South Georgia is one of the remotest and wildest of the United Kingdom's Overseas Territories. Located 1,400 kilometres east of the Falkland Islands, the island has no airport - the only access is by sea (two days sailing from the Falklands). It measures roughly 170 kilometres by 30 kilometres and is entirely covered by snow-capped mountains that reach a height of 2,934 metres, while more than 160 glaciers run down to the sea. The landscape is reminiscent of Norway's fjord coastline - one reason, perhaps, why early Norwegian whalers felt so at home here.

Huge numbers of seabirds and marine mammals breed along the shores fringed with tussock grass. Save for the rusting remains of former whaling stations, the island is virtually unspoilt by man, so offers a unique opportunity to see the unparalleled wildlife and spectacular scenery of this most beautiful part of the Southern Ocean.

The first recorded landing was by British explorer James Cook, who landed in Possession Bay and claimed the island for the Britain on his second round-the-world voyage. Hoping to find the Southern Continent, he was disappointed to learn that South Georgia was no more than an island, and wrote: "...a country doomed by nature never once to feel the warmth of the sun's rays, but to lie for ever buried under everlasting snow and ice."

Soon after, hunters of fur and elephant seals found their way here, exploiting these animals for their furs and oil. Norwegian, and some British, companies built settlements and whaling stations in the sheltered inlets, and by the start of the twentieth century South Georgia was the centre of the whaling industry in the Southern Ocean. This continued until 1964, by which time the whale population had been decimated. Whales and seals are now protected - the populations have recovered, and both fur and elephant seals are once again numerous on the beaches. Whale species are also recovering, albeit slowly, and are now frequently spotted.