1767 East Antarctica: In the Wake of Mawson 15 Dec 2017
Day 1: Friday 15 December 2017
Hobart
Hobart, Tasmania rolled out a perfect morning as we dropped off our luggage in Reception and set off on our town walking tour. It seemed an appropriate follow- on from the night before, when we’d gathered in a private dining room of the Hadley Orient Hotel for our last meal ashore – a prelude to our Antarctic expedition.
We were treated to a host of speakers to welcome us; Mawson Hut Foundation’s Greg Holland, Tasmanian mover and shaker Stephen Parry, our expedition leader Howard Whelan, expedition doctor Lesley Cadzow and Nathan Russ, of the renowned Russ family, owners of Heritage Expedition who operate our expedition ship, Akademik Shokalskiy.
We’d enjoyed a lovely meal based on a menu that Mawson and his men were served in 1911 prior to their departure. For us it was a relaxed night of bonding between fellow expeditioners, and many a conversation carried over during our walking tour.
It was mid-afternoon by the time we walked from the hotel to the wharf Mac 2, then caught a coach to Mac 5, where we were met and escorted into the high-security zone by very attentive Border Force officers (you’ve seen the tv show, now experience . . . ). Like untrained sheep dogs, they struggled to keep all of us in line, as we came around the corner for our first view of our trusty ship.
“Strewth!” someone said. “She’s not all that big”, said another. But beneath the dark blue, white and lurid yellow livery, thumps a strong and enthusiastic heart, well capable of carrying us on our adventure.
We made our way up the gangway, around to the bar where all 46 expeditioners and 10 staff were cleared by customs officers for departure, with a few notable exceptions from New Zealand, Switzerland and Malaysia, the rest of the expeditioners were from Australia.
By the time we’d settled into our cabins, met our expedition team at the Introductory Briefing, learned the safe way to abandon ship during a hands-on drill, we were ready for dinner. After a delicious appetizer was served, mains had to wait as the dining room cleared out, thanks to an over-enthusiastic pilot keen to get away.
Putting dinner on hold was worth it though for those who went above to enjoy our departure from Hobart on a vivid summer evening, as sunlight lit the sails of passing yachts, and Mt Wellington cast its shadow across the city. Our run down the Derwent and Storm Bay, past the Iron Pot light, oft-mentioned by Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race commentators, and ultimately, at about midnight, into the swell. As horizontal became less so, we rocked and rolled in our bunks. Welcome to the Southern Ocean.
Day 2: Saturday, 16 December 2017
At Sea to Macquarie Island
A lulling night in the arms of the Southern Ocean proved to be not as restful as expected! Daybreak prowlers emerged to a balmy morning more tropical than Antarctic with a swelling sea off to starboard hosting our first albatrosses. Sturdy patchy wanderers soared past while Royals, with their characteristic white backs, competed for elegance in the air. Sooty shearwaters, an occasional white chinned petrel and some prions nipped above the waves on a truly lovely, steely sea with rolling dove grey clouds on the horizon. Though not easy to spot amongst the spume, a whale, too distant for identification, was spied from the bridge where the birders were ensconced.
In the lecture room, Greg Holland took us on an historical journey to Macquarie Island, little known since discovery by Hasselborough in 1810.
With its’ known abundance of fur seals, Macquarie Island was an oiling destination. Plunder was rapid with one ship carrying off 35,000 pelts, then as supply diminished, attention moved to the elephant seals. Royal penguins, numbering 250,000 in 1821 were also gathered - oil production in trypots and burners supplied the lubrication of the industrialisation required for the First World War. Luckily our visit will display the wonder of recovery of these populations.
The Aurora had sailed the Derwent, as we did, stopping to collect the dogs and dynamite, then heading straight into a gale! Following his destination-driven exploration south with Shackleton, Mawson’s far ranging Australian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14, was more scientifically motivated, his aim to advance geology, geography, meteorology and magnetism.
His initial plan to explore Antarctica by Vickers biplane was squashed by an unfortunate crash before departure, so only the engine and fuselage would be available as an air tractor.
Douglas Mawson was fascinated by new technology that could improve weather forecasting in Australia. Establishing a telecommunications mast on Wireless Hill on Macquarie Island, replicated on the Antarctic continent would herald a new era of meteorology for weather prediction in Australia. Sadly the mast was not up to the rigours of the windiest place on earth.
While at North East Bay in Macquarie, Mawson’s team discovered the fresh shipwreck of the Clyde, and organised the return of its Tasmanian sealers and oil on his support ship. As with Frank Hurley, Mawson was consumed with the beauty Macquarie Island and later supported the creation of a nature reserve.
So our journey has started with Mawson’s spirit and we are settling into the routine of wonderful food and drinks without the anxiety of a lazy cook or the stress of filling water barrels!
Day 3: Sunday, 17 December 2017
At Sea to Macquarie Island
The swell seethes, settles then suddenly corkscrews so our sea legs continue to strengthen!
Time now to learn about the fauna of this wonderful voyage. Samuel, our naturalist, peppered his discussion of the procelliform (tube nosed) birds with personal accounts of research at the French Dumont D’Urville station. We learned of dramatic sea voyages of penguins and birds around the Southern Oceans recorded by tagging devices – initially rings and now more recently electronic sensors under the skin of penguins.
Can you imagine that a daily forage for breakfast for an Antarctic prion could be from The Snares to South Georgia?
Wonderful comparative slides illustrated the differences between royal and wandering albatrosses – the former with smaller heads and without the pink cheek flush of the wanderer – but age changes in plumage can easily confuse! Compared to the other tubenoses, albatrosses have their tubes along the side of the bill instead of on top.
The energy efficiency of albatrosses, with wingspans of up to 3.6 metres, allows effortless flying and sleeping for only seconds at a time while most energy is expended when landing, taking off (they need a run up to achieve loft) and feeding.
Other more solitary albatrosses, such as the grey-head and light-mantled sooty, nest on cliff edges. The synchronised flight and the eerie call of the light-mantled sooty are breathtaking to observe.
Giant petrels, with the southern white morphs, are the scavengers of injured or dead animals. They have been wheeling around the ship with white chinned petrels. To distinguish the Cape petrel (Pintado) its chequerboard pattern is distinctive, while the Antarctic petrel sports a brownish back and white underparts .
Smaller prions are probably the hardest to identify. The tiny Wilson’s storm petrel skitters across the water and has yellow feet, possibly to attract plankton to the surface. Then there are the blue/grey coloured prions with their characteristic W pattern on the back – difficult to identify unless captive – but the easiest is the blue prion with a white tail.
