fran Maletsky

markably, when we re-emerged from the ship a�er lunch, the bay was almost �at calm, inviting us all to return. �e a�ernoon on the beach was leisure-ly, and adjective seldom used on these voyages, with time to roam, explore the kelp-fringed rocks north of the landing beach, sit with the Southern Elephant

21

Day 10 St. Andrews Bay 9 November 2015

Seal weaners gravitated to the collection of dry bags … an epic day with a so� landing.

By Jon Wiener

HIKE AT ST. ANDREWSAdvertised as a 1,500-foot climb, this hike did not disappoint anyone looking for a challenge. It started out innocent-ly enough, with a gentle climb for the �rst few hundred feet. Once we gained a little elevation Tim wasted no time get-ting his skis on so he could take advan-tage of the so� snow we were walking through. However, as we climbed high-

er the snow got harder and the pitch got steeper. As we got beyond the mid-point of the climb those without snow-shoes were advised to not continue. Our group of roughly 11 hikers dropped to about 8. As we reached around 1,000 feet of elevation things got much more di�cult, with the hard pack snow be-coming pretty much ice, and the climb becoming extremely steep. Tim lost traction with his skis, falling and slid-ing down about 10-15 feet. Fortunate-ly he was able to regain traction, since he could have easily fallen a lot further and/or slid into rocks.

As Tim regained his footing, Tashi, who had been bringing up the rear, caught up and quickly decided that there was an easier way up. Fortunately he was correct, and we followed him up to a ridge at about 1,200 feet. A�er resting for a few minutes we decided to climb the �nal portion of the mountain. As we started climbing the wind picked up and clouds blew in, obscuring the peak. We took it as an omen and decided it was time to head back down.

Although we did not achieve our goal it was an enjoyable hike with plenty of excitement and views of the colony and beach area.

By Ted Cheeseman

THE HEANEY GLACIERFrom satellite observations we know that the vast majority of the glaciers of South Georgia are receding. �e Heaney Glacier in St. Andrews Bay has retreated at a rate of about 100m (330 feet) per year, or close to a foot a day, for the last decade, making its recession quite slow by comparison to many. About 15 miles south in Iris Bay, the Twitcher Glacier has retreated 1.5 miles in the last 5 years, about 4 feet per day, four times as fast as the Heaney Glacier photographed here.

2006 2015

Heaney Glacier in 2006 Ted Cheeseman Heaney Glacier in 2015 Ted Cheeseman

22

10 November 2015 Salisbury Plain and Prion Island Day 11

By Artie Morris

THE MORNING AT SALISBURY PLAINIn the morning, we landed early at the main Salisbury Plain King Penguin Rookery. �e photographers were bless-ed by sweet light early, and then later, by perfect cloudy bright conditions. Some hiked to the top to enjoy spectacular views while others enjoyed a Zodiac cruise down the beach. Along the water’s edge large groups of kings were loa�ng and leaving or entering the water to feed as small groups of Antarctic Terns dived for tiny bait�sh nearby. Amazingly there were several large groups of Cape

Petrels �oating very close to the beach. Many Southern Oceans vets had never seen this behavior before. And neither had I. �en it was back to the Ortelius for lunch.

THE PLAN�e a�ernoon landings at Prion Island were to be made in two shi�s, with the Deck 5 folks in the �rst wave at 1:15 p.m. and Decks 3 & 4 folks in the second wave at 3:15 p.m. �e ascents to view the hoped-for Wandering Albatross would be in tightly controlled groups of 12. We hoped to view and possibly photograph this endangered species. My �rst trip to the Southern Ocean

as a photographic leader was made in 2006 with the irrepressible Peter Harri-son (Seabirds: An Identi�cation Guide). We were one of the very last groups to visit Prion before the boardwalk and the accompanying restrictions were put into place. Small group visitation is now strictly time-limited and every-one is restricted to the boardwalk. With the boardwalk the hike up is way easier and the birds are a�orded a greater level of protection. On some visits folks are lucky to see a single young albatross on or near its nest.

I had a premonition that today would provide a magical end to what had al-

ready been—a�er a few days of rough weather at the start—a magical expedi-tion. When we arrived the sky condi-tions were perfect: cloudy bright. And then up the hill we went.

