FUNDING FOR "ART WOLFE'S TRAVELS TO THE EDGE" IS PROVIDED BY... CANON.

DEDICATED TO INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS TO PRESERVE AND TO PROTECT THE BEAUTY, DIVERSITY, AND GRANDEUR OF THE NATURAL WORLD.

FROM CAPTURE TO DISPLAY, CANON CAMERAS, HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO, PRINTERS, AND PROJECTORS HELP TO FUEL THE PASSION AND THE CREATIVITY THAT BRING THIS INCREDIBLE WORLD INTO FOCUS.

AND BY... YOU CHASE AFTER MOMENTS.

THE MOMENT THE LIGHT IS JUST RIGHT.

THE MOMENT YOU SEE IT IN THEIR EYES.

A MOMENT OF TRIUMPH OR OF TRAGEDY.

THE MOMENT A SMILE BREAKS OR WHEN THE RAINS COME.

THE MOMENT YOU IMAGINED IS PASSING RIGHT NOW.

BUT THE MOMENT YOU SEE, WHEN IT ALL COMES TOGETHER, IS A MOMENT YOU'VE CAPTURED FOREVER.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY... AT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL, OUR MISSION IS TO CONSERVE AND PROTECT THE WORLD'S MOST PRECIOUS NATURAL RESOURCES.

BUT EQUALLY, IT IS TO CHAMPION A CAUSE LARGER THAN OURSELVES.

[ MUSIC PLAYING ] Wolfe: SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND IS BITTERLY COLD, WILD, INHOSPITABLE, AND YET, IT HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST CONCENTRATIONS OF WILDLIFE FOUND ANYWHERE.

AND IT IS MY FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH.

I'M ART WOLFE.

JOIN ME ON "TRAVELS TO THE EDGE."

Wolfe: THE SOUTHERNMOST TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA IS CAPE HORN.

ANTARCTICA LIES 800 MILES TO THE SOUTH.

THE REMOTE ISLAND OF SOUTH GEORGIA LIES TO THE EAST OF THESE TWO CONTINENTS, EXPOSED TO THE FULL FURY OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN.

JOINING ME ON THIS JOURNEY IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST AUTHORITIES ON SEA BIRDS, PETER HARRISON.

AND EXPLORER AND NATURALIST, SHIRLEY METZ.

THIS IS THE WILDEST ISLAND I CAN THINK OF.

THERE ARE ONLY A FEW HUNDRED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THAT HAVE EVER CIRCUMNAVIGATED THIS ISLAND, BECAUSE IT'S A FEARFUL PLACE.

TAKE US AROUND THIS COASTLINE.

THIS IS AS WILD AS IT GETS IN SOUTH GEORGIA.

WE WILL FEEL AS THOUGH WE ARE IN ANTARCTICA, TRUE AND PROPER.

Wolfe: TELL ME ABOUT THIS AREA.

IT WAS HERE THAT SHACKLETON CAME IN AFTER HIS 800-MILE JOURNEY.

TO THIS DAY, THEY'RE STILL GASPING AT THE OPEN-BOAT JOURNEY OF 800 MILES.

Wolfe: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS IN STORE FOR US?

MAYBE TWO-AND-A-HALF TO THREE DAYS OF ROLLING AROUND IN THE WINDIEST, STORMIEST OCEAN ON THE WORLD.

THEY'VE RUN INTO A FIRST-CLASS STORM WITH 30-FOOT SEAS.

ALBATROSSES ARE BEING TOSSED AROUND.

VERY, VERY DRAMATIC, BUT I AM GETTING SOME GREAT SHOTS.

IF EVER A PLACE SAID "PRIMORDIAL," IT HAS TO BE SOUTH GEORGIA.

ESPECIALLY IN THIS PRE-DAWN LIGHT.

THE SOUNDS, THE SMELLS, THE SIGHTS, OF ALL THESE PENGUINS AND ELEPHANT SEALS -- [ SEALS GROWLING ] THIS IS THE PLACE THAT I LOVE TO COME BACK TO, YEAR IN, YEAR OUT.

