Falklands & South Georgia Islands

Stromness Whaling Station

South Georgia Island

This is site of the whaling station where Ernest Shackleton finally found help for his stranded crew on Elephant Island. We took part of the same route he took and were greeted with this magnificent view.

In 1914, Shackleton made his third trip to the Antarctic with the ship 'Endurance', planning to cross Antarctica via the South Pole. Early in 1915, 'Endurance' became trapped in the ice, and ten months later sank. Shackleton's crew had already abandoned the ship to live on the floating ice. In April 1916, they set off in three small boats, eventually reaching Elephant Island. Taking five crew members, Shackleton went to find help. In a small boat, the six men spent 16 days crossing 1,300 km of ocean to reach South Georgia and then trekked across the island to a whaling station in Stromness. The remaining men from the 'Endurance' were rescued in August 1916. Not one member of the expedition died. 'South', Shackleton's account of the 'Endurance' expedition, was published in 1919.

AntarcticAptenodytes patagonicusAvifaunaBirdsCheesemans Ecology SafarisExpeditionFaunaFloraFortuna BayFur SealsGlacierIce BreakerKing PenguinsKonig GlacierLandscapeMammalsMarine LifeNaturePenguinsShipSouth Georgia IslandSouthern OceanWildlifeStromness