SO HOW DID THAT WORK OUT?�ere is a small observation deck below the main viewing platform. You usually get to stand there doing nothing for 30 minutes as you wait for the group ahead of you to pass you on the way down. We were not there a full minute when we spotted the head of a Wandering Alba-tross chick atop the ridgeline. �en, the bird stood up and began �apping, test-Brown Skua Clemens Vanderwerf

Wandering Albatross Chick Cheryl Cathcart

23

Day 11 Salisbury Plain and Prion Island 10 November 2015

DAY 11 AT NOONLocation Bay of Isles




Wind 18 knots W



birder radioed Joe that there was an adult �ying in from over the ocean. Joe alerted everyone in the group just be-fore a stunning adult male Wandering Albatross �ew circles right above us for �ve full minutes until it landed at its nest with chick just below. �e bright orange marking on the back of the head tells us that this adult was a very old male.

THE GRAND FINALE�e young bird got fed and the bird on the ridge quit �apping just as we were summoned to the main observation platform 50 meters above us. As we ar-rived we noted that there was a Wan-dering Albatross chick about 2 meters from the boardwalk somewhat hidden in the deep tussock grass. Immediately the bird stood up, posed for head por-traits, and began �apping in place. �en it walked about a bit, posed for more head portraits, and �apped and �apped and �apped. Just as our time was up, the huge young seabird sat back down in the grass. If that a�ernoon had been a movie, no one would have believed the ending.

What better way to put the �nishing touches on an incredible 3-week jour-ney than with a magical fairy tale end-ing?

ing and strengthening its wings. With both the wind and the light behind us, we were all hoping that we would witness the young bird’s �rst �ight. It �apped and �apped and �apped, then rested for a minute and �apped and �apped and �apped some more. �ough the bird never took �ight we were o� to an amazing start. We learned later that though others had seen this particular bird hidden in the grass, it had stayed low and never �apped once.

COULD IT BE?On the way up the hill, I asked Joe Ka-plan, “Has anyone seen a �ying adult today?” He said, “No. �e adults spend less time in the colonies as the chicks get near �edgling age.” Fat chance I thought….“Boy, that next to last group is sure taking a long time up there,” someone mentioned. Right a�er that, Dave Shoch who like Joe is a premier

Wandering Albatross Artie Morris

Adult Wandering Albatross with Chick Denise Ippolito

By Jon Wiener

HIKE AT SALISBURY Our �nal hike on South Georgia was a relatively easy one, climbing just a few hundred feet on mostly easy terrain. A small amount of snow, some rocks and scree, and �nally across a tussock �lled ridge. A�er less than one hour we had a nice complete view of the King Penguin colony from above. �e weather sort of cooperated, giving us a mix of sun and clouds. All in all a great way to �nish our hiking tour of South Georgia!

24

By Rosie Seton

AT SEA, LEAVING SOUTH GEOR-GIA BEHINDWe are at sea today steaming towards the Falkland Islands. �e skies are cloudy; the seas constantly undulate. It was a great gi� in that our last two days in South Georgia were sunny and spec-tacular. It was as if she graced us with her more benign side before we had to

say goodbye. Once we weighed anchor yesterday a�ernoon at Prion Island and got underway, she closed her doors once again as a mix of mist and clouds quick-ly closed in. �e magical show that is South Georgia was over…We steamed westward overnight. Dawn broke and we woke up with South Georgia le� far behind us and we wondered if we had just imagined her.

ON DECK WORKOUTOur day started with a yoga workout at 8 a.m. on the Ortelius’ helicopter deck and led by our captain! Dressed in our �nest landing gear and life jackets we headed out to the heli pad to workout! With the rolling of the seas, perform-ing down-dog, upward-dog and planks proved interesting and required using muscles we didn’t even know we had!

OK, the yoga workout did not really happen although it was scheduled and it would really have proved interesting! We actually started our day a little more leisurely with a �ne “Good Beautiful Morning” announcement from Michael, beckoning us to breakfast at 8 a.m.

