Most Inspirational Moment
Too many to say! The first wonder was seeing an albatross fly past our cabin window when we opened the curtains in the morning. Then there were the hundreds of thousands of penguins on South Georgia at St Andrews Bay, Shackeltons Grave at Grytviken, and the pod of Orcas that swam past the ship at one point.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Kirsten was an experienced and conscientous leader. Excellent briefing and debriefings. A general feeling that she knew the area well, the flora and fauna, together with the inherent risks associated with any landings.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be prepared to accept that conditions in the Southern Ocean completely determine what you can or cannot do by way of landings. Choose a ship (like ours - The Ioffe) which can handle bad conditions and on which the movement of the ocean is less obvious than on lesser vessels. Be prepared to be amazed!
Suggestions
The Expedition Team were exceptional, the Crew wonderful, the food was very good and very plentiful. Expect to put on weight! It helped to have a superb, well captained, ship like the Akademik Ioffe, which was more stable than one would imagine, even in a Force 12, in the Drake Passage.You will take more pictures than you imagine, but do spend some time not looking through the viewfinder.The DVD at the end of the trip was great. It was nice not only to have a slide show, but also all of the peoples best picture choices. The maps and daily bulletins helped to write up journals and remind us of anything we had forgotten.If you can go to South Georgia, do so. The combination of scenery, history and wildlife makes South Georgia one of the special places on this planet. It does help if you can get the very good weather we had.If you have any desire to go - then GO!
