My last full week. Not a good feeling.

Today is December 1^st;  on the 5^th or 6^th I will get on a ship and leave South Georgia!

 I am not sure I can describe how that feels. It will be exactly 13 months since I first set foot on this magical isle. 13 months in which I have experienced soaring highs and plummeting lows (far far less lows than highs); where I have been able to experience some of the most amazing scenery and surroundings; live in a BBC wildlife series every day; work with dedicated people, make incredible friends and discover a resilience (mainly for dealing with engines) within myself that I was pretty sure was there but I now have had confirmed repeatedly.

When I woke last Monday with the realisation that this was my last full week here, I decided to make the most of it. Nearly every evening I have been going out for walks and when I was in the office I was mainly just looking out of the window.

I spent most of the week completing the handover for my new guys. This involved more training, showing them how to do maintenance and mostly a lot of talking. I don’t know how they feel but I was tired of the sound of my own voice by about Smoko on Monday. The poor guys had to endure my explanations of things but so far, all credit to them, they haven’t asked me to shut up or go away. The funniest bit of the handover was the dry run of slipping a jetboat. We couldn’t do it properly since 1. There was a ship tied up and we can’t slip a boat when there is a ship in the way and 2. The tide wasn’t right. When I said “we’ll do a dry run” I could see them rolling their eyes and asking themselves why on earth we were bothering. When we had hitched the JCB up to the trailer and then spent 15 mins trying to manoeuvre it around a pile of wood and a seal they began to see the point. In the end we had to move the wood because we couldn’t get the trailer to do what a normal trailer should. After half an hour more of my careful explanations and demonstrations (well, more me saying something then adding “Oh I forgot to say...”) they looked both frazzled and worried and we decided that I would leave them my number so if ever they got the boat stuck half way on the trailer they could call me and ask for advice. Perhaps not the best way to leave things but without actually slipping the boat it was the best I could do. It took about 2 hours to go through the whole thing and I think they had more respect for the system and the boats after that. I just hope that the first time they do it, it goes smoothly. 

I was very good on Thursday and didn’t get out of bed and allowed them to deal with taking people out to a ship early in the morning by themselves. It was tough though. Those boats have been my babies for 13 months and for 13 months I have nearly always been the one on the water so to leave them to it took a certain amount of self control. I was very proud of myself. Later on that day we tried to get round to West Cumberland Bay to do the last bit of local knowledge stuff but the wind and swell combined to outwit us at Sappho Point and we had to turn round. It was a good experience because they got to see what conditions we would go home in and I was able to introduce them to the most glamorous of the boaties’ duties: food scraps. Lovely, at least it feeds the birds.

On Tuesday Julie and I walked round to Susa Point along the beach. We found the first fur seal pups over this side of the bay and spent a fair amount of time cooing at them (well Julie did, I acted like a big bad, experienced winterer and remained cool on the outside while inside all I was doing was saying: “so cute, so cute, I want one”). We walked past one very pregnant female and then when we turned back almost immediately she had a new pup. It was literally 3.5 mins old and was lovely. Well no, it was slimy and squeaking but lovely none the less. We also came across a pup that was about 3 days old and so full of attitude it bounced towards us on its flips trying to scare us off. However, what it didn’t know was that pup growls are very endearing so it didn’t have quite the desired effect. 

Brand spanking new pup

Lunch time

Pint sized attitude

On Friday we finally had a break in the wind and we went round to West Cumberland Bay while we could. Rod asked us to take some wood to Sealers cave for a possible ex winterers last night away. This meant we took Dotty, the 2.5m tender (and pride of the fleet) with us. We dropped the wood at Sealers cave at Maiviken and then proceeded up West Cumberland Bay. I got Matthew to drive close to the shore when we got near Carr Valley so I could see if I could find the entrance to Curlew Cave. It was small wonder that we couldn’t see it before when we weren’t sure where it was. It is perfectly hidden. As we drove on the sun came out and twinkled on the glaciers at the end of the bay. It also highlighted the Sooties soaring around the boat and cliffs. It was at that point that I started to really think about the fact that I may never come back here again or if I do it won’t be for a long time. I had to leave the cabin and go outside so the chaps wouldn’t see the tears start to course down my cheeks. When we got back to the jetty I was greatly cheered by the snottiest seal I have ever seen. He really was very special. 

Dotty, rather full of new boatmen

 

Launch from Sealers Cave

Entrance to Curlew Cave from the sea

Snotty

The weekend dawned snowy and nasty. It was really rather unpleasant. Julie, Tim and I had said we would help Daniel count Penguin nests so we duly trudged over to Maiviken in the snow. I was wearing my waterproofs which I never normally wear so that was an odd feeling. My boots are no longer waterproof at all. I am not surprised. I have battered them and tramped them through most of our travel area for 13 months, over some of the least forgiving terrain there is: scree and acidic bog. I have come to love those boots and have never had a bad time in them.

The penguins were very unimpressed with the snow, as were we. I nearly had to put on my snow goggles just to be able to see to count them. Once we had finished we went down to have a look at Tortula and then Daniel continued on his rounds while we retreated to the hut for tea and lunch. Tim and Julie said they could see why Daniel eats quite so much if he has to do that every other day and were incredibly impressed with Hazel’s record of the Maiviken run of 47mins – an amazing achievement.

Unimpressed by the weather

Ugly chick .......

......but look who grew up all beautiful

On Sunday it was no longer snowing... it was raining, even worse. Deciding that I need to make the most of this place no matter what, I determined to go out anyway but not to Papua beach which I had been planning on, rather to Penguin River for a short walk and then back. Valiantly Micky and Julie decided to accompany me. Fortified by several cups of coffee and pancakes (we were mainly waiting for the rain to stop which it didn’t) we headed round. We decided to go via the beach. Although it means having to deal with more Furries than going along Brown Flats, it allowed us to see more pups. It was a most enjoyable walk, the only thing that caused a small flutter was when a ‘psycho seal’ came charging towards us.  Micky put out his aluminium walking pole in prescribed seal fending off fashion at which point this large male bit the walking pole in two, shook it and took it off with him into the tussock. I am not sure about Micky but my heart rate definitely rose slightly. It is so easy to become blasé about the seals but it takes an episode like that to just remind one that they can be vicious. All’s well that ends well though and we continued and finished a very nice walk, avoiding that part of the beach on the return.

I am now about to go and eat dinner with the builders for the last time and then spend another evening contemplating packing and mainly drinking tea.

I will write another blog when I leave but I will not be able to post it till I arrive back in Stanley. So for now, from South Georgia, I will sign off.

Out

Planet in the night sky

A last rainbow