Campbell Island

Travelled over night in rough seas to Campbell Island. Too rough to go ashore for a four and a half hour walk which I wasn't going to do anyway., it was hard enough yesterday in the wind and we only walked for three hours. The day is fine and sunny. We have albatross around the ship but impossible to photograph. We have sailed to the north of the island where it is more sheltered and a zodiac cruise of the island. We can see the island clearly, steep volcanic cliffs and vegetation, very rugged,

We are the last group out in the zodiac, the weather is so changeable here the sea is not as rough but the sun comes and goes. It's a rough ride for 10 minutes to the base of the cliffs of Campbell Island. We are here to see the albatross rookery where there are some 22,000+ nesting pairs. Real estate is precious on these rocks.

Another incredible sight as the zodiac takes us around the island. The cliffs are covered with little white dots. So many albatross, also shags and artic terns. The geology is also fantastic, our guide points out the layers created from a number of eruptions. The colours are surprising. It is very cold, top temperature today is 8o and we are in the sea, in a zodiac with wind.

Last night we invited Brendan from Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife to have dinner with us. This was his first voyage with Ponant he is here to oversee the biosecurity of the vessel and us as we sail in the sub Antarctic. He is clearly passionate about his job and this trip has been special for him.  He is impressed with how the company had  managed the bio security which is good to know. He told us a story which was clearly a highlight of the trip for him. This was his first visit to Macquarie Island, he was on the viewing platform overlooking the royal penguin rookery. He had a walkie-talkie which all the guides are given and he was looking out to sea, he heard a message come through that orcas had been sighted (we may have been in a zodiac racing out to see them) and he saw the fin of the male orca come. There he is standing in front of a rookery, penguins making a lot of noise looking at orcas out to sea. That was such a special moment  for him and I think for all of us at the table, we reflected on how we felt seeing those penguins for the first time.Weiterlesen