IT'S REALLY EARLY IN THE MORNING, AND THE LIGHT HASN'T QUITE GOTTEN UP TO WHERE I CAN REALLY START TO DO MY WORK.

SO I LIKE TO WALK AROUND, WITH MY SUBJECTS, AND FIGURE OUT A PLACE TO PHOTOGRAPH THEM.

LET'S GO DOWN TO THE BEACH, GET SOME PHOTOS, WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE LUNCH.

[ MUSIC PLAYING ] A LOT OF PENGUINS HERE!

BIGGEST COLONY IN THE WORLD OF KING PENGUINS.

A FEW YEARS AGO, WE ONLY HAD, SAY, 200,000 KING PENGUIN PAIRS ON SOUTH GEORGIA; NOW, OVER 400,000 PAIRS OF KING PENGUINS.

WHY DO YOU THINK THEY'RE INCREASING AT SUCH AN AMAZING RATE?

WELL, I THINK THE EARTH IS WARMING.

AND THE WARMER OCEAN AROUND SOUTH GEORGIA, THE PULLBACK OF ALL OF THESE GLACIERS, AND SO ON, IT HAS BENEFITED THE KING PENGUIN.

I'M LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE.

THERE'S SO MUCH TO WORK WITH.

IF A COMMITTEE OF DESIGNERS GOT TOGETHER, I DON'T THINK THEY COULD HAVE DESIGNED A MORE BEAUTIFUL BIRD.

GOLDEN-YELLOW STANDS OUT SO REGALLY AGAINST THE SILVER.

SILVER AND GOLD IN A BEAUTIFUL SHAPE ON THE TOP OF THESE BIRDS.

AND IT'S JUST SO FUN TO WORK WITH THE COLOR AND THE DESIGN OF THEM.

WHAT I TRY TO DO AFTER HAVING ESTABLISHED A SENSE OF PLACE TO THESE BIRDS, IS FIND THE DETAILS.

IT'S THOSE LITTLE MOMENTS THAT YOU CAPTURE ON FILM THAT YOU BRING AWAY THAT REALLY PLAY NICELY WITH THE LARGER PERSPECTIVE.

[ FORCEFUL EXHALATION ] THESE ARE AMAZING, THESE ELEPHANT SEALS.

THEY ARE SO ENORMOUS, MULTI-TONNED ANIMALS THAT COME ASHORE TO REST AND TO GIVE BIRTH TO LITTLE SEALS, AND THESE ARE ACTUALLY MID-SIZED MALES RIGHT NOW.

THEY'RE JUST INCREDIBLE, HOW HIGH THEY CAN REACH.

THEY CAN STAND UP MUCH TALLER THAN ME, AND THEN THEY SPAR LIKE THIS.

THEY'RE SPARRING, THEY'RE INTERACTING, THERE'S LITTLE BABIES ALL OVER THE PLACE.

THEY MAKE ABSOLUTELY GROSS SOUNDS.

[ SEAL GROWLING ] THEY'RE AMAZING ANIMALS.

WHEN I GO INTO A NEW ENVIRONMENT, I LIKE TO SHOOT AN ESTABLISHING SHOT WITH A REALLY WIDE ANGLE.

I LOVE WORKING WITH OVERCAST LIGHT.

RIGHT NOW I'VE GOT THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

I'VE GOT OVERCAST LIGHT, BUT BLUE SKY BEHIND.

VERY, VERY CLASSIC, CALM MORNING, WHICH IS REALLY AN UNUSUAL EVENT ON SOUTH GEORGIA.

RIGHT NOW, EVERYBODY'S CALM, I'M CALM, IT'S PEACEFUL.

Harrison: THIS IS THE ONLY ISLAND IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY COME AND SIT WITH WANDERING ALBATROSSES.

Wolfe: PETER, THIS IS A BIG BIRD.

TELL ME ABOUT THIS BIRD.

