January 6, 2024August 24, 2024

A Rare Landing at Point Wild on Elephant Island

This post is part of our second once-in-a-lifetime expedition to the Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica. Click to expand this section and view the table of contents if you don’t want to read this sequentially, or you are looking for a specific part of the trip.

Wait, We’re Stopping?

The day started with half a Dramamine, “just in case,” as the weather maps didn’t look too promising. I stayed in our cabin to watch a lecture—though I have to admit, combining it with Dramamine made it hard to stay awake.

Late in the afternoon, we received a surprising announcement: we were heading to Point Wild on Elephant Island. Last year, when we passed by Point Wild, the conditions were so bad that even getting a glimpse of the rocky shoreline from our quarantine cabin was difficult. Thick clouds had completely obscured the island. This time, the weather had allowed us a brief but unforgettable glimpse of one of the most historic and desolate places in Antarctic exploration history.

Dinner would be delayed because the captain had decided to anchor the ship so we could make a stop. This was unexpected, especially considering the notoriously harsh conditions in the South Shetland Islands, where Elephant Island is located. We arrived around 6 p.m., and despite the swells, the crew launched the zodiacs to assess the landing site. Through the fog, we could see and hear ice breaking off a nearby glacier.

Close-up of a massive glacier meeting the ocean, with chunks of ice breaking off into the water.

Point Wild is a historic spot, named after Frank Wild, the man who led Shackleton’s stranded crew from the Endurance as they waited for four gruelling months on this rocky, inhospitable spit of land, hoping for rescue. With the wind, swell, and surge, we were warned that this landing would be tricky, and only those who felt sure-footed should attempt it.

Person in a red jacket standing on a boat holding a radio, with others seated in blue jackets, surrounded by foggy mountains and the ocean.

We were on the first zodiac, with Greg as our guide. Despite the swells and rough conditions, the zodiac ride was exhilarating.

Group of people disembarking from a small boat onto rocky shore, surrounded by a large penguin colony under foggy skies.

Two smiling people in winter jackets and life vests taking a selfie near the ocean on a foggy day

The landing was extremely brief, but the experience was incredible. The ride back to the ship was wet and bumpy, but I still couldn’t believe we had managed to land—something we’d been told was quite rare. Penguins were porpoising through the water, adding a sense of excitement to the surreal landscape.