Samuel’s favourite – the snow petrel, white but with a black eye, is truly an ice bird – nesting in ice crevices and often flying around ice floes and bergs.
The afternoon became a flurry of activity after we learned of the quarantine restrictions on Macquarie and our need to not “pack a pest.” Intense vacuuming of our outer garments removed any seeds or soil which could contaminate the native flora or introduce disease.
A rain squall just as the blood red sun slipped below the horizon, was the precursor to a very welcome drink at the Mawson’s Bar under the auspices of Greg.
Day 4: Monday, 18 December 2017
At Sea to Macquarie Island
Our peregrination continues towards the prize of Macquarie Island. Greyish cloud banks slope past, with some sunbursts, and we start to consider the clothing necessary for the adventure ahead. With a projected temperature of about 1-6 degrees it will be balmy no longer!
“Postcards from the edge” are written, to be posted at the Macquarie Island post office tomorrow. Greg offered special Mawson pictorial envelopes for sale with proceeds to the Mawson Foundation. All symptoms of mal de mer recede as the anticipation of our first landing tomorrow becomes palpable.
Chefs keep esurience at bay with pasta and muffins, before Chris, our second naturalist, invited us to meet the seals (or pinnipeds) of the Southern Ocean. With six Antarctic seals making up the majority of worldwide seal numbers, it is important to know the differences.
Otorids (eared seals) are fur seals and sea lions, those that can sit up like a dog and race as quickly as a human over a short distance. The rest, called phocids, (true seals) have a more amphibian skeleton and move by wriggling.
Fur seals feed mainly at night with an estimated intake of 1 ton of krill per year. The krill themselves are the major food group of the Antarctic food chain, feeding whales, penguins and seals! They have to swim constantly upwards often 3 times a day as they will drown if they stop!
Sexual dimorphism is the marked size difference where the male, being much larger than the female, is polygamous and commands a harem consummate with his prowess at fighting off other threatening males! Mating occurs soon after females come ashore to give birth and delayed fertilisation means that the pup can be born when conditions are optimal.
New Zealand sea lions, with 70 per cent of the population at Enderby Island and the rest at Campbell Island, look more like a Labrador dog – with the male sporting a thick neck and mane, again in size much larger than the female.
Elephant seals are the large wobbling jellies of the seal world weighing 3 tonnes and spending much time sparring. A beachmaster has to protect his harem of females from other males that slip in from sea or land and the energy expenditure to do so means that this position can only be tenable for a couple of years!
Day 5: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Macquarie Island
The excitement of arriving at Macquarie last night pushed us out of bed early to view the verdant slopes on a sunburst morning. Early sorties to the base brought back four rangers to tell us about life on the base. Then it was all stations go!
Getting into mountains of clothing and boots, attempting the boot wash dance followed by a spring into the Zodiac challenged us all, but soon we were delivered via a stern-first landing onto the beach at glorious Sandy Bay.
Where to start? How many of us were bemused by the intrepid weaner elephant seals staking a place in the middle of the life jackets and threatening to topple the emergency ration boxes? Cerulean seas disgorged platoons of royal penguins from the surf while others waited at the stream for the impetus to pop out for a wash. Guarded by poa tussock and soaring vegetated slopes, the beach was a haul out for elephant seal juniors cooling themselves by sweeping swathes of sand across their bulk and occasionally rearing in a testing war of ‘stare down’ before flopping back down onto the beach.
The boardwalk afforded vistas, not only of this amazing bay lined with royal penguins and a few king penguin interlopers, but also cruising orcas heading south.
The recovered flora was entrancing, with wild cabbage plants and pleurophytum daisy bushes flush with flowers. At the boardwalk zenith was the visually, nasally and aurally challenging raucous royal penguin colony. Adults groomed chicks, chicks flopped together in miniature crèches and, everywhere there was movement, communication and noise! How many days could be spent learning the language of penguin! Skuas executed raiding flights over the colony and distant light-mantled sooty albatrosses skimmed the hilltops.
A fluffy giant petrel chick was spotted on the beach but the plastered crests of the playful royal penguins recently exiting the sea had us all entranced. In the opposite direction, we found a king penguin colony close to an historical hut, with loads of weaners like sunbakers on the sand and moulting kings standing like statues on small rock pedestals.
But lastly … the spit … which featured two beautiful rock pools replete with royal penguins drinking, preening and practicing their aqua aerobics – a constant frenetic whirling and twirling in the water a joy to behold!
Lunch of the best pizza ever prepared us for the afternoon activity – a tour of the isthmus and base buildings. Thanks to our guides, we learned about the meteorological measurements, sighting a sperm whale skeleton from earlier this year and the story behind the anchor from the Clyde – the shipwreck whose sealers Mawson helped to return home.
Cormorant chicks clamoured on a sea stack and elephant seals were discovered around every corner in the tussock. Our final haul was up to the observation area at the top of the stairs for a 360-degree view over the isthmus and base.
Reluctantly leaving the station, with its warm, wonderful welcome and scones, our expedition continued as an after-dinner, almost-dark Zodiac cruise along Lusitania Bay revealed between 200,000-300,000 king penguins with whistling chicks standing like fat kiwi fruit in the rookery. A surf back to the ship and a less bumpy exit from the Zodiacs led us to a very excited bar, where we all reflected on our magnificent Macquarie Island experience.
Day 6: Wednesday, 20 December 2017
At Sea
A following storm, with spume and spray, accompanies us on our sea day to Antarctica. Wheeling, light-mantled sooty albatross settled for a moment on the sea surface as a dead squid came into view.
With a hearty breakfast under our belts, our first occasion for the day was a documentary on the eradication of pests on Macquarie Island. Costing $25 million, one ship, four helicopters, specially-trained dogs and aerial baiting was used to eradicate rabbits and rodents to restore this World Heritage Area.
Samuel, our naturalist, inspired us to think about the initial confusion surrounding the question of whether penguins were birds. Bouvet wondered if they might be an amalgam of bird and fish, and the fossil record has the largest penguin a looming two metres and 115 kg. Our largest living penguin is the ice-dwelling emperor, the smallest, the fairy penguin of Australasia and the most numerous, the macaroni – but all are dependent on cold current upwellings for food.
A comparison with other birds reveals a difference in that penguins, like the gentoo, fly through water at 20 knots so have dense rather than hollow bones required for propelling them through water rather than air.
