7th to 10th November 2015. Falkland Islands to South Georgia.

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Before we left Stanley, we crowded on a lifeboat for a drill, all no doubt hoping we wouldn’t encounter the real-life situation, tossed on a wild sea like a can of sardines.

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A last glimpse of the Falklands as we sail from Stanley, out of Blanco Bay.

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There were huge numbers of sooty shearwaters sitting on the water (and here flying from the ship).  Jóhann Óli estimates there were 8,000 of them.

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Snow Petrels.

Visibility was generally poor during the crossing so I didn’t chase images then and we are now near South Georgia, three days later.

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Black-browed albatross.

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Giant Petrel, South Georgia in the background.

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The looming mountains of South Georgia.

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Map of journey.  Click to expand to large size (around 2,000 pixels wide).

The return route line is generally outside the incoming line and the landings are also numbered.

I have been on several tours but this one stands out for the quality of the company.  There was 48 of us almost all photographers, the vast majority of those of professional quality and specialising in wildlife.  They included Ole Jörgen Liodden and Roy Mangersnes of Wildphoto and Joshua Holko, Daniel Bergmann,  Eirik Grønningsæter and Bonnie Yap, with whom I journeyed from Spitzbergen to Iceland in 2013.

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Cape Petrel.

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Right Whale Bay, site of our first landing.

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Giant petrel.

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Black-browed albatross, flying towards land.

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