SHAG ROCKSDuring the late morning, we came upon an iceberg which served to remind us we were still in Antarctic waters. Just beyond we could make out the shadowy outline of Shag Rocks, a lonely outcrop-ping of six small rocky islands - part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia - jutting out of the ocean and named for one of their main inhabitants - the seabird known as a shag although prions and Wandering Albatross are also known to nest there as well. On our eastbound voyage to South Georgia we passed Shag Rocks during the night, so this occasion presented a rare photo op-portunity as we passed by.

LEC TURES, AC TIVITIES AND BIRTHDAYSA�er passing Shag Rocks, we kept our eyes glued to the ocean with expedition sta� Joe Kaplan and Dave Shoch to do a spot of bird watching and photogra-phy. Upon the bridge, our science team from Allied Whale, COA kept an eye out for whales and dolphins. Sprinkled

11 November 2015 At Sea en route to the Falkland Islands Day 12

Salisbury Plain Mark Maletsky

25

King Penguin Neck Abstract Artie Morris

throughout the day - and for those not wishing to be out on deck - we were en-gaged below listening to several superb presentations. During the late morning, Tashi Tenzing gave a lecture entitled: “Ful�lling Your Dreams: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Climbing Ev-erest.” It was a moving account of �ve decades of climbing the famed peak coupled with spectacular footage and stunning music. Lunch was served af-terwards. During the a�ernoon, we were further treated to several more illuminating lectures including: “South-ern Ocean Biodiversity: From Geologic Past to a Changing Future” presented by

Ted Cheeseman, “Creative Photography Techniques for Landscapes II” given by Moe Witschard and followed by Hugh Rose’s lecture on “Plate Tectonics of South Georgia Geology.”

As well as searching for whales and seabirds and listening to the always in-formative talks, several of our expedi-tion sta� were soliciting and accepting photos for several upcoming events: the Nature and People slideshows and Photo Critiques slideshow. All on board were invited to submit two photos for the photo critique, up to 5 for the na-ture slideshow, and lots for the people slideshow! For those who participated

in the Zodiac cruise to Larsen Harbour in the Drygalski Fjord, photos of Wed-dell Seals were also desired for research purposes. As well as soliciting photos all day, sta� also sought donations for the upcoming South Georgia Auction, a fundraiser for the South Georgia Hab-itat Restoration and the Save the Alba-tross Funds to be held on Nov. 12 before the departure of some of our passengers in the Falkland Islands. One can only imagine the interesting and unique con-tributions o�ered!

In the evening, we had a leisurely dinner at 7 p.m. with heartfelt birthday wishes extended to shipmate Doug Bullock!





Wind 24 knots NW


Weather Overcast, Fog

Day 12 At Sea en route to the Falkland Islands 11 November 2015

Yellow-billed (South Georgia) Pintail Sharon GibbKing Penguins Phil Marcus

Always fun to have a birthday on board a Cheesemans’ Expedition! Dinner was followed by the �lm, “Around Cape Horn,” in the lecture hall. �is famous 1929 movie was �lmed by the seaman and �lmmaker, Irving McClure Johnson on the barque Peking as it rounded the notorious Cape Horn. �e rolling of the seas in the Lecture Hall only added to the experience! It was another splendid day on the Ortelius!

26

12 November 2015 At Sea en route to the Falkland Islands Day 13

By Joe Kaplan

ALL EYES ON DECKSunrise �nds us halfway between South Georgia and the Falklands under fa-vorable conditions for passage and a productive “All Eyes on Deck” seabird spotting session with Dave and Joe. �is morning the Ortelius befriends a pod of ten Hourglass Dolphins that spends a generous amount of time bow-riding our ship and providing some fantastic views of this beautiful, poorly-known, and highly pelagic cetacean. Our excite-ment ramped up again with a sighting

of a So�-plumaged Petrel - our 25th species tubenose (in the order Pro-cellariiformes) for the trip. Following quickly on the wings of the petrel was a sighting of another rarely encountered cetacean the Southern Bottlenosed Whale. Adding a clean sweep of the al-batross (Gray-headed, Black-browed, Light-mantled, Royal, and Wandering) the morning took on a certain sense of accomplishment. What could top this? A rhetorical question until a Manx Shearwater – from the North Atlantic – answered the call from the stern of the ship during the late a�ernoon.