Emperors are the free divers of the penguin world with depths of 564m recorded. Social thermoregulation in huddles on the ice keeps the temperature of the central males at 37° C. Each penguin constantly pushes towards the centre of the group even with a chick in his pouch.
Complexity of penguin plumage reveals twenty types of feathers. Equally fascinating is that chicks, in a ¼ second cheep, can be recognised by returning parents – and their mates help by observing a moment’s silence during that time.
Although the ship was in lockdown because of the storm, a quick trip to the bridge for a peek out to sea revealed the looming waves causing the rocking motion of the ship.
Greg led us into “That sweep of savage splendour” in the afternoon. Firstly, a journey though history introduced us to 1770, and Cook’s discovery of Antarctica on his Transit of Venus expedition. Although there is dispute that he was possibly beaten by the French explorer Bouver. Durmont D’Urville, Wilkes, Clark Ross followed, then Borschgrevink deliberately overwintering with Louis Bernacchi onboard, the first Australian to reach Antarctica.
The Aurora was an old sealing vessel purchased In Newfoundland by Mawson and under command of John King Davies, nicknamed ‘gloomy’ by his sailors. The 6th January 1912 saw them land at Commonwealth Bay on a rocky outcrop. The constructed hut hosted a number of fancy dress parties and ‘Hyde Park Corner’ was the place for learned discussion by Mertz and Ninnis in their corner of the bunkroom. There was also a gollywog donated by ballerina, Anna Pavlova and plenty of flags ready to festoon any occasion.
During our first recap held before dinner, Howard collected our impressions of Macquarie. The grandeur, the sheer and fearless mass of wildlife, the lifecycles on display, the history and the experience of visiting a working scientific base - these were the main topics that everyone was excited to share. Then, on a very different, light comical note, the evening concluded with Nigel’s showing of the movie Bridesmaids.
Day 7: Thursday, 21 December 2017
At Sea
Mostly a restful night in the arms of the Southern Ocean, then the predicted 35-knot winds pushing from the west started to buffet the bow with a wonderful spray that cascaded down the bridge windows. The foggy cloak surrounding the ship was pierced only by the odd prion and a quick check of sea surface temperature confirmed that we were crossing the Antarctic convergence.
Chris, our naturalist, introduced us to secrets of cetaceans in the lecture room. Whales have evolved along the same path as ungulates, with possibly the closest living relative being the hippo. We learned about the amazing echo-sounding devices for finding and stunning prey, the function of the melon as receiver, and extreme diving capacity of whales related to compressibility of lungs, loads of myoglobin in muscles to store oxygen and extreme bradycardia to allow long periods without surfacing. The enormous statistics of a blue whale include a heart the size of a mini and an aorta that a child could easily tumble around in while an essential fact describes the size of the sperm whale testes (largest in the world) at 600kg each!
The identification of a whale involves a combination of characteristics such as the length of dorsum, size, placement of fin and tail configuration. The southern right uses its tail as a sail while fluke-waving, while humping of the back on diving identifies the humpback. Humpbacks are the choristers of the deep with location-unique, complex songs of up to 30 minutes to alert their presence to other whales. A ton of krill per day can be the calorie intake of these cetaceans.
A majestic ocean liner, our first iceberg loomed out of the fog just after lunch. A circumnavigation by Captain Igor suddenly revealed a magnificent arch with a buttress being bombarded by the swell and prions circling to feed in the wash. Hardy souls braved the flying bridge to feel the microclimate of the berg as the wind scoured over it.
Afternoon movie was the ANARE story from early idea of mineral exploration to the current function of scientific exploration and conservation. A story of gradual change to allow female participation, the removal of huskies and Australia’s part in establishing the Antarctic Treaty to prevent exploitation.
Greg, aided by Jenny and Naomi, granddaughters of Hunter, introduced us to the mixed bag of men selected for Mawson’s expedition. Acknowledging the experience of Wild, five times Antarctic explorer and Hunter who started the Australian Medical Association, the huge contrast with the intrigue of intrepid adventurer and female spy Murphy! Sad reflections, too, of others whose return from the ice culminated in fatal war service or severe mental distress ending up in an asylum.
Day 8: Friday, 22 December 2017
At Sea
Peripheral ice floes lapping towards us were the first harbingers of an icy landscape this morning. Gradually the horizon became peppered with enormous bergs, even flat-topped tabular bergs recently broken off an ice shelf.
Luckily Howard’s lecture Ice 101 was about to answer the question “Why go to Antarctica – isn’t it just ice? The intricate secret life of ice starts with the formation of sea ice – the freezing point of seawater being minus 1.8 degrees, below which frost smoke forms, usually with an air temperature at around minus 20 degrees. From this point frazzle and grease ice morphs into pancake then pack ice which, when attached to the land, is called fast ice. Open leads called polynyas allow wildlife access and the hyper-saline environment under the sea ice supports phytoplankton in turn feeding krill – the most important appetiser in the food web.
Antarctica, being a land mass compressed by the isostatic force of the ice cap, differs from the Arctic, an icy ocean surrounded by land. The Russian station, Vostok holds the record minus 89.5°C and has a lake buried under nearly four kilometres of ice. While in the Dry Valleys ice ablates, turning from solid to vapour without ever becoming liquid.
With the coalescence of several glaciers, vast ice shelves form and float on the ocean surface while still attached to land. These can be up to 40 metres above the sea and huge. The Ross Ice Shelf is the size of France. Tabular bergs are formed when tide and swell movement causes giant slices to break away setting free ice that has been trapped for tens of thousands of years. With hues of grey to blue and jade, the compression of ice removes air and changes the reflected light spectrum.
Aquamarine blue intrusions are often freshwater-filled cracks, while sastrugi is wind-carved snowdrifts, the cause of much difficulty to sledging teams of the heroic era.
The day progressed with preparations for our explorations in Deep Antarctica including collecting our warm jackets and retail therapy in the sea shop.
The ice rolls on with fog and settling snow as we finish our magical profiteroles for lunch. Mawson’s Hut is so close now its time to remind ourselves of what life was like for the 18 young men unfettered by small conversations, choice gramophone records and rowdy student choruses! With the help of Frank Hurley’s photography we imagine a fug of maleness, a canvas bath for the night watchman, Mawson’s precise lists and the camaraderie around the stove. The science was concerned with winds and clouds, ice and snow, magnetism and rocks, animas and plants and tides and stars so there was plenty to stave off boredom!
