Grytviken Whaling Station Adventure
Set amongst spectacular mountain scenery Grytviken Whaling Station offers a fantastic adventure.
Exploring the former Grytviken Whaling Station on South Georgia is a great adventure. Just watch out for the wildlife.
South Georgia Island is one of the world’s most remote locations. Located in the southern Atlantic Ocean it takes quite an effort to reach South Georgia.
Most folks do so, from Argentina, as part of a tour to Antarctica.
As you can see the South Georgia archipelago offers staggering views. The landscape is dramatic and, at it’s highest point, reaches to a height of almost 3,000 metres.
With a variety of landing sites, accessed via zodiac inflatable boats, the wildlife you’ll likely see on South Georgia includes the following:
Several million penguins including massive colonies of chinstrap penguin, adelie penguin, macaroni penguin and king penguin
Important and substantial rookeries of snow petrels, cape petrels, southern fulmars and albatross
Large colonies of elephant seals (perhaps a total of 113,000 breeding females) and Antarctic fur seals (estimated at between 4.5 and 6 million in total)
Thanks to the abundance of penguins leopard seals and crabeater seals are regular visitors to South Georgia.
Grytviken was operated as a Norwegian whaling station, for the Argentine Fishing Company, from 1904 until 1966.
During that time huge populations of whale and elephant seals were harvested for oil and fertilizer in the seas surrounding Grytviken.
Grytviken South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Grytviken is a fascinating tourist destination on South Georgia Island, itself part of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands group.
Visiting Grytviken today is a fascinating though, for me, a somewhat sombre experience.
It’s a place where nature, wildlife and history collide in a way that’s immediately obvious to visitors, most of whom spend a few hours wandering around on a short excursion from a cruise ship moored nearby.
The landscape around Grytviken is indeed striking with the whaling station nestled, on the edge of King Edward Cove, between the sea and the mountains.
About To Travel?
Wildlife Returns To Grytviken, South Georgia
The good news is that, following the cessation of whaling around the island, wildlife is returning to South Georgia.
Believe me that’s clear by the amount of wildlife you pass by as you make your way, tentatively and with care, from your zodiac inflatable boat onto the beach at Grytviken.
These days you have to keep your wits about you as elephant seals, weddell seals and king penguins share the beach and often choose to rest around buildings close to the shoreline.
King penguin stands guard in front of the historical Grytviken church.
Grytviken Church Has Been Renovated
The Grytviken church has been renovated and sits beautifully in the landscape. I had a lot of fun photographing the church with that lovely king penguin in the foreground.
The church is well worth a look and there’s also a museum and a working post office, where visitors can purchase highly valued stamps.
The British research station is situated about a kilometre away at King Edward Point which we sailed past on our way in and out of the harbour.
The mountains showcase the dramatic and unforgiving landscape around Grytviken.
It’s really a spectacular site and I’m so happy I had the opportunity to visit and photograph the landscape and settlement around Grytviken.
Historic remains at the former Grytviken Whaling Station on South Georgia Island.
Historic Remains on Grytviken Whaling Station
The remains of the now defunct Grytviken Whaling Station stands as both an environmental tragedy and a fascinating relic of days gone by.
Walking along the shore line is a fascinating experience with remnants of the whaling days evidenced in whale bones, rusting oil processing plants and abandoned whaling ships.
I see no reason to celebrate the brutal work of whalers. Nonetheless, I can only imagine how difficult life must have been for the whalers stationed at Grytviken all those years ago.
Grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton at Grytviken Cemetery on South Georgia Island.
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Grave at Grytviken Cemetery
The great British explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, is a big part of the history of South Georgia.
Shackleton is buried in the Grytviken Cemetery. As you can see in the above photo his gravesite has become somewhat of a pilgrimage point for tourists.
At his wife’s directions Shackleton was buried with the headstone on his grave facing south towards Antarctica.
I find that fascinating and quite poignant given that all the other headstones in the cemetery face towards Europe.
Prepare Yourself for a Journey to Grytviken
If you’re about to undertake a significant journey to Grytviken and the photos you make are important to you then you should consider hooking up with me for a 3-hour private photography lesson.
I run these very popular courses in Melbourne, Australia.
What’s particularly great about them is that they’re practical in nature and based entirely on the camera you own and the photography you want to do.
“We have a lot to revise and practice but now feel more confident we can get some great photos.”
”You have a real talent for teaching, you made everything so clear and easy to understand.”
”We have come away with a new understanding of our camera.”
Renovations underway at the former Grytviken Whaling Station on South Georgia Island.
A private photography class in Melbourne with me is based around a very simple recipe, which I can describe as follows:
Just you and me
Your camera and
What ever it is you want to achieve
That’s why it’s possible to cover so much in a single 3-hour session.
If you’d like to discuss the possibility of signing up for one of these private courses feel free to Contact Me directly.
Grave of Felix Artuso in the Grytviken Cemetery on South Georgia Island.
Overview Of Grytviken Whaling Station
There’s more than one reason for South Georgia to be included on the itinerary of many cruises that head down to Antarctica.
As well as huge populations of penguins, seals and elephant seals historically important sites such as the Grytviken Whaling Station and Stromness are well worth a visit.
The tiny Grytviken Cemetery is also of interest. This photo features the grave of Felix Artuso set amongst the dramatic landscape surrounding the old whaling station of Grytviken on South Georgia Island.
The weather was mostly overcast during my visit to Grytviken. Fortunately the sea was calm which made the landing, via zodiac inflatable boats, quite straightforward.
However, when the sun came out, the landscape sprung to life and transformed this otherwise bleak and forbidding environment into a spectacularly beautiful location for landscape photography.
The South Georgia and South Sandwiches Islands group are a very long way from my base in Australia.
Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time exploring and photographing the remains of the Grytviken Whaling Station.
I appreciated the opportunity to travel to this wild and remote location as part of a photo tour I co-ran to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica.
Perhaps, one day, we’ll travel there together.
