Dunedin to Sub Antarctic

Given the ominous weather outlook for the next few days the captain and expedition leader decide to head straight to Macquarie Island before a storm hits giving us a better chance to land. For many this is why we came. An expedition cruise allows for such changes. The strict bio security controls mean the ship will be a 'dark ship' no external lights that might attract birds.

Macquarie Island, a small island 1500 km south of Tasmania, in 1911 scientific research station set up by Mawson. 1933 - declared a wildlife sanctuary. 1948 - Antarctic research base, 1971 - Tasmanian parks took control. 1978 - declared a national park.Now a world heritage site.

Early evening the sea is rough; waves predicted to be 2- 2.5 m high were 4 meters. An uncomfortable, noisy night. No gentle rocking. It felt like we were being battered with noise from both the ship hitting the waves as well as movement of things inside and outside the cabin. We survived with no sea sickness thankfully.

Although the night was rough we woke to a calm sea and sunshine. We can hear honking and see penguins bobbing around the ship heading out to fish. So pretty to watch, they swim leaping dolphin like out of the water called purposing. The ship dropped anchor close to shore. Only 40 visitors can be here at any one time. We were first onto the Isthmus. It was rough getting into the zodiac but the crew manage us well. The landing was calm and we arrived in bright sunshine. I felt emotional stepping onto the beach, having this rare opportunity to visit such a remote, beautiful and important place. Fewer than 1000 people visit the Island each yearly. It is often inhospitable and one of the cloudiest places on Earth averaging 862 hours of sunshine per year, we experience over 10 hours of sunshine and need sunblock and sunglasses.

We are told to keep at least 500m away from any wildlife however, we were warned that the wildlife don't know this. On landing we are greeted by giant elephant seals. Although they are enormous these are the pups and females. The males have already headed back to sea after a busy time on land. They are everywhere. The elephant seals make a great racket constantly snorting, they growl at one another as they try and position themselves on the ground. They have the most amazing large round eyes which makes them very photogenic. Our guide suggests that we take our time and walk slowly, we had been told that it was likely the boardwalk would be covered with seals requiring us to walk along the beach as was the case. We see a variety of penguins including King, gentoo and rock hoppers. The wild life make no attempt to get away from us, they are as curious about us as we are of them.

After the beach walk, we climb a set of stairs to the top of the ridge for a view of the scientific research station and the other side of the isthmus. We are delayed because an elephant seal was at the foot of the staircase. Our guide contacted the ranger came to supervise us and ensure no one did the wrong thing. With claps of the hand and a gentle push with his foot he managed to convince the large creature to move off the staircase. We had a good view from the top as it was a clear and sunny day. The other birds we see include sooty albatross, giant petrals, skuas, shags and cormorants. The birds on the ground make no attempt to move away and are quite happy to sit there making them easy to photograph. Because Macquarie is not as far south as the antarctic region there is more vegetation, particularly grasses and moss. It is quite a beautiful green island. We are so lucky, we spend 2 hours walking here.

In the afternoon the ship sails to the other side of the isthmus to Sandy Bay. We are much later in the afternoon for our next visit not leaving until 5:00 p.m. still bright sunshine and calm. Our excursion is to the very large colonies of King and Royal penguins. Again as we land we see elephant seals lolling around on the beach. We walk towards the King penguin rookery, very smelly, noisy and full of feathers. It isn't until we reach the edge of a very large group I remember how allergic I am to feathers. I stand back from the main group. It was fascinating seeing so many fledglings. They are brown and fluffy and in the middle of the flock for protection. Some adults still have eggs on their feet.

There are stairs to the Royal penguin rookery where we observe the flock of penguins and their chicks. I like the Royal penguins best. They have an orange/ yellow crest and are smaller than the King. We walk to where most are coming in from catching fish to take up to the rookery. We are asked to stand to one side to ensure that they can quickly take their catch back to the rookery to feed the young. Fascinating to stand there and watch. Our guide suggests we spend time watching and to focus on one small group as the parent brings back fish to regurgitate into the mouth of the chick. Feeding takes a long time to finish. Off to one side we can see giant petrals waiting for the opportunity to seize any feed available. We watch as a petral tries to sneak into the flock but it is forced back by the penguins who are unimpressed by the incursion. The petral however is quite happy to fly back to a place where they can observe and hopefully pick up something later. Much of the vegetation had been eaten by rabbits. Now that the rabbits have been eradicated plants are growing back.

Back to the ship. On the way word comes through that the resident pod of orcas are in the area. We see a fin come out of the water, the male orca has a large very visible fin, the pod consists of a male, two females and a pup. To get out to a place where we can see them the zodiac must go quickly and quite a way from the ship. The ride back to the ship was quite exciting as the swell had come up and we were heading straight into it. Waterproof gear is the difference between seriously wet and uncomfortable and an exciting ride.

We had Brendan from Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife join us for dinner. This was his first voyage with Ponant and to Macquarie Island. He is here to oversee the biosecurity of the vessel as we sail in the sub Antarctic. He is passionate about his job and this trip is special for him. He recounted a highlight of the trip for him, 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 and he saw the male orca fin. He was standing in front of a rookery, hearing penguins and looking at orcas out to sea. That was a special moment for him and for all of us at the table, we reflected on how we felt seeing those penguins for the first time and of chasing the orcas.Leia mais