True to form for the rest of this trip, our journey to Simon’s Town did not go according to plan. We’d basically lost an entire day after being forced to overnight in Johannesburg. But honestly, that was probably preferable to the alternative. Our original schedule would have had us driving from Cape Town to Simon’s […]
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that a trip to Mala Mala Game Reserve wasn’t the plan. Which really was perfect, considering everything that had led up to this point. After unexpectedly disembarking in Cape Town, we checked into the Victoria & Alfred Hotel and had a lovely evening exploring the waterfront. After weeks […]
During lunch, the Silver Wind moved the short distance to Tristan da Cunha. There were several options for the afternoon: a volcano hike, a walk to the potato patches, a town tour or a bird walk, and even golf. We chose the bird walk. Then we arrived on shore and learned that the bird walk […]
After four days at sea, the Tristan da Cunha archipelago was finally in sight. The plan was ambitious. We would visit Nightingale Island in the morning before moving to Tristan da Cunha in the afternoon. We needed to make the most of the day because the wind and swell were expected to increase, making further […]
After the frustrations of the previous day, it was a relief to wake to sunshine at Stromness. A Landing at Stromness It was still windy, but the forecast was improving, and for the first time on the voyage our Group 3 was called in the first round of landings. The gusts were still strong enough […]
The day began with another early start, with the first zodiacs scheduled to leave at 7:00 am for a cruise around Jason Harbour. The plan for the afternoon as a landing at Grytviken. We took one look at the weather. It was pouring rain. After yesterday’s zodiac cruise in similar conditions, we decided to sit […]
After two days at sea, we woke to our first view of South Georgia on this expedition. Our destination? Salisbury Plain. We visited in January 2023 and remembered massive king penguin colonies and heaps of fur and elephant seals, so we were excited to return. This was also our first proper expedition landing aboard the […]
Our first sea day on the Silver Wind expedition felt typical and passed quickly. The day included a zodiac briefing, our first biosecurity inspection, a kayak briefing for those who had signed up, and the captain’s welcome. We had not signed up for kayaking, and I hadn’t even realized it was an option until the […]
This was the first expedition we had ever taken that started in Chile rather than Argentina, which immediately made the whole experience feel a little different. The expedition package included one night at the Mandarin Oriental Santiago, though we added a second night to give ourselves an extra day in the city before embarkation. Honestly, […]
We have only had three penguin species remaining on our goal to see all 18 species. Two of them, the Northern Rockhopper and the Erect-created, were going to be challenging. The Northern Rockhopper Penguin lives on remote islands in the South Atlantic, in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. Reaching them is not easy. In fact, […]