Cooper Bay

Cooper Bay lies near the southeastern tip of South Georgia and is the best place on the island to see macaroni penguins, whose orange crests stand out against the tussac-covered cliffs where they nest in their thousands. Chinstrap penguins, rare on South Georgia, and gentoos breed here too. Visits are usually made by inflatable boat along the shore, since the colonies sit on steep rocky slopes. The bay opens at the mouth of the Drygalski Fjord, a narrow channel between sheer rock walls that ends at the face of the Risting Glacier, and many ships combine the two in a single morning of cruising.