SEA TIME = LEC TURE TIMESea time is also lecture time on a Chee-seman Expedition and today’s tropics varied from Tim and Pauline’s “South Georgia’s Environmental History, Chal-lenges, and Successes,” to Evan Kovac’s “Titantic Mapping Project”, and Ali’s “Zooniverse: People and Penguins and Citizen Science,” followed by the ever popular photography critique lead by Hugh and Ron and �nally David Smith’s �lm “Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica with Cheesemans’ Ecology 2014-2015.”





Wind 15 knots NNW


Weather Clear

It’s like living in the middle of the ocean, with no future, no past, and everything that’s good about now, well might just glide right past - songwriter Beth Orton.

Gray-headed Albatross Clemens Vanderwerf Cape Petrel Ty Smedes Ice Formation Ron Niebrugge

27

Day 14 At Sea and Stanley Disembarkation 13 November 2015





Wind 20 knots W



By Dave Shoch

APPROACHING THE FALKLANDSOur third day at sea a�er leaving South Georgia … We had now crossed the Antarctic Convergence and entered the warmer waters to the north. �e water temperature today averaged 3 degrees Celsius, and mind you, it was still cold, just that you could tolerate longer peri-ods on deck.

We had a number of close sightings of Fin and Sei Whales, surfacing brie�y close to the Ortelius, but despite several deviations from our heading to a�ord closer views, our encounters remained �eeting. �e birdlife now heralded the increasing proximity of the Falkland Is-lands, with building numbers of Sooty

Shearwaters, Great Shearwaters, Atlan-tic Petrels, a single Falkland Skua (iden-ti�ed by its dark cap), and Southern Royal Albatross – at one point in the wake, near where a group of whales had been spotted, there was a tight confer-ence of 8 great albatross, wanderers and southern royals, sitting in a tight group, heads together over some apparent for-aging opportunity at the surface.

AUC TIONIn the a�ernoon we gathered at the bar, champagne glasses in hand, to toast our successful voyage and to hold the auction to bene�t the Save the Alba-tross campaign and the South Georgia Heritage Trust. Auctioneer and enter-tainer Joe Kaplan presided over some

hot rounds of bidding, many on items gen-erously donated from among us, including prints by Artie, Denise, Clemens and Hugh, and an especially memo-rable item donated by Arvi, and later sported uncannily well by a suc-cessful Joe. All told, we raised over $4,660 from the live and silent auc-tions.

FIRST DEPARTURESIn the evening before dinner we watched the Falklands appear at the horizon, and the wealth of birdlife accompanying our

approach in the warm light of the sun-set, including Imperial Cormorants and several ra�s of Magellanic Penguins. A�er dinner we bid farewell to our con-tingent departing in Stanley, and ferried them ashore for their last “landing”, but not without a �nal showing of wildlife - a group of Commerson’s Dolphins keeping pace in the wake of the Zodiacs, visible in the fading light.

Dinner on the Deck Teresa Blase

Joe Sporting Memorable Auction Item with Arvi Bahal Debra Herst

28

14 November 2015 At Sea Offshore of Falkland Islands Day 15

By Joe Kaplan

LAST LANDING FOILED�is morning had an auspicious begin-ning with a Tusscock-bird (the Falkland Islanders name for Blackish Cincloides) coming aboard to greet the Ortelius as we anchored just o�shore of Sea Lion Island – our last landing destination. Unfortunately, our luck would not hold as the landing party spent 45 minutes bouncing in big surf watching breaker a�er breaker bombard the sandy beach-es within full view of Falkland Steam-er-Ducks, Magellanic Penguins, and Gentoo Penguins on shore. No matter how we angled a landing was not pos-sible and conditions only promised to deteriorate during the morning. Sadly, we steam west looking for an alterna-tive landing site that never presents. �e waters surrounding the Falkland’s are still rich with viewing opportunities as we enjoy our �rst encounters with Peale’s Dolphin, Brown-hooded Gull, Magellanic Cormorant (Rock Shag), and Northern Royal Albatross - the dark-winged form that that nests on the Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands, and Taiaroa Head near Dunedin, New Zealand. Later in the a�ernoon while back in the pelagic zone, a Barn Swallow joins the ship taking refuge in an open hatch to rest from an undoubtedly long �ight over a large ocean.

