Fortuna Bay

Fortuna Bay sits at the end of a 6km fjord on South Georgia's northeast coast. Its human history is intimately tied to the exploitation of the island's wildlife; the bay takes its name from the Fortuna, the first whaling ship to operate from Grytviken in the early years of the 20th century. Before then, it was a regular haunt for sealers looking for elephant seal oil. A 2019 archaeological dig in a cave near the landing point for zodiacs revealed evidence of long occupation, including clay pipes, burnt bones and charcoal behind a rough stone wall built for shelter.

The bay is surrounded by alpine peaks and glaciers, with a plain of tussac grass, fellfield and grassland that is home to another one of the incredible king penguin colonies that South Georgia excels in.

The walk starts at Worsley Beach on the eastern edge of Fortuna Bay and climbs quickly through a tussocky landscape to a wide ridge of gravel and shale. From here there are wonderful views to Crean Lake. This lake was frozen in 1916 and only 'discovered' when Tom Crean put his foot through the ice. Walkers skirt the shore to climb gently towards two tarns. This is the highest point of the walk and is frequently snow-covered at the start of the season.

From here, follow the scree down to a knoll to where Shackleton, Crean and Worsley were rewarded with their first glimpse of Stromness. It is a shallow descent from here to the grassy valley: thankfully it's not necessary to precariously climb down the waterfall as the exhausted men did, not realising there was an easier option. On the valley floor, braided streams lead over the gravel past a gentoo penguin colony to Stromness beach.

For safety reasons it is not possible to visit the ruined whaling station itself, so zodiacs wait on the beach to take walkers back to their ship. 

Fortuna Bay is home to around 4,000 breeding pairs of king penguins – including chicks this adds up to around 12,000 birds during the visitor's season. Some visitors find the colony here a more engaging experience than the overwhelming sensations of larger colonies like St Andrews Bay. 

There is a small gentoo penguin rookery near the zodiac landing site, while light-mantled albatross nest in the cliffs above. Pintail ducks are a common site on the glacial outwash streams on the plain. 

The beach is a popular haul-out for elephant seals. Fur seals were previously unknown here, but have started to arrive in large numbers over the last 20 years: a sign of the massive population growth the species is experiencing on South Georgia.