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 […]
After everything it had taken to reach Nightingale Island, four and a half days at sea didn’t sound particularly exciting. We didn’t care. We had seen the northern rockhopper penguins. That changed everything. Instead of spending the sea days wondering whether the expedition would deliver the one thing we’d travelled all this way to see, […]
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 […]
We woke to light rain and our first proper view of Puerto Williams. Our first impression? It is definitely not Ushuaia. After breakfast we walked into “town,” though in hindsight that may have been slightly optimistic wording. None of the stores were open, which honestly made sense because technically we were not even supposed to […]