As one enters Stromness Harbor you are struck by the sight of the many buildings and rusting remains of one of the larger old whaling stations. Our Captain put the ship right up on the beach here making for a very short zodiac ride to shore. Due to the instability of the structures and the unpredictable high winds we were not allowed to wander too close to the buildings. As we landed on the beach we were greeted by quite a few male Fur Seals, some straggling Elephant Seals and of course Penguins. About a mile inland on a grassy hilltop is a small permanent Gentoo Penguin Colony.
In a life boat, Ernest Shackleton and two of his men left Elephant Island off the coast of Antarctica and traveled for 14 days and 800 miles ending up in South Georgia at Fortuna Bay. Knowing roughly where they were from past adventures they set out with minimal supplies and equipment up and over the mountains in hopes of finding the whaling station at Stromness Harbor. After a grueling 36 hour journey over the mountains and across South Georgia they finally heard the whistle blow at the whaling station where the whalers there initially thought they were an undiscovered species of apes due to their hairy, unshaven beat-up, un-human appearance. What a shock it was for the whalers at Stromness Harbor to learn these men were Sir Ernest Shackleton and some of his crew who were feared dead after no word of their whereabouts for over 15 months. 
If you want a good read about one of the most amazing stories of human endurance I would highly recommend Alfred Lansing’s book about the harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern age.

https://billklipp.zenfolio.com/blog/2018/2/Antarctica-Wanderings-IV--South-Georgia-Island-2

For purchase or for usage rights contact: Bill Klipp; billklipp@wkimages.net