The puffometer, designed by Cornell, measured wind speeds of up to 160 km/ hour and had to be hauled up to Observation Point - not an easy job at the home of the blizzard! Cornell, lost one day, was found curled up outside the hut! In the hut we hope to see the engraved bunk of Frank Hurley, known as Hoyle for his humour and also his hand-carved motto “near enough is not good enough”! Our last treat was to view the film Antarctic Pioneers narrated by an ageing Hurley just before he died.
A bar full of excited people ready for the next day, and dinner punctuated by booms as the ice floes thicken as we inch ever closer to the continent.
Day 9: Saturday, 23 December 2017
At Sea to Cape Denison
The night was long as we ploughed through flat ice adorned with a few emperor penguins, then entered dense pack that jolted the sleepers awake. Clear water followed till the first morning viewing of the continent shielded by the 72 km behemoth that was B09B iceberg. We changed course to round the southern edge of ice partially-blocking our access to Commonwealth Bay. Stillwell Island was obvious to port, named after the quiet retiring mineralogist, one of three of Mawson’s men who almost succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning! They lost consciousness for two hours after using a kerosene stove inside Aladdin’s Cave – the snow hole where provisions were stashed – and were lucky to survive!
In true Mawson fashion, we ‘Crossed the Circle’ today at 66 degrees 33 minutes, counted down by Samuel from the bridge. A toast to the great heroes - Mawson and his men - and the ‘mark of the penguin’ stamped on our foreheads celebrated this great occasion.
Pressing on into the pack, the captain and crew continued to nudge aside large ice floes, startling their recumbent Adélie penguins and the odd lolling Weddell seal.
Anticipation continued to build as we suddenly broke through the pack and the continent stretched ahead of us across open water. The memorial cross, erected in the memory of Ninnis and Mertz, guarded the valley where tiny huts were framed against an ice cap slashed by crevasses. Adélie penguins frolicked on the shore completely disregarding the rising wind, now our biggest concern. As we approached the coast, our anemometer recorded wind speeds of 35 metres per second, or 70 knots, so our landing plans were put on hold.
With our ship at drift in the bay, the horizon to the north seemed to be delivering thicker and thicker pack ice, as well as a range of huge icebergs. As the wind whistled off the ice cap, many thoughts turned to hoosh and pemmican as we supped thai pumpkin soup and, sticky date pudding – probably meals close to those dreamt of by Mawson’s men as they ate penguin meat and omelettes when not sledging. Knowing that Mawson returned alone from 37 days on the ice where he survived on only 360 grams of food a day (equivalent to half a tin of baked beans) – we should be creating good thermogenesis for ourselves!
After lunch we attempted to reach the anchorage again. As we approached, we had views east and could see that Boat Harbour was still iced in and a forbidding ice-wall clad the entire coastline within view. With the wind speeds now rising to above 130 kilometres an hour, the Captain turned the ship away and recalled our bosun from where he had been standing on the bow ready to release the anchor.
Although we were experiencing winds that were just above the ‘average’ recorded by Mawson on the puffometer (with the maximum being 320 km/hr) it was still well beyond safe speeds for operating Zodiacs. The Captain, understandably, is concerned about the now encroaching pack to our north as it threatens to trap us in Commonwealth Bay. After discussions with our expedition leader, the decision is made to push through to clear water and wait outside.
Expedition plans remain fluid as ice and weather dictates our next moves.
Let us pray for abatement!
Day 10: Sunday, 24 December 2017
Commonwealth Bay
Our expedition leader, Howard, was like a penguin on a drifting floe overnight, popping out of bed repeatedly to check the wind and water conditions at Commonwealth Bay! Wind speeds dropped to a more benign 17 knots at 5 am but as Captain Igor pushed back into the bay through ice floes, katabatic winds of 70 knots were once again funnelling down the geographic depression from the ice cap into the bay… so slumber continued. With ice floes coming from east to west and already moving six nautical miles overnight, the Captain decided to elude the ice grasp and take us out into iceberg alley. Still too windy for Zodiacs, a ship’s cruise amongst the majestic bergs gave us an elevated view. Appearing to slide closely past our portholes, the mostly tabular giants had crevasses, leaning seracs and some angular geometric designs that were framed against the dappled gently curving ice cap.
Samuel acquainted us with the inner world of icebergs. Considering that a snowflake can take 100 years to become an ice grain, some icebergs could be 900,000 years old. Greenland glaciers are the racers, recording speeds of 40 km/ day and the confluence of two or more glaciers will form an ice shelf or if projecting out over the sea, an ice tongue, like the previous Mertz Glacier tongue once 100 km long, but broken off thanks to a collision with B09B iceberg.
Forces on these tabular bergs, as many as 30,000 in four square kilometres, include wind, sea including distant tsunamis, and land when grounded and gouging the sea bed. Only 3 per cent of the earth’s water is fresh, but 70 per cent of this is held in glaciers – hence the strange, seemingly crazy, scheme to gird a tabular berg and guide it into the currents that would transport this water source to dry countries!
Our travel today has been overseen by grounded tabular bergs, moving smaller bergs, bergy bits, growlers, pack ice and floes where surprised Adélie penguins, crabeaters and Weddell seals observed our progress. Our route took us north at full pelt – around the projected ice pack, and along a triangular route south to Commonwealth Bay. The Christmas Eve delights continued however as groups of emperors towered over watching Adélie penguins then tobogganed over to the edge of a Wedgewood - blue bergy bit with its own swimming pool. Chief mate kindly circled the ship to take us back for a closer look at these stretch penguins!
Christmas Eve festivities brought out special outfits in the bar and dinner was of a lusciousness to fit the occasion. A baby’s blush of slit sunset formed a beautiful backdrop to a pod of blowing and breaching humpbacks while Antarctic petrels vied for our attention.
Tonight I suspect Antarctic animals wish us ‘the luck of the dogs’ on our mission to reach Mawson’s huts on Christmas day!
Day 11: Monday, 25 December 2017
Commonwealth Bay
Santa and his elephant seals seemed to be bumping and grinding a lot over the ice floe – oh, no it was just Akademik Shokaskiy pushing south towards Commonwealth Bay for another attempt to reach the huts. Springing out of bed this sunny, calm Christmas morning we enjoyed surreal pavlova ice sparkling in sunlight from horizon to horizon and Ingrid experienced her first white Christmas!
As we broke intro open water to the north of Cape Denison, it seemed as if our planets had aligned, but once again we were thwarted. Solid pack ice to our west stopped us from finding a way around the unsurveyed patch of Commonwealth Bay and even had we been able to, the coastline tempest of lifting the sea surface to the sky confirmed the katabatic winds bubbling the water near the shore.
