12. The spirit of Shackleton - South Georgia

 

Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to cross Antarctica via the South Pole in 1914 ended in disaster when his ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice.  His crew reached Elephant Island in lifeboats but Shackleton left them there for four months as he set out for South Georgia in order to sound the alarm and hopefully rescue them. This is the story of his exploits and a visit to the remote island of South Georgia where king penguin colonies reach up to 200,000 individuals. Wildlife abounds on this mountainous island, with peaks up to 10,000 feet and old whaling stations rust after 50 years of abandonment. The talk concentrates on two visits by the speaker to South Georgia where colonies of Chinstrap, Macaroni, King and Gentoo penguins were seen, together with nesting wandering albatrosses, petrels, prions, shags, gulls and terns. The old whaling station of Grytviken is visited and part of the  final walk by Shackleton over the island to Stromness whaling station was also taken. Finally two historic and rare landings on Elephant Island, where Shackleton’s 22 men had been left, made a memorable and emotional finish to the trips and talk.

 

Duration 1 hour