The tricky shallow landing is mainly for those desperate to see Chinstrap penguins.
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Why Visit?
There is really only one reason to visit Georges Point – the elusive Chinstrap penguin.
Where is it?
Georges Point is the northern tip of Ronge Island, exposed to the Gerlache Strait and marking the top of the Errera Channel.
Challenges?
Shallow rocky waters with no real beach lead to small sloped areas full of penguins. Tidal changes will maroon the less wary, and slippery rocks wait for all landing parties.
Wildlife
This is the center of the Gentoo Universe, with 1,700 pairs of Gentoo penguins nesting on Ronge Island, and the largest Gentoo colony in the peninsula, almost 4,800 pairs, on nearby Cuverville Island. But it is the Chinstrap penguins that people usually visit Georges Point for, even if there are fewer than 500 pairs of them recorded.
Fur seals will visit at the end of summer, and whales are common in the area.
Human activities
Ronge Island was named for Madame de Rongé, a sponsor of Adrien de Gerlache’s Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897-99, which thoroughly explored this part of the Antarctic peninsula.
Photos, Voting and more coming soon!