The southern elephant seal is the world ’ s largest ; this young bull is relaxing on a beach in South Georgia , his harem of over 40 females resting nearby . inspired me greatly , as had her ambitious itinerary . She kindly read and commented on the whole text . By October 2023 I was at the Big Weekend on Great Cumbrae , and was casting around for ideas about whom to approach for the foreword . In a brainstorming session ( fuelled by Alex Roddie ’ s malt whisky ) Jon Sparks suggested Stephen Venables , the famous mountaineer and award-winning author .
I feared that Stephen would be far too famous and busy to help me . I knew of his traverses of South Georgia in Shackleton ’ s footsteps , made after his Everest achievements , and was surprised and delighted when he accepted . In parallel with Chiz , he commented on the entire text as well as writing a really generous foreword . Some readers will have enjoyed Stephen ’ s ‘ Cathedrals of the Earth ’ – an OWPG Zoom and by-product of this collaboration .
When I started on the book , I was so ignorant of basic facts that the first draft front cover showed the wrong species of penguin ! ( Once I realised , the king penguin was hastily replaced with an Adélie .) By the time of the Big Weekend at Cumbrae , I already knew about the successful 1902 – 4 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition and was delighted to find the monument to its landfall just outside where we stayed .
After Stephen kindly said he had learned important new facts from my book , I banished my impostor syndrome and published in March 2024 . ⛰
The 23ft James Caird , the lifeboat in which Shackleton and five men reached South Georgia from Elephant Island , is on display at Dulwich College , London ; Shackleton had been a ( not very studious ) pupil there .
King penguins routinely dive to at least 100m ( and up to 300m on occasion ); their eyes are well adapted to fishing in near-total darkness , with pupils that expand to collect light over their entire eye area .
8 outdoor focus / summer 2024