Southern Elephant I., SSI
Only occasionally visited.
Rating: * *

Why Visit?

If you can get ashore anywhere on Elephant Island, you are lucky.  This is the most remote of the remote, and extreme of the extreme, even for Antarctic locations.  The island is mostly renowned for its links to the Endurance saga.

Where is it?

Cape Lookout is the southernmost extremity of Elephant Island, one of the most remote and dismal spots on the planet.  Elephant Island is the northernmost of the South Shetland Islands – out in the Drake Passage.

Challenges?

Too many to list.  Tough conditions are normal here – expect rough seas, high winds, icy rock and generally unpleasant conditions – on a good day.

Wildlife

There are Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins here, but they will have their heads down, so it will be hard to tell.  Antarctic fur seals and Weddell and Southern elephant seals may also be spotted.

Human activities

Cape Lookout was known by that name as early as 1822.  British and American sealers were active in the area around this time, though they probably preferred the (comparatively) more sheltered waters of the more westerly South Shetlands.



Photos, Voting and more coming soon!


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