The party's destination was the whaling station at Stromness, which had been "Endurance"s last port of call on their outbound journey. This was roughly away, across the edge of the Allardyce Range. Another whaling station was known to be at Prince Olav Harbour, just north of Peggotty Camp over easier terrain, but as far as the party was aware, this was only inhabited during the summer months. Shackleton and his men did not know that during their two-year absence in Antarctica, the station's owners had begun year-round operations.