Acting on his well-honed instincts, the Captain was unusually agitated about turning north and pushing back through the pack ice. Something in the conditions stirred the real possibility of being trapped in the ice. Captain decided to turn tail and head north again. And he was 100 per cent correct. The rather languid two-hour push through fairly open floes on our way in, became a four-plus hour battle in heavy, rafted floes to escape. With a massive ice field moving toward us from the east, we skipped out into open water where we could safely drift once again.
Howard explained the complex interplay of ice movements influenced by wind - actual, predicted by wind charts, and katabatic. Photographs comparing the ice cover on our way towards Commonwealth Bay early this morning showed the reason why our inward journey took two hours and the outward journey more than four. What a wonderful trip it was though – the sun on polished ice, the ship bisecting and shoving aside large, shimmering blocks.
Spotting two interesting icebergs on the way to B09B, we left the pack ice behind and headed for some more! With five Zodiacs in the water, we burbled and bumbled along the edge of crumbling bergy bits and cruised the length of a tabular berg with leaning seracs. Screams of delight accompanied every plucky Adélie that plunged in or bounced out of the water, all the time squawking valiantly their Christmas Greetings.
Truly a gentle, wondrous, languorous cruise led to the challenge of the Polar Plunge! Hardy souls lined up, literally quaking in their boots, as Connor prepared for extraction at the foot of the gangway. With a variety of styles from flips to star jumps to deep diving, even a high backflip, all against a backdrop of ice. Suffering was eased by the post-dip sauna, all participants looked rosy in the bar as the Auchentoshan, complete with ancient Antarctic ice, was offered around!
Festivity dress code seemed to be bow ties for the men (and there was a wonderful array on show). The ladies accessorised to match and we all metamorphosed into elegant beings for the evening as we swilled champagne.
Dinner was a sumptuous array of soups, roasts, tofu, puddings and cheese and Samuel and Agnes were beautiful Mr and Mrs Santa handing out presents.
Disco music rang out from the bar as the ice party materialised and a few showed off their newly learned penguin dance moves!
Truly the most beautiful, happy and merry Christmas with new found friends on board our trusty little ship in the ice!
Day 12: Tuesday, 26 December 2017
East Antarctic Coastline – North of Commonwealth Bay
It’s not every Boxing Day that you awaken after a night of dancing in the bar, to find yourself in the Southern Ocean! Ice chart-dependent travel indicated that our best option today is to head west towards Dumont D’Urville to see if any approach to the coast would be possible. A dappled day with pastel dove grey and slate skies made our icebergs stand out like brides on a cloudy day!
Few people have the option to cruise the remains of an ice shelf – but today, Captain Igor placed us up close and personal to the behemoth B09B. Filling the horizon as far as the eye could see, our panoramic views were accompanied by little wind, but we then experienced the chilling blasts of being close to the icy heights. Chunky bread loafs, spikey seracs leaning out at impossible angles, slashes of deepest blue and interminable ice cliffs were constantly changing in a soft pastel setting. Awestruck, we cruised even closer, with amazing angular vistas around every iceberg corner. A snow petrel and porpoising Adélies added ambience to our progress.
Still trundling along the coast looking for an opening, Captain Igor spotted fast ice between two bergs and manoeuvred the ship into position along the edge.
Our Boxing Day walk was unlike any other! A Zodiac launch onto the ice allowed us to jump off and follow Howard as he led a gaggle of large penguins out into the windblown snow, taking care to stay off the white snow areas which could cover a crevasse. The other penguin inhabitants rushed over to watch our arrival, dashed off to the embedded iceberg then demonstrated some Adélie lovin’ in front of the paparazzi. Stalking the stragglers of the landing party, five Adélies waddled back through the murky snow farewell us at the ice edge before the last Zodiac deposited us back on our warm ship for lunch.
After a near-death with a sticky Chelsea bun (yes, this was the day!) a dewy, soft, plump iceberg replete with deep blue niches stretching deep into the ice came close on our port side, yet another was caught in the fast ice. Eagle eyes were rewarded with a view of two penguins – of differing sizes. The larger emperor demanded a sail past not just once, but three times – but he was not all that compliant – slipping down into toboggan position, then playing hide and seek with us. Now the icy blasts were scouring spindrift off the ice edge and dangerous cornices (greatly feared by climbers) revealed wind direction. Forty knot winds suddenly challenged our cold weather gear even if only for short sojourns outside. Then there were another two emperors spotted in their true environment- billowing snow and wild winds. They looked completely nonplussed as we shivered and wondered how Frank Hurley managed to control his shaking hands as he braved the elements for his dramatic photography.
Eventually viewing could even be enjoyed from the comfort of the bar as we had another fly-past more of these magnificent birds!
A late afternoon cinema showing featured the life cycle of the Adélie penguin – a true ice bird only returning to land for a very short season to breed. The currency of stones underpins courtship, nest building and safety for the eggs and chicks. Predator activity by skuas keeps the colony clean, and the surviving chicks are those who are the strongest. As they enter the sea in squadrons, leopard seals lurk, so safety depends on being neither first nor last into the water (a bit like the polar plunge!).
Day 13: Wednesday, 27 December 2017
East Antarctic Coastline – North of Commonwealth Bay
A whiter shade of pale greeted us this morning, with levelling winds on deck. We had a late breakfast before a discussion began about our curious progress, mirroring the Aurora’s search along the Shackleton Ice Shelf for a place to land Wild’s western party. Ice charts again emphasised the influence of the Mertz Glacier in holding back the ice floes that curve in from the West, into the area of Commonwealth Bay. In true expedition mode, Captain Igor and Howard have continued the tradition of fortitude and skill in not abandoning our quest for Mawson’s Hut. On our horizons, ice floes feature landing giant petrels, while Antarctic and Cape petrels wheel around, oblivious to our predicament.
Learning more of the western party, we appreciate the skills of the youthful Captain Davis trawling the length of the Shackleton Ice Shelf before depositing the men on fast ice 600 km east of Cape Denison. The ignominy of using a flying fox to haul dogs up the ice cliff would not have been lost on the men!
The hut was more rustic in construction than those at Commonwealth Bay, but luckily it was quickly iced in to become ‘the Grottoes’, with its underground tunnels where Wild demonstrated a much more an affectionate leadership style, gregarious in work and life balance. After work (from 10am to 1pm) the afternoon was for sport. Calving of the ice cliff reduced access to seals for dog and man rations. The Glacier Tongue was the newsletter to inform of telegraphic news and other soliloquys on, for example, a conversation amongst the dogs or the expedition written in the prose of the Old Testament! The sledging expeditions were haunted by blizzards, an avalanche, and equipment failure, causing frustration at lack of progress.
