Grytviken, the Center of South Georgia

Hiking around the old whaling station at Grytviken

 

Wednesday, November 8 -  Grytviken, South Georgia

The King Edward Point Research Station dock at King Edward Cove

The British Antarctic Survey has facilities at this King Edward Point Research Station  

My usual breakfast this morning was interrupted by our arrival at King Edward Cove at 7:45. As we approached the head of the cove - ready to embark on our excursion to Grytviken - we passed King Edward Point and the facilities of the British Antarctic Survey. It was spectacular scenery, and I was out on deck taking photos.  The morning started with a fairly heavy fog, so that we couldn’t see the highest peak (Mount Hodges, 605 meters ) behind Grytviken, although it cleared later for beautiful views.  In between photos and breakfast, I wrote post cards for the littles and for Michael, to be ready to mail from Grytviken’s post office.

Grytviken was the largest of the whaling centers on South Georgia

This is the only whaling station that has been detoxified, and you are allowed to walk around

From our  daily briefing: “Located off Cumberland East Bay, King Edward Cove is by far the best site on South Georgia for human habitation. Carl-Anton Larsen, the founder of Grytviken, selected it following two visits to South Georgia, and it was here that he established the first permanent whaling station in 1904-05. The whaling factory is now a ghost town of rusting machinery and demolished buildings. We plan to land near the remains of the station and museum (and a small gift shop that accepts credit cards) before continuing on to explore the surrounding area. We will all begin our time ashore at the small cemetery just outside of town-the final resting place of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the recently interred Frank Wild-to pay our respects to "The Boss.”

From the ship, we could see Grytviken's cemetery, surrounded by king penguins and seals

Landing near the cemetery at Grytviken

Our deck was the last to be called to board the Zodiacs.  We arrived on the eastern shore of Grytviken at 10 AM, and walked directly to see Shackleton’s grave at the cemetery.  Patrick was there, dressed to commemorate Shackleton, including wearing a replica of his jumper (sweater).  He poured us each a glass of whiskey, to take over to his grave and to toast “The Boss.”  Rob Edwards, our naturalist and historian, gave a speech about Shackleton's accomplishments and we gave it a good Bottoms Up.

Director Patrick, bringing the cheer

Ernest Shackleton's final resting place

Cheers to "The Boss"

Mount Hodges on the horizon

These fur seals are proud and feisty

This bull elephant seal is longer than a van and weighs between 8 - 10,000 pounds!

From the cemetery, we followed the shoreline path around to the center of Grytviken. The walk is enjoyable, as there is a great deal of old equipment and old boats, with signage describing the whaling processes. You aren’t allowed to walk around any other whaling stations on South Georgia, as they are dangerous and full of asbestos.  But Grytviken has been detoxified and you can tour and inspect many of the old buildings and areas that were used for harvesting the whales.

He's keeping a sly eye on what's going on - shot with zoom lens to avoid disturbance