Harrison: WELL, IT'S NOT ONLY BIG, ART, IT IS THE BIGGEST.

THE BIGGEST FLYING BIRD IN THE WORLD.

THERE'S NOTHING THAT IS BIGGER.

MALES WEIGH ABOUT 24 TO 25 POUNDS IN WEIGHT, THAT'S A THANKSGIVING TURKEY SIZE, BUT WITH WINGS, 11 TO EVEN 12 FEET FROM WINGTIP TO WINGTIP.

12 FEET, TWO BASKETBALL PLAYERS SIDE-BY-SIDE.

I GUESS THAT'S RIGHT.

I CAN FIT UNDER ONE WING THERE, AND THEY'D STILL HAVE A FEW INCHES ON ME.

VERY LONG-LIVED BIRDS.

LONG-LIVED, LONGER THAN I AM -- I'M 60 YEARS OLD, THAT BIRD ON THE RIGHT COULD BE 70 YEARS OLD.

SEVENTY -- SEVEN-ZERO?

SEVEN-ZERO.

AND NOT ONLY THAT, THESE BIRDS, WHEN THEY FLY, THEY FLY 500 TO 600 MILES IN A SINGLE DAY.

WHEN THE YOUNGSTER LEAVES THIS NEST, GOES OUT ONTO THE OCEAN FOR THE FIRST TIME, SPENDS THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS, MINIMUM, AT SEA, BY THE TIME IT GETS BACK, IT WILL HAVE FLOWN 1.5 MILLION MILES.

IN ITS LIFETIME, THESE BIRDS ARE ESTIMATED TO FLY SOME 15 MILLION MILES -- THAT'S AROUND 18 ROUND-TRIP JOURNEYS TO THE MOON AND BACK.

NOTHING FLIES FURTHER THAN AN ALBATROSS.

SADLY, THEY ARE THREATENED.

IN THE 20-ODD YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN COMING HERE, WE'VE HAD NUMBERS ON SOUTH GEORGIA PLUMMET, FROM 4,000 BIRDS, NOW DOWN TO LESS THAN 1,800 BIRDS.

WE'VE LOST HALF IN ABOUT 25 YEARS.

Wolfe: FUR SEALS PRESENT A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY HERE ON THE ISLAND, BECAUSE THEY'RE SO AGGRESSIVE.

THESE SOUTHERN FUR SEALS WERE NEARLY HUNTED TO EXTINCTION IN THE EARLY 1900s.

IN FACT, THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE EXTINCT.

AND SINCE THE EARLY 1900s, THEY'VE GONE FROM MAYBE 30 ANIMALS TO 2 MILLION, IN SUCH A SHORT TIME, ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS OF ANY ANIMAL SPECIES, AND RIGHT NOW, THESE ANIMALS HAVE COME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE.

THEY'RE EXTRAORDINARILY AGGRESSIVE...

VERY TERRITORIAL...

THEY BITE...

THEY WILL CHARGE YOU FROM 100 FEET AWAY...

I'VE HAD TRIPOD LEGS SHEARED OFF... AND A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.

SHIRLEY, IT'S AMAZING HOW THIS SOUTH COAST OF SOUTH GEORGIA IS SO MUCH MORE GLACIATED AND RUGGED-LOOKING.

OH, VERY MUCH SO, AND THIS IS WHERE SHACKLETON ENDED UP COMING AFTER HIS 800 MILE JOURNEY.

HE ARRIVED HERE ON KING HAAKON BAY.

HE SPENDS ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DAYS HERE, GETS RESUPPLIED, NAILS THE NAILS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SOLES OF HIS FEET, AND THEN MAKES THE JOURNEY UP OVER THE SPINE OF SOUTH GEORGIA TO THE OTHER SIDE.

36 HOURS ACROSS THE GLACIERS, OVER MOUNTAINS THAT WERE NEVER, EVER TRAVELED BEFORE, NOT MAPPED, NOT EXPLORED, NO FOOD UP IN THE MOUNTAINS, SO THEY HAD TO TAKE ALL OF THAT WITH THEM.

