What to see and do at Elephant Island, Antarctica
Elephant Island is a mountainous ice-covered island off the coast of Antarctica
Elephant Island is located in the Southern Ocean at the north end of the South Shetland Islands. Elephant Island was named after the elephant head shape of the island and the sighting of elephant seals on the island by Captain George Powell in 1821.
Mount Pendragon is the tallest mountain on the island and is 3,192 ft high. The weather around the island is normally foggy with lots of snow and high winds which can reach 100 mph or more.
We visited Elephant Island on 1/30/2024. We experienced winds up to 78 mph when we arrived at the island. We cruised eastward along the south coast of the island and then along the north coast to the west to Point Wild. While passing between Elephant Island and Clarence Island we encountered over 100 humpback whales and thousands of chinstrap penguins feeding in the passage along with numerous sea birds.
Point Wild in front of a glacier on Elephant Island
Shackleton's camp at Point Wild on Elephant Island
The passage between Elephant Island and Clarence Island
Cape Petrel sea bird near Elephant Island
Chinstrap penguins near Elephant Island
A pair of Humpback whales near Elephant Island
An Albatross flying low over the ocean
Chinstrap penguins on an iceberg near Elephant Island
Endurance Glacier is the main glacier on the south side of Elephant Island.
Cruising along the coast of Elephant Island