Grytviken Travel Guide

 MikeAtSea Says:  The Workshops were used to maintain and repair the whale-catchers. Maintenance took place over the winter months so that the boats were ready for the time when the crews arrived for the whaling season. Originally the boats were pulled ashore by a huge winch. The floating... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  The whale-catcher Petrel was built in Oslo in 1928. The Petrel was one of the first whale-catcher with a catwalk so that the gunner could run from the bridge to the harpoon gun. The Petrel was converted to a sealer in 1956 and the catwalk was removed. Each summer the Petrel... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  At times Grytviken was a very busy place, whalers, scientist, government officials and explorers all ventured into the far south of the Atlantic in pursuit of adventure, wealth or some even to flee from their homes. The graveyard shows many who have perished on the island... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  The famous explorer of Antarctica whose first voyage on the Endurance to the Antarctic mainland almost ended in disaster; but due to his leadership and persistence all men were rescued, died during his second voyage to the Antarctic mainland in 1922. Upon the wish of his... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  In the middle of all the activity, lazing around in the warmth of the Antarctic summer sun were these massive Elephant Seals. Only young males and females could be seen along the beach, resting in all sort of impossible positions, at times making it difficult to pass, if one... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  But not all were resting, these two young fur seals took up a challenge to fight each other, common seen with younger male seals to gain strength for times when one would have to defend or claim a harem of female seals. 

 MikeAtSea Says:  Walking around the grass close to Grytviken one had to be careful not to step onto the seals or come to close to them. When one was watching the one, suddenly a bark would come from the other side, one hiding right in the grass. All relaxing in the sun before departing onto... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  Along the beach I only spotted two Gentoo Penguins that kept a distance from both humans as well as the King Penguins, Fur and Elephant Seals on the island. Not sure if they were lost, but as soon as they realized they had been seen, they returned back into the ocean. 

 MikeAtSea Says:  Scattered all across the beach one can find the majestic King Penguins resting and warming themselves in the sun. It is an amazing sight to see them just standing there without any fear of the approaching human "invaders". 

 MikeAtSea Says:  The Harpon and Tijuca Jetties were named after two transport ships. Harpon was a steamer that sailed regularly between South Georgia and Europe 1923 - 1957 and Tijuca was an iron three masted sailing ship which carried whale oil between Grytviken and Buenos Aires from 1907... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  Still today one can find whale bones scattered along the beach, memories of a time before 1964 when whales in the thousands were killed and processed here. These bones are right next to the meat processing plant. 

 MikeAtSea Says:  One of the items displayed outside the museum was this whale claw. It was first used in the 1932/1933 season and was able to pull whales of 100 tons. The use was to drag whales, tail first, up the stern ramps of whaling ships. The whale claw weighs 1.5 tons. 

 MikeAtSea Says:  Outside the museum one can find various items that were used during the whaling times. Some items were removed from the whaling vessels and give a good indication of what techniques were used to catch the whales. 

 MikeAtSea Says:  Visitors to the museum can view a display of the expeditions of Sir Shackleton including the amazing voyage onboard the Endurance, where Shackleton and his men got stuck in the ice of Antarctica and with the charisma and endurance of Shackleton all men were rescued. 

 MikeAtSea Says:  A must visit when in Grytviken is the Museum that is situated towards the right from the landing pier. A good collection of artifacts allows a visitor to obtain the feeling what happened on South Georgia before the islands were declared a protected area. Also inside is a... 

 MikeAtSea Says:  This Norwegian Lutheran Church was pre-built in Norway and erected by the whalers in 1913. This typical Norwegian church is one of the most southern churches on earth and was built by C.A. Larsen. It was consecrated on Christmas Day in 1913. Until 1931 there was often a...