Antarctic wildlife watching (3 of 7) — Macquarie Island
January 14, 2017
As calm as the sea was between the first two stops, the ride to Macquarie Island was totally different. This part of the ocean is notoriously rough. Some of the passengers did not manage to get out of their cabin and even the crew struggled to stay upright from time to time. With the boat rolling up to 40 degrees either way, made having a meal difficult but not impossible. All lectures and videos had to be cancelled.
It took two full days at sea before Macquarie Island came in sight and by now we are as far away from mainland New Zealand as we will go on the trip. The island is the only one that is not New Zealand territory and home to a research expedition of Australia. Up to 40 people live here to do weather experiments and study wildlife. In the research ‘village’ we were welcomed with scones and tea in the bar/restaurant. The research station is located on the north end of the island. After the scones and the tour of the ‘village’ were finished we had to get ready to move on to the second stop on the Island.
On the south part of the Island, you will find Sandy Beach. Where the waves wash-up on the black sandy beaches, we encountered a true wildlife haven. This is the home of the Royal penguin, that breeds exclusively on this island. The bird looks very similar to the Macaroni penguin, but has a white chin. A nice wooden walkway lead us to a large colony of these smelly and noisy little friends. These 30cm tall birds have quite a personality, but that could be due to living just inches away from your neighbor. Returning to the nest means walking through the colony and get to close to a neighboring nest and you will be pecked at. When finally reaching the nest, a greeting ritual followed by some preening awaits.
Where the Royal penguins colony is a great sight, no one was not expecting the beach to be even more fun. Here the penguins are more active with different species mixed and both species are interacting with the elephant seals from time to time. Returning from a fishing trip, or heading out, bathing in the ocean or dodging other animal species on the beach. At first the birds are very shy. However, sit really still and they become very curious. Give it a few minutes and you will be surrounded by ten to twenty of them checking you out. This I will never get tired of. By now the penguin-counter is up to 11 and I have not yet seen what is around the corner.
On the north side of Sandy Beach there is a little peninsula that is a popular destination for elephant seals. Some of them venture onto Sandy Beach, but the larger seals rest and (play-)fight on/over the peninsula. Seeing the impressive size of the seals on the black sandy beach, makes me more than happy to admire the larger seals on the peninsula from a distance. The point where the beach turns into the peninsula is home to a large colony of king penguins. Although the colony is “just” a few thousand birds, it is an impressive sight. I can only imagine what the colony at St. Andews Bay on South Georgia looks like.
A few hours later we are back on the ship getting ready for another two days at sea. What a great day this has been. If possible, I would have stayed here for another couple of days….. Already curious what the next stop has to offer and if it can match Macquarie Island.
distract from the travel between stops. Later in the trip this would be different, but for now there is enough to keep the passengers entertained.
From the small beach where we ‘landed’ there was a nice path running all the way to the other side of the island and back. The path ran past some interesting sights, like a Norther giant petrel’s nest. A recently hatched chick was patiently waiting for its parents to bring food. It wasn’t just the wildlife that was special here. Just like several other islands that we were about to see, Enderby Island is covered in vegetation that takes forever to get where it is now. Not only are the plant species rare, they are also slow growing. As a result, you won’t find any tall trees on the island. All plants come up to my waist and it has taken dozens, if not hundreds of years to get that far. By the time we got to the other side of the island, both weather and shores have become a lot more rugged. Wind has picked up and the temperature has gone down. The high cliffs break the waves with loud noise and lots of splashes. Endemic cormorants take advantage of this roughness that keeps away predators. We take a few minutes to watch the wildlife and scenery before heading back.
Back on the beach, a next surprise awaits us: Yellow-eyed penguins return from a fishing trip. With these birds being incredibly shy, the first two pairs of penguins refuse to come on shore. Whether the noisy seals or us is keeping the seals away will always be a mystery, but eventually (after some hours of waiting) some did come on shore. For me this means two things: Tick-off penguin number 10 of 17 and more importantly, and a good laugh when one of the birds trips over a piece of kelp laying around on the beach.
the first ‘port of call’. A full day at sea may sound like water and more water, but the crew will keep you entertained. There is the mandatory safety drill to start with, followed by (optional) lectures on all different subjects. And let’s not forget the delicious meals, all prepared on no more than a few square meters.
With the islands consisting of (extremely) rocky shores, covered in rare plants and wildlife, made the Department of Conservation decide to not open the islands for tourism. Only researchers of the Department of Conservation are allowed ashore. This rugged terrain combined with the bad weather means it is unsure if the Zodiak cruise of the afternoon can go ahead as planned.