David Attenborough’s Frozen Planet contrasted the great taigas of the Arctic and the frozen landmass that is Antarctica. The final freeze frames gave us insight in to the filming difficulties in this extreme climate. Whether diving with strange and wonderful creatures, filming orcas using their seal hunting wave strategies, exploring the immensely diverse ice caves or the smoking crater of Mount Erebus, where the helicopter pilot must use oxygen in the rarefied atmosphere.
Samuel talked us through the changes in sea ice contrasting the Arctic and Antarctic and some watched the movie about Scott and Amundsen’s hurried preparations for the South Pole.
A wonderful curry night and, at last, Howard’s doggedness pays off as the final guarding ice pack seems as if it might be conquerable after all.
Is this the night?
Preparations are frenzied as we slowly cruise through a watercolour-subtle, ethereal ice landscape towards Mawson’s Huts.
Day 14: Thursday, 28 December 2017
East Antarctic Coastline – North of Commonwealth Bay
“We threaded through this sea of bergs without mishap” wrote Davis “guided and protected by a higher power”. Our own progress through the delicate ice floes and bergs waiting like buses at a depot, was alas, to no avail. Being less than 20 kilometres from the coast, our trusty Captain felt that further progress through the dense rafting pack ice was too risky and we respectfully bowed to his experience. Access to the hallowed ground of Mawson’s Hut had again slipped forcefully out of our grasp but ….
On such a stunner of a sunburst day, there would be no excuse to languish on the ship so the Zodiacs were launched. With giant tables of ice spread before us in all directions, the sudden appearance of the sea-piercing black fins of orcas showcased a magnificent backdrop. With playfulness, the family of a towering-finned male, who stood off a little away from the pod, the others including a mother and calf cruised around and between us, at one point diving under the inflatables. Curiosity seemed to be the major motivation, although turning to look behind, there was an uncomfortable moment, as the stalkers became the stalked! With seas of polished glass reflecting wispy grey clouds streaking into more delicate hues, the silence was only broken by the loud blow of the male orca as he cruised along the ice edge. A Weddell seal, crabeater and some shiny Adélies on their own micro-berg were also on display and everywhere perfect reflections of ice.
An air of sublime happiness helped evaporate our earlier feelings of disappointment. Who could fail to be moved by the intense beauty of this scene and the nature it contained? Even as the ship departed to the west, large dolphins came to cavort at the bow and parallel to our course, in the wake of Mawson, toward the South Magnetic Pole.
And suddenly, on an ice floe – the dream of our naturalists – a Ross seal on an ice flow, remaining in place long enough for everyone who wished, to get a photo of this, the most rare of seals!
The Great Southern Limerick Competition is getting underway as the expeditioners are again preparing for sea days – the promise of a grand prize no doubt being something of a stimulus!
Easing slowly away from Antarctica, the sky now becoming a more leaden grey as a pod of minke whales raced past us. Hot chocolate on the bow, laced with vodka for balanced sweetness, was announced commensurate with emperor penguins on ice in every direction. Time for another group photo in the ice!
And the hopeful call – “any one for a last polar plunge?”
Day 15: Friday, 29 December 2017
At Sea – South Magnetic Pole region
Our approach to the South Magnetic Pole was strictly calculated, with a line-up of iPhone compasses showing a wide range of directions, and none matching the pointer of our lifeboat compass, which seemed, for a few moments, slightly discombobulated. From the technical side of our polar achievement, we returned to the bar for a celebration right next to our very own South Magnetic Pole.
After lunch we enjoyed another episode of Frozen Planet, this time the breakup of winter and arrival of spring. And Greg regaled us with another Mawson lecture, this time about Mawson’s second winter and his homecoming. But the best show of all, was a plethora of humpbacks feeding all around the ship, as Chief Mate brought us round again and again to enjoy this once in a lifetime spectacle.
Ice castles spectre spooky on the edge of the Earth
On board salads are tossed, also folks in their berth.
Ship’s time passes slowly, its’ languor complete,
Then a wave of cetaceans washes past within a couple of feet.
The ship circles slowly, the whales never still,
Humpback lunges deep, for a mouthful of krill,
Blowing, clicking and diving - synchronicity complete,
Behemoths of brilliance in their own bathysphere.
Day 16: Saturday, 30 December 2017
At Sea towards Campbell Island
A perfect day for catching up on chores (think returning Antarctica jackets) and being inspired – Ice and Sky, the amazing film about the life and work of French glaciologist, Claude Lorius. Such incredible historic footage of a young man who discovers his passion for ice deep in the Antarctic continent, and throughout an amazing life (and a glass of whiskey) discovers the measure of millennium of air trapped within a column of ice some three kilometres deep. Never has the human impact (burning fossil fuels in particular) been so completely explained and proven.
After lunch, our afternoon rolled on like the sea, another episode of The Last Place on Earth, followed by Greg’s lecture on the work of the Mawson’s Huts Foundation. The day wound up with a hugely well-received showing of Victoria and Abdul, thanks to the inimitable talent of Judy Dench.
Day 17: Sunday, 31 December 2017
At Sea towards Campbell Island
Onwards and northwards we go, heading for New Zealand! Beneath us three kilometres of water, while on the surface, 40 knot winds chop it up and a dropping barometer signifies gale conditions. Damp conditions on deck with a flurry of snow and spray over the bow keeping most expeditioners inside.
Today the limerick competition closes and the morning is a flurry of last minute scribing.
Samuel returned to his 15-month posting at Dumont D’Urville and, through his eyes, we entered the world of the scientific base. Two years of preparations, five days on the seedy ship Astrolabe, nicknamed ‘G’astrolabe’, and then the wonder of having an emperor penguin colony as vista while dining. Most of us are curious about an Antarctic winter, but the stars, Aurora Australis and marching penguins made the station look like a wonderland. Seeing a chick still wet, fresh from its egg, a male Weddell seal gnawing the icy edge of his essential breathing hole and the slimy spit of a snow petrel chick when disturbed kept us entranced.
Anne relived her own memories of visiting the French base on her last trip south and seeing the cake to celebrate 10 years since Samuel’s time there.
Being a less clement day, many rested gently in bunks, crafted or read in the bar while the heroic entertainment continued with The Race to the Pole.
All afternoon energy was focussed into creating costumes for the New Year’s Eve Party. Anticipation of the quiz was also creating educational anxieties.