INCREDIBLE STORY.

YES, I DON'T THINK VERY MUCH REPLICATED AT ALL TODAY, I THINK THAT'S WHEN MEN WERE MEN.

AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY AND AN AMAZING RESCUE, GIVEN THE FACT THAT NOBODY DIED ON HIS ENTIRE TRIP.

THAT WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT SHACKLETON CLAIMED THAT "NO MAN WAS EVER LOST UNDER MY COMMAND."

Wolfe: THIS IS A FRESHWATER LAKE, LEFT OVER FROM A RECEDING GLACIER.

AND IN THIS LAKE ARE HUNDREDS OF YOUNG WEENERS -- ELEPHANT SEALS THAT WERE BORN PROBABLY A MONTH OR SO AGO AND THEY'VE BEEN FED ON VERY, VERY RICH MILK FROM THEIR MOTHERS AND NOW THE MOTHERS HAVE GONE OUT TO SEA TO REPLENISH THEIR NUTRIENTS.

BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, THESE PUPS ARE JOUSTING AND PLAYING AND JUST HANGING OUT IN THIS VERY BENIGN WATER.

I'M GETTING A GREAT SHOT FROM ABOUT THREE FEET AWAY, WIDE ANGLE.

I'VE APPROACHED THEM FROM VERY LOW.

THEY'RE CURIOUS ANIMALS.

IF YOU WANT TO GET UNUSUAL SHOTS, YOU GET INTO UNUSUAL POSITIONS.

AND BY STAYING LOW, LETTING THEM LOOK INTO MY LENS, THEY'LL COME RIGHT UP AND I GET THESE DISTORTED WIDE ANGLES WHICH CAN OFTEN BE FANTASTIC, AND I LOVE THESE KIND OF PERSPECTIVES BECAUSE IF YOU JUST STAND UP FROM 5 FEET UP LOOKING 30 FEET AWAY, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE LOOKING AT THESE ANIMALS.

AND NOW I WANT TO KIND OF INTERPRET THEIR LANDSCAPE, INTERPRET THEIR ENVIRONMENT, AND YOU DO THAT BY GETTING INTO THEIR ENVIRONMENT ON THEIR LEVEL.

THESE GUYS ARE KNOWN AS WEENERS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN WEENED FROM THEIR MOTHERS, AND WHEN THEY SEE SOMEBODY LIKE ME LAYING ON THE BEACH, THEY MAY, IN FACT, THINK I'M MOTHER.

SO THEY COME IN CLOSE.

AND I JUST LOVE THIS INTERACTION WITH THESE WILD ANIMALS.

AND I'M CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THEM.

HEY!

HERE.

COME ON, YOU WANT IT, YOU WANT IT, OH, THERE WE GO!

NOW, HE'S SO CURIOUS.

OH, IS HE GOING TO TOUCH MY LENS?

DON'T TOUCH MY LENS!

UGH!

IF YOU BLOW SNOT ON MY -- [ SNORTS ] UGH, THAT'S WHAT I SAID, DON'T DO THAT!

[ SNORTS ] AH!

EXCUSE ME!

HEY, LOOK AT THAT.

THAT'S YOU!

DO YOU TRUST ME, DO YOU THINK I LOOK LIKE YOUR MOTHER?

THAT'S IT, BABY, YOU'RE DIAMONDS!

MORE FEELING!

OH, YEAH!

IT'S MISERABLE OUTSIDE!

BLOWING RAIN, IT'S COLD, AND YET SOME OF THE BEST SHOTS I'VE EVER SHOT ARE IN THESE VERY CONDITIONS.

RIGHT NOW I HAVE A SMALL GROUP OF MACARONI PENGUINS THAT HAVE JUST EMERGED FROM THE SEA, AND I'M BUNDLED UP.

