My Travels in Pictures

  • Exploring the World
    • Uganda – the Pearl of Africa
      • Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale
      • Queen Elizabeth National Park & the Kazinga Channel
      • Exploring Queen Elizabeth NP on land
      • Mountain Gorillas – Trek 1 – Habinyanja Family
      • Mountain Gorillas – Trek 2 – Oruzogo Group
      • Mountain Gorillas – Trek 3 – Muyambi Group
    • New York City – a small bite of the big apple
    • Kenya & the Great Migration
      • The Amazing Ololo Safari Lodge
      • Nairobi National Park – a treasure on the edge of the city
      • Sheldrick Nursery & the Giraffe Centre
      • A first glimpse of the amazing Masai Mara
      • A very full day in the Mara
      • A day in (and above) the Mara Triangle
      • Helicopter Day
      • Big cats and the Masai village of Andasikr
      • Saying khwaheri to the Mara and habari to Samburu
      • A very special day in Samburu
      • A photoshoot with Samburu warriors
    • Delhi & the Wildlife of India
      • A Walking Tour of Old Delhi
      • Exploring just a few of Delhi’s many monuments
      • 3 Days in Kazaranga
      • Satpura – in search of Sloth Bears
      • Bandhavgarh – Time for tigers!
    • Myanmar and the Alluring Irrawaddy
      • Day 1 – Yangon’s Circular Railway
      • Day 2 – Touring Yangon
      • Day 3 – On the Irrawaddy River – Bhamo & the 2nd Defile
      • Day 4 – Kyun Daw & Katha
      • Day 5 – Katha & Tigyang
      • Day 6 – Kya Hnyat & Kottet Orphanage
      • Day 7 – Kyauk Myaung
      • Day 8 – Mingun & the U-Bein Bridge
      • Day 9 – Mandalay
      • Day 10 – Sagaing
      • Day 11 – Shwe Pyi Thar & a Puppet Show
      • Day 12 – Magical Bagan
      • Day 13 & 14 – Back in Yangon
      • Heading home – a layover trip to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu
    • Cruising the Adriatic – a trip from Venice to Rome
      • Venice – Part 1 – a city like no other
      • Venice – Part 2 – exploring off the beaten path
      • Venice – Part 3 – On the beaten path
      • Slovenia – Vintgar Gorge, Lake Bled & Koper
      • Croatia – Plitvice Lakes from Zadar
      • Croatia – Dubrovnik
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • Malta – Valetta & the Three Cities
      • Malta – a road trip to the Blue Grotto & Marsaxlokk
      • Sicily – Taormina & the slopes of Mount Etna
      • Capri, Italy
    • Galapagos Islands – Central & East
      • Quito, Ecuador
      • Tandayapa Cloud Forest – Birds, birds & more birds
      • Galapagos Islands – Baltra & Mosquera Islet
      • Galapagos Islands – Seymour Norte & Plaza Sur
      • Galapagos Islands – Sombrero Chino & Rabida
      • Galapagos Islands – Puerto Egas & Bucanero Cove
      • Galapagos Islands – Caleta Tortuga Negra & Santa Cruz Highlands
      • Plaza Sur (Take 2) & Santa Fe
      • Galapagos – Punta Pitt, La Galapaguera, San Cristobal & NY Eve
    • Victoria Falls, Chobe (Botswana) & Cape Town – an African Photo Safari
      • Victoria Falls
      • Pangolin Better Wildlife Photography Course on the Chobe River
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – Savuti
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – Khwai Conservancy – Part 1 of 2
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – Khwai – Part 2 of 2
      • EarthArk Mobile Safari – The Okavango Delta – Moremi & the Xini Lagoon
      • Capetown – Kirstenbosch & the Bo-Kaap
      • Cape Town – Muizenberg, Kalk Bay & Boulders Beach
      • Cape Town – Betty’s Bay and Stellenbosch
    • Falkland Islands, South Georgia & Antarctica
      • A trip to the end of the earth – Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica–Explorers & Kings
      • Ushuaia–Fin del Mundo
      • Ushuaia–Day 2
      • Waiting for my ship to come in…
      • Come sail away…
      • Day #1 & 2 – En route to the Falklands
      • Day #3 – West Point Island & Saunders Island, The Falklands
      • Day # 4 – Stanley–more British than Britain
      • Day # 7 – Right Whale Bay & Salisbury Plain–Kings, kings & more kings
  • Closer to Home
    • Fall Colours 2019
    • Sound of Light 2019 – Greece
    • Sound of Light 2019 – Italy
    • Sound of Light 2019 – Chile
    • Bonnechere Cave & Fourth Chute Falls
    • Fall colours, rapids & waterfalls
    • Casino du Lac Leamy 2016 Fireworks Finale
This post is part of a series called Falkland Islands, South Georgia & Antarctica
Show More Posts
  • A trip to the end of the earth – Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica–Explorers & Kings
  • Ushuaia–Fin del Mundo
  • Ushuaia–Day 2
  • Waiting for my ship to come in…
  • Come sail away…
  • Day #1 & 2 – En route to the Falklands
  • Day #3 – West Point Island & Saunders Island, The Falklands
  • Day # 4 – Stanley–more British than Britain
  • Day # 7 – Right Whale Bay & Salisbury Plain–Kings, kings & more kings
  • Day #8 – In the footsteps of Shackleton
  • Day #9 – Elephants & Kings – St. Andrew’s Bay & Gold Harbour
  • Day #10 – Cooper Bay & Drygalski Fjord
  • Day #13 – Elephant Island
  • Day #14 – Setting foot on Antarctica
  • Day #15 – Whales, whales and more whales – a “Tail” of a perfect day
  • Day # 16 – Deception Island & Half Moon Bay
  • Day 19 & 20 – Buenos Aires
  • Antarctica Photo Gallery