So, with Greg as our quizmaster, Kiwi Dave as our quiz dolly and teams ranging from the “Ice sluts” to the “Orcas” entered the battle. Judicious play of jokers and good observation of shipboard life found a winning team.
The Antarctic dress up was hotly contested by Pete the pirate penguin, Miss Iceberg 322b, Mr Macaroni penguin with his kitchen accessories and Miss Anne Tarctic. Eventual winner closely decided by the judges after clapometer assessment not conclusive.
With the clocks advancing towards New Zealand time, celebration of New Year started in Auckland then Melbourne/Sydney, with Brisbane and Russia sharing the next hour. Party poppers flew everywhere and then it was one big joyous sharing of greetings amongst newfound friends. Auld lang syne was sung and some wandered down to the Russian celebration to hear traditional songs while, in the bar, Samuel, Agnes and Chris led the communal singing with help from Tony’s wonderful lyric memory. The evening finished with balloon-popping acrobatics and we all agreed it was a stellar start to 2018 in the seething Southern Ocean.
Day 18: Monday, 1 January 2018
At Sea towards Campbell Island
A lazy, hazy start to the most beautiful first day of a New Year, the swell swirling bluer and the skies lightening as black-browed albatross again wheeled alongside. Spirits surged with the barometer reading, although some were a little tired from the festivities. Passing the ridge supporting Macquarie Island to the north, royal penguins skittered on the surface. Lungsful of fresh air helped dispel the ongoing mal de mer, but our New Zealand goal is coming closer and we will soon cross the Antarctic convergence.
Howard ‘s disco introduction to The making of Happy Feet had a flash dance moment in the lecture room as everyone danced with gay abandon to Boogie wonderland. Having an Oscar winner in our midst and seeing the photographic work that set the scene for Mumbles was amazing and at the cusp of new technology. Motion capture and extraordinary dancers were used to augment the penguin personalities and Prince wrote the award winning song. Later we hoped to be treated to the end product, with maybe another little dance flourish. Sadly technical difficulties pushed us into watching Argo instead!
Day 19: Tuesday, 2 January 2018
At Sea to Campbell Island
Still pitching across an idyllic landscape – blue sparkling seas, sunshine and a temperature of two degrees then the thirty knot wind chill added. For every 10 knots of wind the temperature drops a degree. Sooty and Royal albatross swooped the stern of the ship, crossing paths with flighty prions that flashed past in the sunshine.
Chris, our naturalist, introduced us to the spectacular (in rarity, diversity and size) plants of the subantarctic islands. Tree daisies, sundews, orchids and the tremendously lavish megaherbs make these islands of special significance. Which brings us to the question of what exactly is a megaherb! Dictionary says a herb is of a plant used for culinary flavouring, or in the botanical sense, a plant that withers right down to its roots.
Hooker, a botanist with Captain Cook, describes floral display second to none outside the tropics. Lushness is encouraged by the rainfall, relatively mild temperatures, long summer days and lack of grazing since the islands were cleared of farming. With bright pinks, yellows and blues the colours and size of the plants are stunning against the island backdrop of volcanic activity and limestone cliffs battered by westerly winds. Size and increasing distance from the mainland decree how many species grow. The magical gnarled trees of the miniature forest harbour odd sights like penguins or seals in amongst the megaherb understory. The persistence of the aceana plants with their burrs, reminds us of the importance of biosecurity – the tree daisy may have come with the first Europeans or self-seeded from the mainland.
With the celebration of Sunny’s birthday, and the final difficult decisions on the limerick competition, she also scored the best international entry. The winner by popular vote was Barbara’s:
The penguins did glide on their belly,
Royal, King and Adélie.
To see them at play,
Only metres away,
Sure beats the hell out of telly!
Just before a pastel evening gently rolled into a rain squall, the last daylight hours with the royal albatrosses, cape petrels and prions were a taster of our next adventure at Campbell Island. Will our sojourn there be mist- filled or a rare sunny day?
Day 20: Wednesday, 3 January 2018
Perseverance Harbour – Campbell Island
5 am dawned, but misty conditions proved not conducive to bird watching. By 6.15 am skies were clearing and the first albatrosses skimmed a rainbow over the dramatic cliffs that suddenly appeared out of contoured clouds. The flash of the white breast of royals, swooping giant petrels, crazily puddling Cape petrels and prions zipping past made for a fun-filled approach to Campbell Island and Perseverance Harbour in balmy pre-breakfast anticipation of our first landing for ages!
Desperation to get off the ship upstaged keenness and the Zodiacs were soon full to the brim with very eager nature lovers. Our gentle skim along the north shore of the harbour flushed out firstly the sea lion guarding the welcome sign. With a plethora of flightless teals cunningly concealed along the kelp edge, a few following sea lions cavorting and frolicking and giant petrels feasting on a carcass, our journeys to Tucker Cove started well. Coming in through massive mussel beds, another huge sea lion guarded the old camp stove and a giant petrel chick. Our entrance was up past arctic tern families with lawns outside the best kept nest in the world. A sheltering gull chick looked shy in the undergrowth while the parents stood guard nearby. The next stop was Camp Cove, with the ‘loneliest tree in the world’ – a sitka spruce – again with a sentinel sea lion. Wandering in the stream’s tannin waters, we spotted many little hanging gardens.
After lunch, our trek up the boardwalk to Col Lyall started with a few yellow eyed penguin sightings, accompanying pippets and then a low boggy area replete with tiny white and beak orchids, and a streaky sun orchid. Ascending further, we found albatrosses regally nesting close to the path, then were treated to the best aeronautical display. The wind gusts that nearly blew us over proved ideal for soaring royals, which screamed past like jets. The clicking, clacking, posturing stances sometimes of up to five young birds practicing their romantic skills, was suitably orchestrated in a landscape perfect for a giant fairy! With the massed pink hues of the pleurophyllum criniferum, hookerii and speciosum , the anisotome like pink cabbages, the yellow toilet brush-like bulbinella streaming up the hillside to a savagely beautiful view point, all with exquisite albatross resting amongst the megaherbs.
Flushed with adrenaline after such an amazing afternoon, Greg’s auction night, (also aided by half price drinks) went steaming ahead with a total of $4,715 raised and memorable auctioneering by the good man himself, ably assisted by Jen, his barrel lady.