ONE OF THE FEW TIMES NOT USING A TRIPOD BECAUSE I'M JUST MANEUVERING THE CAMERA EVERY COUPLE OF SECONDS.

NOW IF A WAVE COMES UP AND TOTALLY SOAKS ME, IT'LL BE WELL WORTH IT, BECAUSE THESE ARE BEAUTIFUL SHOTS.

REALLY, REALLY NICE.

EVEN A REFLECTION IN A LITTLE POND AND THERE'S THAT FUR SEAL RIGHT BEHIND THEM, SO THEY'VE HOPPED RIGHT INTO ME.

AND THEY'RE COMING RIGHT UP TO ME, AND GOODBYE.

THIS IS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL BECAUSE THIS FUR SEAL HAS SCARED THEM.

SO THEY'RE NOT SO CONCERNED ABOUT ME AS MUCH AS THE FUR SEAL.

THIS IS A VERY WINDY DAY HERE, AND I CANNOT FIND ANY PENGUINS OR SEALS ON THIS REALLY REMOTE BEACH, BUT WHAT I CAN FIND ARE SOME BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES, BUT ON A VERY INTIMATE LEVEL.

WHAT I'M FRAMING UP HERE IS JUST A CLOSE STUDY OF THESE BEAUTIFUL LICHENS THAT THRIVE HERE IN THESE VERY COLD CONDITIONS ON SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND.

THEY'RE AMONG THE OLDEST, SLOWEST-GROWING PLANTS ON EARTH.

I LOVE THIS, I MEAN IT'S GREAT FOR THE MIND.

AND WHEN YOU'RE PHOTOGRAPHING WILDLIFE, YOU'RE SO CAUGHT UP IN FOLLOWING THE ACTION, BUT HERE, YOUR MIND CAN RELAX.

YOU CAN REALLY GET INTO THE MOMENT.

WELL, YOU SURE KNOW A LOT OF HISTORY ABOUT THIS PLACE.

Harrison: WELL, I COME MAYBE TWO OR THREE TIMES A YEAR.

AND EVERY TIME, WE ALWAYS COME TO GRYTVIKEN, THE SITE OF THE LARGEST OF OUR WHALING STATIONS.

AND THERE IS, THERE IS A LOT OF HISTORY HERE.

GRYTVIKEN WAS THE FIRST OF THE WHALING STATIONS HERE AT SOUTH GEORGIA.

AND IT WAS STARTED UP IN 1904.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE, ART, IS THAT CUMBERLAND BAY AT THAT TIME WAS FULL OF WHALES.

AND I MEAN FULL.

NOT LIKE A WHALE HERE OR THERE, I'M TALKING OF HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF WHALES.

THEY NEVER LEFT THE BAY.

THEY CAUGHT HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF WHALES.

ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS TO ROW OUT, PUT THE HARPOON IN THE WHALE, AND BRING THE SKROT -- THAT'S WHAT A DEAD WHALE IS CALLED -- BACK INTO THE HARBOR.

BY THE '50s, THE WHALES WERE GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO CATCH, THESE SAME BOATS THAT CAUGHT WHALES JUST IN THIS BAY, NOW THEY WERE GOING OVER 200 MILES FROM THIS ISLAND TO FIND WHALES.

ACTUALLY ENDED AROUND 1965, 1966.

SO ABOUT 55 YEARS.

55 YEARS.

THE COMBINED WHALING STATIONS OF SOUTH GEORGIA TOOK 175,250 WHALES.

THEY RANGED FROM THE BIGGEST, THE BLUE, TO THE RAREST DOWN IN THESE WATERS, WHICH WAS THE SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE.

NOTHING ESCAPED THE HARPOONS HERE.

THIS IS ALSO THE FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR A FAMOUS PERSON.

SHACKLETON FINALLY CAME TO REST HERE.

HE DIED IN THE BAY HERE, HIS MEN ERECTED A CROSS ON THE HILL, HE TOLD HIS WIFE, "MY HEART IS ALWAYS IN THE SOUTH."

