Page 271 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Argentina

TIERR A DEL FUEGO AND ANT ARC TIC A  269

A blue-colored pinnacle iceberg near Coronation Island, South Orkneys
South Georgia South Orkney Islands and ice and punctuated
860 miles (1,385 km) E of the 574 miles (924 km) SW of by barren mountains. Zodiac
Falkland Islands. ∑sgisland.org South Georgia. landings take place on the
South Georgia Museum: En route from South Georgia biggest island in the chain,
∑ sgmuseum.gs to the Antarctic, but much Coronation Island, where
A dramatic island of soaring, less visited than the other Shingle Cove is refuge to a
ice-clad mountains and huge Subantarctic islands, are the rookery of Adelie penguins
glaciers, South Georgia is a remote South Orkney Islands. and a breeding colony of
haven for an astonishing con- Linked to the Antarctic Weddell seals. Conditions
centration of marine fauna. The Peninsula by a massive range permitting, visits also explore
best and most visited wildlife of submarine mountains, the Laurie Island, site of an
sites are on its more hospitable South Orkneys comprise two Argentinian meteorological
northern coast, where Salisbury large and several smaller station that has been in
Plain and the Bay of Isles are islands, each covered in snow operation since 1904.
home to large rookeries of king
penguins, and Albatross Islet, Antarctic Wildlife
a nesting colony of the rare
wandering albatross. Cruise The wildlife of the Subantarctic islands and Antarctica is every bit
stops also explore the human as breathtaking as the region’s stunning landscapes. Biggest of all
history of South Georgia, which is the blue whale, the world’s largest animal, which visits Antarctica
was a magnet to thousands of during the summer to feed on abundant krill. Humpback, minke,
seal hunters and whalers in the sei, fin, and orca whales can also be sighted, together with several
late 19th and early 20th species of dolphin. Onshore, penguins are the greatest attraction:
centuries, though today the eight different species form breeding colonies, from smaller
island has no permanent chinstrap and punk-like macaroni penguins to colorful king and
emperor penguins. Seals, including huge elephant seals, crabeater,
population. At Grytviken visitors Weddell, leopard, and fur seals, slumber on ice floes and beaches.
can explore the eerie remnants On cliff sides, an incredible array of marine birds, from petrels, shags,
of an aban doned whaling terns, and skuas to rare species of albatross, gather in nesting
station, com plete with the colonies. Like most Antarctic fauna, they are best observed in
rusting hulks of several ships summer, February especially.
slowly sinking into the harbor.
Within its grounds are the South
Georgia Museum, which houses
displays on the island’s human
and natural history, a small
restored church, and an old
whalers’ cemetery. The cemetery
includes the grave-site of British
explorer Ernest Shackleton, who
made the first crossing of South
Georgia on the final leg of his
rescue of the crew of the stricken Macaroni penguins congregating on the shoreline, South Georgia
Endurance (see p271).
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p283 and pp298–9

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