Tanya's Diary
Our Antarctic journey is coming to a close, though we still have this one day of shore landings to experience. We are up at a reasonable hour (7am) to have breakfast before heading to our first landing – Salisbury Plain. We approach the shore in our Zodiac and the scene before us is one we can hardly describe – perhaps the pictures will do it justice! Thousands of fur seal pups dance and swirl in the shallow waters as we try to disembark onto the land. There, we see thousands of King penguins covering the plain, cawing to each other, with the chicks at their feet crowing for food. King penguin males and females take equal responsibility over the rearing of their chick, with both parents routinely venturing on fishing trips to fatten up the chick before the winter comes.
We set up our recording gear for a brilliant lesson with John on the Antarctic Skua, predator of the unhatched King penguin eggs. The noise we hear, the continuous cacophonous cawing of the penguins, serves as a warning to the rest of the colony when Skuas are lurking. We also record a lesson about the four tiers of the Antarctic food web, starting from diatoms at the bottom to the apex predator, the wolf of the sea – the orca – at the top.
Later, we film the introductory video for the 10-week course ‘The Power of One’ with the penguins all gathering around us, and in some sort of crazy/beautiful moment, Gavin says to the camera “…during this course you will understand how the small changes you make affect each and every animal in Antarctica, including these four penguins here…” and a parade of penguins march across the scene in front of him, as if to emphasise his point!
What an absolutely epic and beautiful way to end our adventure. The next few days are spent at sea as we head home, while previewing and editing all the content we’d created for Upschool and reflecting on the journey. Initially, we started with a plan to record 20 educational video lessons, however, after seeing and experiencing the marvels that Antarctica has to offer, we leave this wondrous continent with over 70 learning sequences!
Thank you all for following along and we do hope that you enjoy the course when it becomes available. “Alone we can change today, but together we can change forever!”
My Account
Morning landing at Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain, located on the north coast of South Georgia Island, is a stunning natural wonder known for its impressive coastline and diverse wildlife. The plain is home to one of the largest king penguin colonies in the world, with over 60,000 breeding pairs. A remote and pristine place, it also provides close encounters with fur seals with suckling pups. The vast expanse of tussock grass provides a unique habitat for various bird species and is very photogenic, especially with King penguins walking across it.
Approaching the beach by zodiac
The vivid green tussock grass of the plain and hill has a stunning icy mountain backdrop. The penguin colony extends far up the hill as you can see here...
On the beach
We were immediately surrounded by penguins, penguins and more penguins. We had seen King penguins at other stops, including the huge colony at
Gold Harbour , but even given 100 years of intimate encounters, I would never tire of them. Salisbury Plain was yet another "pinch me" moment.
On the grass
The grassy plain provided beautiful photographic opportunities. On the grass, penguins huddled together in groups and walked to and fro while with the mountain behind them while, in the foreground, mother fur seals suckled their pups.
The ultimate bully in the playground
Wherever the penguin goes, the pesky skua follows on a never-ending quest for penguin eggs and chicks. How much easier the life of a penguin would be without them! Oh well, I suppose we all have to have our nemesis.
On the dried mud flat
The grass plain gave way to dried mud which provided a gathering point for more penguins as they made their way towards the colony.
The colony
Oh wow, how to describe the colony of penguins that extended across the plain and right up the hill! A colossal congregation. A mesmerising symphony of life with the penguins' trumpeting calls resonating like a chorus of brass instruments. The sheer immensity of their gathering painted a mosaic of shimmering gold, iridescent blues, and velvety blacks across the landscape. The air was infused with the smell of fish and krill, the earthy odour of damp tussock grass and occasional wafts of penguin guano. It all provided a veritable feast for the senses and offered a rare glimpse into the wild, untamed beauty of an unspoiled world where the King penguin reigns supreme. It's hard not to wax lyrical after an experience like this!
In the water
As our zodiac floated on the waves, we witnessed yet another captivating sight. A large group of King penguins swam past our zodiac, their bodies splashy and buoyant on the water's surface. Their blue and black feathers provided a beautiful contrast against the deep emerald green sea. With their webbed feet, they propelled themselves forward in a synchronised kind of "aerobic dance". It was all so wondrous and all we could do was ogle and laugh in delight.
An albatross overhead
A solitary albatross flew over our zodiac providing yet another close encounter with a bird I love so much. Along with King penguins, albatrosses to me, epitomise the isolated, pristine wildness of South Georgia.
Afternoon zodiac cruise and landing at Elsehul
Elsehul is a small bay located on the southern coast of South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. The bay is known for its stunning natural beauty, with steep mountains and glaciers surrounding the area, as well as its rich biodiversity. In particular, it is a popular breeding ground for albatross and petrels.
We got to do a zodiac cruise in the late afternoon with the sight of petrels floating on the ocean and albatross circling overhead. We also did a landing and climbed a hill for a stunning view of the bay. It was the perfect spot for our final group photo. I bade a sad farewell to the last King penguin I would encounter on our expedition. After just a few days of intimate encounters, I felt and will forever feel connected to these magical beings.
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| Giant petrels floating in the ocean... |
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| ... and flying overhead |
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| Albatross gliding through the sky on long wings and coming in to land |
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| Landing on the shore by zodiac and then climbing a hill to enjoy a view over a secluded bay. My final encounter with a King penguin on the beach. |
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| Our final team photo |
Original, single photos
