South Georgia & Falklands Photographic Expedition

You will be picked up at the Port Stanley Airport and transferred into town.
There will be time to explore the town of Port Stanley before boarding the
ship.

These remote islands are havens for extraordinary birdlife - both those that
fly and those that cannot! They are a perfect introduction to the avian
arsenal of the South Atlantic and will be extended landings (as will all on
this expedition, weather permitting). Only a handful of people live on these
islands but welcome visitors from small ships with open arms and cream
teas. Both the islands have white sandy beaches unlike the South Georgian
black ones and there are good chances to experience Commerson dolphins as
they escort the ship and Zodiacs.

West Point is perhaps the most photogenic island in the Falklands. There is a
frankly ridiculous number of seabirds and it is home to the much loved
Rockhopper penguins. Dramatic and breath-taking, it is a venue for both wide
angle and telephoto lenses. Mark and Paul will be on hand for advice
throughout these excursions but will advise some personal time without
megapixels for a few moments to really appreciate this ornithological haven.
The Magellan will then sail East after the excursion with the bow set for
South Georgia.

Enjoy this new sleek ship as she rides with the tradewinds at a fair clip
East. This is the coldwater convergence so there will be constant squadrons
of albatrosses of many varieties as well as pintadas, prions and the sinister
Giant petrels. Paul and Mark will be giving a selection of photography
presentations on board to ensure everyone is locked and loaded for the first
South Georgia landing. There are historians on board as well as experts in
almost every facet of Antarctica: ice, birds, ecology and pinnipeds.
Critically this is a very comfortable ship and top in its class: important
when you are at the mercy of the South Atlantic. 

If it lives in South Georgia you can be sure it lives in Elsehul, a beautiful
crescent of a bay. Seals (thankfully not very many Fur ones), Gentoos, Kings
and a whole host of seabirds are found here. It is also a very beautiful
'harbour' and as a first excursion is a lot more than just a polar hors
d'oevre.

The expedition gets big league status today as Fortuna Bay is where Ernest
Henry Shackleton finished the final part of his famous walk before arriving
into Stromness harbour. If there is time, this section can be walked for
those wanting to plant their boots in the footprints of the greatest of all
the explorers. There are also thousands of penguins, seals and a captivating
backdrop.The afternoon is a mandatory landing at Grytviken where passports
have to be stamped. Grytviken has the legacy of whaling, the Endurance and
indeed the first shots of the Falklands war forty years ago were fired here.
There are Elephant seals, King penguins and nesting albatross. The museum is
fascinating as is the whole place and worthy of an afternoon, it is also a
sheltered bay where Red-billed Antarctic terns dive on even the suspicion of
krill. After several hours the ship will depart just as Shackleton did over a
hundred years ago, with perhaps not the comforts but no doubt a similar level
of excitement.

There are much-heralded wildernesses in the world and then there is Gold
Harbour. With a flexible itinerary we will try to go ashore at the first
blush of the false dawn, fortunately in early October this should not involve
a brutal wake up and we may well alter the clock from GMT (because we can!) 
to assist our morning excursions. Over a hundred thousand King penguins,
Elephant seals fighting turf wars on the sand and surf and huge meticulously
formed hanging glaciers hovering over the bay. It is a top podium landing
where most of Noah's polar lot can be seen, Gold by name .......

If Gold is just that, St Andrew's could very well be platinum with almost a
quarter of a million Kings. It is dramatic but sometimes tricky to land.
However, we have time and devote a whole day to this South Sea treasure.
Nobody arrives at a place like this by accident, you have to want to go and a
long landing like this will leave an indelible mark on memories, mainframes
and megapixels. It is little short of witchcraft.

Cooper Bay is a striking stretch of coastline best accessed by Zodiac. It is
also somewhere to spot the Macaroni penguins with their foppish fringes.
Being a little more exposed it also invites dramatic brooding weather and is
an extremely exciting excursion.Drygalski, named after the German geographer,
is a huge spectacular fjord often choked with icebergs. This is accessed best
by the ship itself and with plenty of vantage points this could easily rip a
few gigabytes off your cards in a manner of minutes.

As a day, it would be hard to beat this for wilderness anywhere in the world.
Right Whale Bay is a particular favourite of Mark and Paul. It is wild, thick
with penguins and on the Eastern Beach, which is unprotected unlike the
landing site, there is huge swell with King penguins being spat out of the
boiling surf and spume. There are many Elephant seals and it will be an early
start.After a good lunch the mighty fortress of Salisbury Plain is breached.
Not only does the black sand beach have some of the best surf photography
anywhere there is also the massive concentrations of birds in front of the
glaciers and towering mountains. Along the Northern side of the landing there
is a sharp rise and it is possible to gaze down onto tens of thousands of
birds circled by the predatory petrels and skuas. Salisbury Plain is probably
one of the favourite landings for any visitor to South Georgia ....

Dawn at Salisbury Plain  Well, we couldn't go there just once could we? A
dawn start on the fabled sands is a fitting end to the King penguins but this
excursion will not be rushed. It is a superb canvas to document and also
enjoys the full capricious array of Mother Nature's weather. If there is time
there will be a visit to Prion Island, the nesting site for the Wandering
Albatross. The ship will then turn West back to the Falklands.

Just because the expedition has left South Georgia does not mean it is over.
Paul and Mark are experienced hands at the final sea days and alongside the
equally seasoned Antarctic 21 staff, will make sure the final wrap up
days are spectacular and also enjoyable, as well as informative as
concluding montages are meticulously put together as well as the fiendishly
competitive photo competition. A noisy chorus of countless seabirds will
trail the stern's wake all the way to Stanley.

Upon arrival at Port Stanley we disembark and transfer to the airport for
the ongoing flight.