DAY 15 AT NOONLocation South of Falklands




Wind 15 knots NW



Giant-Petrel Glenn Bartley On Deck Photography Helena Backes

Southern Royal Albatross Ty Smedes

Alan Lillich Clemens Vanderwerf

Pat Lillich Clemens Vanderwerf

29

Day 16-17 At Sea and Ushuaia Disembarkation 15-16 November 2015

By Dave Shoch

EN ROUTE TO BEAGLE CHANNELSooty Shearwater was the bird of the day. We saw thousands over the course of the day, streaming by in loose, weav-ing groups. �e sooties were all headed north to south, soon to arrive at their colonies here among the Fuegian Is-lands, returning from their marathon migration from the north Atlantic where they spent the austral winter.

In the morning we passed Staten Island (Isla de los Estados) and worked our way slowly toward the entrance of the Beagle Channel. Shockingly, a scan with

binoculars revealed trees (!) ashore.

In addition to the Sooty Shearwaters we saw around 10 Northern and South-ern Royal Albatrosses (saying good-bye to our last great albatrosses of the voyage!), and typical seabirds of the southern South American coast: Im-perial Cormorants, South American Terns, Kelp Gulls and Chilean Skuas. Of interest were two small groups of pen-guins sighted, one of which proved to be Magellanic Penguins, which we ex-pected, and the other Rockhopper Pen-guins, which we did not. Our reaction at the time was that the Rockhoppers must be far out of place – later we dis-

By Gina Barton

DOCKING We awoke very early to the sounds of the Ortelius docking in Ushuaia, then later greeted by Ted’s last soothing “Good morning, shipmates.” Peeking out from the ship we had sweeping views of the mountains that surround Ushuaia. �ose on the 9 a.m. �ights out had an early breakfast before boarding the bus

straight to the airport. While those on later �ights had a more leisurely break-fast before boarding the bus to enjoy some time in Ushuaia before heading to the airport. Some folks were staying on board to continue on to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Many goodbyes and hugs were shared in Reception, and very hard to believe that our voyage was over. Expeditions are wonderful because we share so many experiences, while each of us still has a unique experience of the magical island of South Georgia.

covered that colonies of Rockhoppers had been recorded thirty years ago on islands nearby by Gerry Clark, Alan Cowan and Peter Harrison (their travels recounted in Gerry’s book �e Totorore Voyage).

Rockhopper Penguins Andy Lee

Beaker on Deck Phil Marcus

Light-mantled Albatross Glenn Bartley

30King Penguins Alan Lillich

31

E X P E D I T I O N S TA F F

Judy AllenBar Harbor MEUSA

Gina BartonMountain View CAUSA

Pauline CarrWaimateNew Zealand

Tim CarrWaimateNew Zealand

Ted CheesemanSanta Cruz CAUSA

Oliver CoraySoldotna AKUSA

Tom FernaldBar Harbor MEUSA

Lynne HooleMowbraySouth Africa

Joe KaplanEscanaba MIUSA

Ron NiebruggeSeward AKUSA

Hugh RoseFairbanks AKUSA

Juan Manuel SalcedoPuerto Ayora GalápagosEcuador

Rosie SetonMount Desert MEUSA

Dave ShochCharlottesville VAUSA

Peter StevickRockport MEUSA

Ali SwansonWolvercote OXUnited Kingdom

Tashi TenzingKathmanduNepal

Moe WitschardBozeman MTUSA

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31-Oct

1-Nov

2-Nov

3-Nov

4-Nov

5-Nov

6-Nov

7-Nov

8-Nov

9-Nov

10-Nov

11-Nov

12-Nov

13-Nov

14-Nov

15-Nov

16-Nov

(pag

e 2 of

2)

34

T H E M A N Y F A C E S O F N AT U R E

Southern Elephant Seal Les Sharp

Gray-headed Albatross Douglas Bullock

Male Southern Elephant Seal Lynne Bergbreiter

Chinstrap Penguin Debra Herst

Oakum Boy Denise Ippolito

Macaroni Penguin Clemens Vanderwerf

South Georgia Pipit Artie Morris

King Penguin Alan Jones

Southern Elephant Seal Mark Maletsky Wandering Albatross chick Cheryl Cathcart

Black-browed Albatross Debra Herst

Northern Giant-Petrel Alan Jones

35Southern Elephant Seal Andy Lee

36

37

38

Spon

sor

a H

ecta

re o

f So

uth

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rgia

Thro

ugh

Frie

nds

of S

outh

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rgia

Isla

nd (F

OSG

I)W

hen

you

spon

sor a

hec

tare

(or m

ore)

of S

outh

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rgia

you

hel

p su

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t wor

k to

con

serv

e en

dang

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and

th

reat

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wild

life

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stud

ies t

o he

lp u

s und

erst

and

how

bes

t to

prot

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he is

land

’s w

ildlif

e.

