11 Dec 2016

Macquarie Island in All Seasons Today

Macquarie Island showed all its moods today. As breakfast was served low cloud and a misty rain was the order of the day with winds gusting to 20 knots from the west and a small easterly swell running. The swell on the beach at Sandy Bay was manageable in between the sets so we headed for what turned out to be a spectacular morning. Slowly the clouds lifted, misty rain stopped and the sun came out. The blue skies turned the ocean a beautiful shade of blue as rafts of Royal and King Penguins launched themselves on the beach landing at many a passengers' feet.  Elephant seal weaners curious to know about this new type of penguin came to investigate, and for many people this was the highlight of the morning.

The Royal Penguins were on chicks and just spending time with them gave us an insight into the stress of bringing up their young as a flock of brown skuas circled overhead. With memory sticks full we braved the shorebreak again to get back to our warm dry ship. We headed to Buckles Bay to drop off our Rangers that have spent the last 2 days with us, picked up 4 AAD staff to take home, and set a course for Campbell Island.

As I write this we are in smooth seas with the sun shining, humming along at just under 13 knots and all is right with the world.