South Georgia is one of the places on Earth where superlatives are born. The Pinnacle, the Culmination of Creation.

Join Arctic Wildlife Tours guides on board the Magellan Explorer and visit South Georgia. 

South Georgia is a distant, isolated world, living by its own laws and rules. You won't find anything like that anywhere else. South Georgia is the place where wildlife photographers and landscape lovers won't have problems composing the frame. A group of penguins or elephant seals will give a scale to the powerful background of snow-capped peaks and glaciers.

The archipelago is the home to hundreds of thousands of king penguins, which makes South Georgia the best location to photograph penguins. We'll bear witness to the daily lives of those incredibly interesting creatures, who, unexpectedly, are very similar to humans. We'll visit South Georgia at a time when the snow still on the ground and thousands of king penguins peacefully wobble along the shore —  the sight of teeming bird colonies against the backdrop of sharp mountain peaks is truly breathtaking. It is also the time when growing chicks gather in huge crèches. When the chick is old enough, King Penguins put it in one of the crèches, returning every several days with food. Both parents will leave at the same time. All the chicks in the rookery will stay together until their parents return. When the parents come home they recognize each other by the sound of their voices. Despite the thousands of youngsters crowded together, the parents are incredibly able to locate their youngsters by detecting their individual calls. The sight of a very serious adult penguin walking among very serious chicks is provides incredible photographic opportunities.

Besides king penguins, South Georgia has colonies of very photogenic macaroni and gentoo penguins. The island also harbors large pipits, pintails, several species of albatrosses, such as black-browed, gray-headed, and wandering albatrosses, southern giant petrels, brown skuas, and Antarctic terns.

Wandering albatrosses are incredible birds and the opportunity to see them and other albatross species is making South Georgia worth a visit. The largest bird species on earth, whose wingspan can reach up to 3.5 meters (11.5 ft) wandering albatross can cover nearly 1000 km (621 miles) in a single day even flying against the wind. Photographing these magnificent birds in flight is a rare and exciting opportunity. In October, the aggressive Antarctic fur seals still mostly hunting in the sea, and we'll have easier access to the nesting sites of various albatross species, and the magnificent Prion Island - the breeding place of the wandering albatrosses will be open for visitors.

The southern elephant seals are the largest species of seals on the planet and a highlight among South Georgia wildlife. October is the mating season for elephant seals when huge alfa males define and defend territories. They collect a harem of 40 to 50 females, which are much smaller than their enormous mates. Males battle each other for mating dominance. Some encounters end with roaring and aggressive posturing, but many others turn into violent battles. Southern elephants are the largest of all seals. Males can be over 20 feet long and weigh up to 8,800 pounds. You can only imagine what photographic potential brings the fight of such giants. Females give birth to a single pup and nurse it for approximately a month. Touching scenes of baby elephant seals and their attentive moms - one of the highlights of the South Georgia coastline in October. They are great fun to observe and photograph.

Get in touch with us if you have questions about this expedition. Schedule a zoom meeting or a phone call with one of our guides or send us an email on contact@arcticwildlifetours.com