Help

giv

e So

uth

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rgia

bac

k to

its b

irds f

or o

nly

$140

per

hec

tare

. All

spon

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rece

ive

a ce

rtific

ate.

And

rem

embe

r…a

hect

are

of S

outh

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rgia

mak

es a

uni

que

and

appr

ecia

ted

gift

for a

nyon

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ares

abo

ut p

rese

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g ou

r nat

ural

wor

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Paym

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Opt

ions

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Wire

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Met

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: Don

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s dire

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into

our

acc

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shou

ld b

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nt to

: Alp

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Bank

, 711

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alle

y Ro

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te. 1

01, B

asal

t, CO

816

21, U

SA. B

ank

phon

e: 9

70 9

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653.

Acc

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riend

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rgia

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nd.

Acco

unt N

umbe

r: 55

2000

0833

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outin

g nu

mbe

r: 10

2103

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q

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to “

Frie

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th G

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ia Is

land

” an

d se

nd it

with

this

form

to th

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dres

s bel

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q

Cred

it Ca

rd:

Nam

e on

Cre

dit C

ard

Cred

it Ca

rd N

umbe

r

Secu

rity

Num

ber (

the

last

3 d

igits

on

the

back

of y

our c

ard)

Expi

ratio

n Da

te

/

Sign

atur

e

Da

te

Billing

add

ress&pho

neifdifferen

tfromabo

ve:

Stre

et A

ddre

ss

City

Stat

e

Zi

p Co

de

Billi

ng P

hone

Frie

nds

of S

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25

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rive

, Car

bond

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CO

816

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SA) /

970

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077

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SA) /

+44

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K)Em

ail:

info

@fo

sgi.o

rg •

Web

site:

ww

w.fo

sgi.o

rg

Frie

nds o

f Sou

th G

eorg

ia Is

land

is a

US

501(

c)(3

) tax

-exe

mpt

non

profi

t org

aniza

tion

dedi

cate

d to

raisi

ng fu

nds f

or th

e co

nser

vatio

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Sou

th G

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If yo

u w

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like

to re

ceiv

e ou

r upd

ates

by

emai

l, pl

ease

ens

ure

your

em

ail a

ddre

ss is

incl

uded

abo

ve. W

e us

e em

ail a

s it i

s qui

cker

and

che

aper

–

leav

ing

us w

ith m

ore

mon

ey to

spen

d on

our

con

serv

ation

wor

k. W

e gu

aran

tee

that

you

r inf

orm

ation

will

nev

er b

e m

ade

avai

labl

e to

any

oth

er p

arty

. q

Ple

ase

chec

k th

is bo

x if

you

do n

ot w

ish to

rece

ive

FOSG

I upd

ates

.

I w

ould

lik

e to

spo

nsor

(nu

mbe

r)__

____

__ h

ecta

res

x $1

40 e

ach

= T

otal

val

ue: _

____

___

Nam

e

Nam

e(s)

as y

ou w

ish it

to b

e on

the

certi

ficat

e

Addr

ess

City

/Sta

te/Z

ip

Ph

one

#

Emai

l add

ress

(ple

ase

writ

e cl

early

)

Plea

se te

ll us

whe

re y

ou o

btai

ned

this

form

CHEESEMANS’ ECOLOGY SAFARIS20800 Kittridge RoadSaratoga, California 95070 USA

(800) [email protected]

S O U T H G E O R G I A A N D F A L K L A N D I S L A N D SE X P E D I T I O N L O G 2 0 1 5

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SOUTH GEORGIA - Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris - … · Fortuna Bay and Stromness 8 November 18-19 ... We bid farewell to ... 1 November 2015 At Sea to South Georgia Island Day 2 By