AND IF YOU GO TO THE GRAVEYARD, YOU'LL SEE THAT EVERY SINGLE GRAVE IS BURIED WITH THE HEAD FACING NORTH TO EUROPE.

SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON, THE BOSS, IS THE ONLY PERSON WITH HIS HEAD AND HIS HEART FACING SOUTH TO THE CONTINENT HE LOVED CALLED ANTARCTICA.

WHAT A FITTING PLACE FOR HIM TO BE.

Wolfe: I WAS WALKING DOWN THE BEACH AND I JUST HAPPENED TO SEE THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

THERE'S A FAMILY OF FUR SEALS, SEVERAL FEMALES, AND AN ADULT BULL.

REALLY NICE MOMENT WITH THESE OTHERWISE VERY AGGRESSIVE SEALS.

THERE'S THREE PUPS, TWO ARE THE TYPICAL BLACK, AND ONE IS THIS BEAUTIFUL CREAM COLOR.

1 IN 2,000 OCCUR WITH THIS COLOR FACE.

RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!

WHAT'S NICE ABOUT THIS IS THE SEAL CUB'S EYES ARE SO BLACK, IT'S A GREAT CONTRAST.

THE SHOTS THAT I'M LOOKING FOR ARE WHEN THE BABY AND THE MOTHER'S HEADS COME TOGETHER AND THERE'S A LITTLE MOMENT OF NURTURING AND IT JUST REALLY PLAYS WELL TO THE CAMERA.

DESPITE ITS ISOLATION AND EXTREME CLIMATE, SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND REMAINS A REMARKABLE OASIS OF WILDLIFE.

THERE'S SIMPLY NO OTHER PLACE LIKE IT IN THE WORLD.

I'M ART WOLFE.

JOIN ME NEXT TIME ON "TRAVELS TO THE EDGE."

THIS PROGRAM AND OTHER EPISODES FROM THIS SEASON ARE AVAILABLE ON THREE-EPISODE DISCS FOR $17.95 EACH, PLUS SHIPPING AND HANDLING.

AN AWARD-WINNING BOOK OF ART WOLFE'S LANDSCAPES FEATURED IN THIS SERIES AND BEYOND, "EDGE OF THE EARTH, CORNER OF THE SKY," IS AVAILABLE FOR $49.95 PLUS SHIPPING AND HANDLING.

TO ORDER THE BOOK OR DVDs, PLEASE CALL 1-800-440-2651.

YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EPISODE, PHOTO TIPS, AND OTHER DESTINATIONS IN THE SERIES, BY VISITING OUR WEB SITE AT -- FUNDING FOR "ART WOLFE'S TRAVELS TO THE EDGE" IS PROVIDED BY... YOU CHASE AFTER MOMENTS.

THE MOMENT THE LIGHT IS JUST RIGHT.

THE MOMENT YOU SEE IT IN THEIR EYES.

A MOMENT OF TRIUMPH OR OF TRAGEDY.

THE MOMENT A SMILE BREAKS OR WHEN THE RAINS COME.

THE MOMENT YOU IMAGINED IS PASSING RIGHT NOW.

BUT THE MOMENT YOU SEE, WHEN IT ALL COMES TOGETHER, IS A MOMENT YOU'VE CAPTURED FOREVER.

AND BY... CANON.

DEDICATED TO INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS TO PRESERVE AND TO PROTECT THE BEAUTY, DIVERSITY, AND GRANDEUR OF THE NATURAL WORLD.

FROM CAPTURE TO DISPLAY, CANON CAMERAS, HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO, PRINTERS, AND PROJECTORS HELP TO FUEL THE PASSION AND THE CREATIVITY THAT BRING THIS INCREDIBLE WORLD INTO FOCUS.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY... AT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL, OUR MISSION IS TO CONSERVE AND PROTECT THE WORLD'S MOST PRECIOUS NATURAL RESOURCES.

BUT EQUALLY, IT IS TO CHAMPION A CAUSE LARGER THAN OURSELVES.