Antipodes island

Antipodes Island is our last excursion, an unexpected bonus. Our ship made good progress and the change in plan with Macquarie allowed us to get here. The island is a very inhospitable, rocky volcanic uninhabited out crop. Furthest SE land in the world. Very few people get as close as we did. Because the weather gods have again been kind we are able to sail around the islands.

The zodiac ride was very rough and wet but we were well prepared. What an incredible experience. The rocks are fantastic. So many different colours. There are caves and signs of where the volcanic explosion started. These are very recent islands so there is limited vegetation but we can still see grasses and mega herbs. The sea life is abundant with fur seals with their pups on the rocks and another species of penguin, these are the erect crested penguin. We have seen eight different species on our journey. These are incredibly agile penguins, the rocks are really steep, yet they're able to hop up and find a flat spot to nest. There are many small colonies. We also see petrals, albatross, antarctic terns and skuas. We hear a ruckus above and watch as a flock of terns fight off a skua which was obviously looking for eggs. No one wants to return to the ship, the two hours seems to have gone by so quickly.

We must ourselves organize for our disembarkation. We still had a lecture on shipwrecks, a review of where we have been and a funny recap by some of the naturalists. One tested our bird knowledge, another the value of bird poo and another highlighted the challenges an expedition leader faces managing naturalists.

We have been invited to the captain's table. He is a younger captain more visible and engaged with the passengers. Dinner at the captain’s table involves the main course carried in by the waiting staff dressed in white with a cloche for each of us. The plate is put on the table and all together the covers are lifted. At the end of the meal when dessert is served each dish has goodbye and our name piped in chocolate. So sad that this is the end.

Our musical entertainment is our regular pianist joined by the sax player. Just six people are here so it feels like a private performance.Läs mer