Things to do in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Pay homage to Sir Ernest Shackleton at his granite grave in the small whalers' cemetery, a poignant tribute to the legendary explorer's connection to South Georgia.

Witness over 150,000 pairs of king penguins blanketing the glacial outwash plain against a backdrop of towering mountains and the Ross Glacier.

Paddle through crystalline waters in a deep glacial fjord, weaving between sculpted blue icebergs calved from the Risting and Jenkins Glaciers.

Explore the rusting boilers, flensing decks and beached whale catchers of this once-busy Norwegian station, now being reclaimed by nature.

Walk carefully among enormous beachmaster bull seals and their harems at the foot of the Bertrab Glacier, with king and gentoo penguins as neighbours.

Scramble onto tussock-covered slopes to find the flamboyant yellow crests of macaroni penguins nesting above a rugged cove frequented by chinstrap and gentoo penguins.

Follow in Shackleton's footsteps on the last overland stretch of his epic 1916 journey, descending from the col above Fortuna Bay towards the deserted Stromness station.

Marvel at the second-largest king penguin rookery on the island, a sea of black, white and orange stretching between the Grace and Lucas Glaciers.

Cruise close to the towering blue face of this active tidewater glacier in Cumberland East Bay, waiting for blocks of ice to calve with a thunderous roar.

Step inside the simple timber church built by whalers in 1913, which still hosts occasional services and weddings amid the old station buildings.

Zigzag past brash ice and bergy bits in a rugged inflatable boat, getting eye-level with crabeater and Weddell seals hauled out on ice floes.

Enter a natural amphitheatre of tussock grass where thousands of grey-headed and black-browed albatrosses nest on steep slopes above the sheltered inlet.

Scan the waters from a ship's bridge or Zodiac for the distinctive v-shaped blow of recovering southern right whales that feed and rest in this rich marine habitat.

Stand on the same pebble shore where the James Caird made landfall in 1916, completing one of history's greatest small-boat voyages.

Visit the modern British Antarctic Survey research station beside Grytviken to learn about fisheries monitoring, marine science and rat eradication efforts.

Climb through tussock to a high point overlooking the harbour, Cumberland Bay and the Allardyce Range – a world of snow, rock and sea.

From a designated boardwalk, watch the largest flying birds on Earth perform courtship rituals on a grassy area set aside for this vulnerable endemic breeder.

From a ship, observe northern rockhopper penguins ricochet up sheer sea cliffs to high nests, alongside flashy blue-eyed cormorants.

Gaze at one of the planet's largest chinstrap penguin colonies, thriving on an active volcanic summit in the remote South Sandwich archipelago.

On a rare expedition cruise through the South Sandwich Islands, watch fumes rise from the ice-filled caldera of this heavily glaciated volcano.

Negotiate a beach fiercely guarded by Antarctic fur seals to reach the sprawling gentoo penguin colony that lines the shore of this sheltered cove.

Wander through the abandoned whaling station where Shackleton finally reached help, seeing the twisted metal cookers and the names on weathered wooden grave markers.

Let the ship penetrate deep into the mountain-walled inlet, past glaciers and shimmering icebergs, often reaching a dead-end of sheer ice cliffs.

Look up to see the delicate, pale-backed albatross gliding on stiff winds above the cove, one of the most elegant of the region's seabirds.

Retrace the last miles of Shackleton's traverse over alpine terrain, fording streams and crossing a mountain pass before the sight of civilisation.