Friday, January 15, 2016, Afternoon: Stromness, South Georgia

Weather Forecast: partly cloudy; temperature approximately 34°F; fresh breeze WSW 20 mpg

In the afternoon we landed at the abandoned whaling station of Stromness, our last stop in South Georgia. The station, which operated from 1913-1960, is best known as the final stage in Shackleton’s struggle to reach civilization and thus save the crew of the Endurance.

In 1916, Shackleton and a few men landed on the unpopulated southern coast of South Georgia after an arduous sea voyage from Elephant Island in a 22-foot lifeboat. After 36 hours of trekking the mountainous interior to reach the populated northern shore of the island, they arrived the top of the waterfall and heard the whistle call for the shift change. Thus, they knew they had finally reached civilization.

We had hoped to hike from Fortuna over the mountains to Stromness valley to trace Shackleton’s last leg to reach rescue but the blowing snow made the visibility too poor to attempt. Instead we hiked the back valley to view the famous waterfall.

As with every spot we have explored, a cacophony of wildlife overwhelmed us; seals and penguins were everywhere.

The Reindeer Dilemma: In the early 20th century reindeer were introduced to South Georgia by Norwegian whalers to provide recreational hunting and fresh meat to the whaling industry on the island. As a non-native species they stressed the environment, browsing and trampling local vegetation and disrupting nesting birds, including penguins and petrals. Since the whaling industry ended in the 1960s, little hunting or any other human control of the reindeer remained. Arguments had been made that the reindeer, whose numbers grew to over 7,000, should be eradicated to help restore the island a more pristine condition. In 2013, after many years of deliberation, the island decided to eradicate the reindeer in order to protect the native wildlife and vegetation. Antlers can still be found on the island as a reminder that the reindeer that once lived among the wildlife.