Another busy (and early) morning with a zodiac cruise before breakfast and a landing afterwards at St. Andrew’s Bay.  St. Andrew’s Bay has the largest King penguin colony on South Georgia, with over 100,000 breeding pairs and also has one of the largest Elephant seal populations, with an estimated 6,000 breeding females at the peak.  And yes, it’s a little noisy…

This elephant seal is an immature male, bigger than a weaner but still not fully grown.  And, of course, some king penguins standing around looking as though they are contemplating something very serious.

This guy is huge, but still not fully mature.  The Southern Elephant Seal is the largest of the seals with mature males averaging about 7,000 lbs; they can be as long as 20 feet and up to 8,800 lbs!  The females are much smaller, the males can be as much as 10 times the size of the female.

At one end of St. Andrew’s beach a glacier reaches down to the sea, a lovely backdrop for yet another King penguin picture!

The (Southern) elephant seals despite their size and blubber (which was still rendered for oil as late as the mid sixties) are very strong and surprisingly agile on land.

The younger males practice fighting for the day they might have their own harem of typically 40 to 50 females; some have up to 100 females.  Every year, the breeding males (beachmasters) return to the beach in advance of the females.  When the females arrive, they give birth almost immediately and nurse the pup for about 23 days.  They breed, wean the pup a few days later and return to sea to feed (having fasted the entire time) and, 11 months later, the cycle begins again.

Elephant seals go through what they call a “catastrophic moult” – every year, they shed their old skin and grow a new one.  While they are undergoing this moult, they’re unable to go to sea to feed.  The process takes 3 to 5 weeks, during which time they huddle together on the beach to preserve their body heat.  At this time of year, it’s the immature males and females; the breeding males and females have returned to sea to feed after breeding and will return in January/February once they have restored their blubber reserves.

Hunted almost to extinction, the populations have recovered nicely in South Georgia.

The penguins also moult, shedding their old feathers for new.  While this is happening, they aren’t waterproof and can’t swim (which means no food), so they also huddle together on land for warmth and to conserve energy.

A budding romance?

A very regal King penguin

In the afternoon we visited Gold Harbour where we had a landing & zodiac cruise.  Gold Harbour is home to 25,000 breeding pairs of Kings, a small Gentoo colony and a large number of southern elephant seals.  I’ve said this before, but it’s really difficult to comprehend the vastness of these penguin colonies until you experience it.

Gentoos nesting in the tussock with the elephant seals

Sleeping beauties – he looks happy doesn’t he?

This is a really bad hair day

Those are not rocks!

Related

  • Elephant Seals
  • Gold Harbour
  • King Penguins
  • South Georgia
  • St. Andrew's Bay

Related Posts

  • Antarctica Photo Gallery

    April 1, 2018July 21, 2019
  • Day #14 – Setting foot on Antarctica

    January 2, 2017July 16, 2019

Post navigation

  Day #8 – In the footsteps of Shackleton
Day #10 – Cooper Bay & Drygalski Fjord  

3 thoughts on “Day #9 – Elephants & Kings – St. Andrew’s Bay & Gold Harbour”

  • Susan Perkins January 21, 2017 at 8:52 pm Reply

    Loved the videos. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to see so many penguins and seals all in one place. As always, amazing photos Kathy.

  • Terry Sullivan January 22, 2017 at 1:04 pm Reply

    Glad you have added some videos. like Susan, I have difficulty imagining so many penguins in one place.

  • Lynne Shibley January 22, 2017 at 7:53 pm Reply

    Enjoyed ++ Just wonderful shots and info. Thanks Kathy

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Recent Comments

  • Joyce:

    Thanks for sharing your wonder experience and the photos
  • Joyce Benham:

    Thank you and keep those photos coming ...amazing
  • Kathy Preston:

    Thanks Joyce - this trip was with Wild-Eye .
  • Joyce Benham:

    Wow you certainly got a trip of a life time
  • Joyce:

    Wow what a great series of photos of the mountain

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