Welcome to Zavadovski Island ... in the Traversay Group of the South Sandwich Islands.

And then it started snowing — Zavadovski Island, SSI.

Snowy mist starts veiling the iceberg, which in the bottom photo, looks like a drowning man.

Zavadovski Island is dominated by Mt Curry — South Sandwich Islands.

Glimpse of the world's largest penguin colony ... these are chinstrap penguins.

Zavadovski Island ... ash-covered slopes frosted with snow — South Sandwich Islands.

Zavadovski Island, South Sandwich Islands.

A barely-there glimpse of the peak of Mt Curry — Zavadovski Island, South Sandwich Islands.

Chinstrap penguins on Zavadovski Island — South Sandwich Islands.

Zebra berg? ... the black stripes are ash embedded in the ice — Zavadovski Island, SSI.

Giant petrels taking advantage of the wind — Zavadovski Island, South Sandwich Islands.

An iceberg with calving remnants inside one of the caves eroded by the sea Zavadovski Island, SSI.

Iceberg near Zavadovski Island — South Sandwich Islands.

Mother Nature sculpting an iceberg near Zavadovski Island — South Sandwich Islands.

RWSE Day 8: Zavadovski Island & Icebergs

February 18 in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ⋅ 🌬 32 °F

Forget seeing Zavadovski Island under blue skies as it was pictured in the presentation … it was overcast and misty when we arrived at this northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands.

Forget doing any off-ship activities … conditions were simply too rough to put zodiacs in the water, or helicopters in the air.

When we first sighted the island on the horizon, it did seem like Zavadovski — named after the Russian naval officer who was the first to sight it on the Bellingshausen expedition in 1819 — might welcome us with slightly ‘open arms’ … at least the sky seemed to be brightening. The peak of Mt Curry — aka Mt Asphyxia — wasn’t visible, but a big plume of steam was melding with the clouds.

Then, it started snowing. Big, fat flakes blown about helter-skelter by the stiff wind. A mist enveloped the island and the icebergs nearby. Visibility became nil at times. But we persevered. We stayed on deck, praying for improvement. It wasn’t to be.

Hoping to find shelter, Captain Remmert took the ship around the top of the island, and around to the east side. No luck. The island was still mostly hidden … though the strong wind occasionally pulled the veil aside to give us a glimpse of what lay beyond. At one point, we caught a barely-there glimpse of the peak. We also managed distant looks at the penguin colony on the island. (You might recall that I mentioned in the previous footprint that the world’s biggest penguin colony is on this island … home to some 2+ million chinstraps.)

Long lenses and binoculars were essential if one was going to see anything. A serious amount of post processing saved many of the photos I took so we have some images with which to jog our memory of Zavadovski Island when we think of today in the years to come.

There was one aspect of our experience not captured in my images. The smell … occasional whiffs of sulphur from the volcano … followed by the stench of ammonia as we got closer to the penguin colony, especially as we passed the accurately named Reek Point. No wonder Zavadovski has many landmarks that bring to mind less-than-pleasant smells … Pungent Point, Stench Point, and Noxious Bluff, just to name a few.

Rather than waste time here hoping for improved conditions, EL Sara announced that we would continue on our way. We remained on deck, enjoying the icebergs that studded the seascape. I did say that there would be more icebergs … and closer to Ortelius, too!Read more