First Walk Around King Edward Cove

For this post I think it might be wise to be less verbose and let the pictures speak for themselves. Taken after a couple of days on the base, and after having taken in a huge amount of new information, it was great to get out for a walk around the cove which took us through the crumbling histories and buildings of Grytviken, past the hydropower project which provides most of our electricity, and out to the far side of the cove. The scope for walking and exploring here is far greater than at Rothera due to the lower technicality of the terrain - we don't go on glaciated and therefore crevassed ground here at all. Solid ground, and snow on top of solid ground! The local travel area is extensive and marvelously contoured...

At Penguin River - a small colony of King Penguins, in the final stages of moulting and becoming what we normally think of as them off the biscuits... Far more interesting in real life than a crunchy chocolate sandwich.

Looking back down towards Penguin River - the beach shown, and all the way towards the bottom left-hand corner of the shot and round the bay, is currently home to elephant seals and pups. The noises made by these seals are particularly amusing - I have been doing a little bit of wildlife recording as time has allowed and will be posting the sounds of the place as I go along... This is if the internet will allow me - it is very slow and makes uploading any media like photos or sounds very difficult. But it is possible, so I will persevere.

One of the group, our seal and bird specialist Alastair Wilson, takes some photos of the bay and hills beyond. Not long after this point we arrive at a gun placement and a crashed helicopter. More on that in future posts... Rob