Day 21: Thursday, 4 January 2018
Campbell Island
The best laid plans of expeditioners gang aft agley! This morning was to be a big tramping option but the glowering mist quashed our plans. However Campbell Island does know how to put on a Zodiac show. The south shore of Perseverance Harbour delivered up a squawking baby sea lion, parents fussing over chicks of terns and pintado, light-mantled sooty albatross and a gull. Mizzle cleared as we spotted yellow-eyed penguins heading up into the undergrowth. Turning south there were blonde female fur seals and thrilling and spilling caves that invited a tour. Rocky outcrops were claimed by Campbell Island shags, but there was a curious fat one – oh! a solitary rock hopper penguin trying hard to fit in!
Basalt columns, swarms of jellyfish (some bubblegum pink) rolling in the swell and medusa-kelp swirling – it was a never-ending stunner of a morning.
Bruce’s Chelsea bun was a hit, both first and second serving, and provided sustenance for the afternoon foray into the increasing mist. Passing an indistinct Cossack Rock, we searched for and discovered Campbell’s, light mantled sooty, grey-headed and royal albatrosses like giant mosquitoes in the air and on ‘albatross heights’ on the cliff, where chicks looked out disdainfully from their bastion nests and parents gammed together. Huge basalt tubes, rocky headlands, cliff archways and a sea stack – the topography perfectly described the tumultuous volcanic eruption of this island.
Where else could we be so out at sea, lost by our ship, in the midst of soaring albatrosses in a rolling swell and be so entranced? Even our journey to find our missing Shokalskiy was gifted with flotillas of albatross washing and resting away from the kids! What a wonderful, ethereal, mystical afternoon in this very special place.
Following the success of the auction, tonight’s entertainment progressed to the inaugural Scintillating Shokalskiy Show, with numerous entries in the “sniff out the talent” category. Barb introduced while Louise was doorgirl to an evening of delicious and delightful prose. Jennny’s Henry Lawson poetry, duets including a Swiss love story, the black-bagged, singing Matildas and, lastly Natalia, our Russian stewardess entertained us with her keyboard. The Auckland Island Times review was stupendous and now Barb is thinking of touring the show!!
Day 22: Friday, 5 January 2018
Carnley Harbour – Auckland Islands
In the words of the World Heritage Area nomination in 1997, “There are days when these islands are enveloped in bleakness and days of bright blue clarity when they are the most invigorating and wild places on Earth.”
Today was one of those days!
A slight drizzle presaged our day of bright sunshine in the Auckland Islands. This large and biologically diverse island group, lying 450 km from Bluff, was formed from two volcanic craters, with wild westerly cliffs and the more fiord–like eastern intrusion bays. We anchored in Carnley Harbour just off the isthmus of Musgrave Peninsula, for our two km walk to the coastwatch station and lookout.
From a pebbly beach ringing with the melodies of the tui or bellbirds, the climb was though gnarly flowering rata, foetid smelling coprosma and into a garden of lichens, mosses and very special tiny orchids. A black and white tomtit flew close and parakeets were heard but not seen in the canopy. The final hut presented a wide view of the bay - purpose-built for spying any German ship in the area after a boat slipped out of Dunedin in 1935 and sailed here to collect 200 tons of rata to fuel her escape to South America. We enjoyed a most amazing walk on a day when clement weather reminded us just how idyllic this place can be.
Our afternoon delight included a longish Zodiac ride to the head of Musgrave Harbour. A frankly, frisky seal ion challenged the landing area more than once before our snake of travellers headed up into the dense rata forest. After a few lost and founds and a few deep rivulet crossings, we reached a plateau where sun orchids bloomed in profusion while smaller, black-helmeted orchids proved harder to spot in the moss. Suddenly the windswept cwm with a plunging water feature marked the head of the glaciated valley. For our next special event on our return Zody-cruise, the rockhoppers on the northern shore proved challenging to access thanks to the kelp and wind, but stood proud on the rocks allowing their eyebrows to flutter in the stiff breeze.
A dash across the bay, then a stupendous arch revealed the hanging garden of Musgrave. The fringing vegetation, even anistome megaherbs were eclipsed by stalactites of moss elongating by the day against a background of a ‘hidden world’ cave roof collapse. Some singing erupted to test the acoustics and after floating out into the kelp, we discovered another elongated limestone cave to explore with a strange art deco roof and even better sound. It was after eight pm when we returned to the ship, another wonderful sub-Antarctic Island day. Looking forward to the challenge of Sandy Bay sea lions on Enderby tomorrow after today’s first taste!
Day 23: Saturday, 6 January 2018
Enderby Island – Auckland Islands
Another early wake-up call from Howard this morning with a 7.00am breakfast followed by an 8.00am briefing about Enderby Island, delivered by Samuel. Then we all grabbed a packed lunch and boarded a Zodiac to Sandy Bay, where sea lions and their researchers were waiting to greet us.
Luckily the early morning rain shower cleared, and we were blessed with a sunny warm day.
Once everyone was ashore and safely past the big male sea lions guarding the beach, Sarah, the lead researcher, gave us a quick summary of their monitoring for the current lion breeding season. First the ‘long walkers’ took off to circumnavigate the island. Then the ‘short walkers’ followed, heading across the creek, past the yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho), up the grass sward and onto the boardwalk through the rata and dracophyllum forest, leading to the north side of the island. This section of the track took us through a very colourful landscape of megaherbs (especially the purple Anisotome), flowering gentians, scarlet rata flowers – an incredibly beautiful vista with the Hooker Hills of the main Auckland Island forming the backdrop.
After reaching the northern coastline and finding the light-mantled sooty albatross nesting on the cliffs, the 31 short walkers returned via the boardwalk to Sandy Bay. There was plenty for the ‘short walkers’ to look at, especially all the action on the beach. It was amazing to watch all the sea lions, who were in the middle of their breeding season. With the fighting males trying to earn a harem causing havoc amongst the females and pups. Some of us were even lucky enough to view a pup being born and also copulations – these are things that very few people have witnessed. Meanwhile the researchers were recording their observations and dissecting any animals that didn't make it. There were also skuas and giant petrels patrolling the beach for placentas, penguins coming and going, plus pipits, tomtits, bellbirds and kakariki (parakeets) in the forest.
Meanwhile, the intrepid 22 walking around the island were battling through tussock areas and encountering plenty of sea lions - who seemed to delight in first hiding, then roaring at us as we walked past. The extra effort required to walk the 11km around the coast paid dividends. We encountered snipe, dotterels, giant petrel chicks, skua, Antarctc terns, kakariki (parakeet), shags, yellow-eyed penguins, a falcon, and even an elephant seal. The walk also took us past the memorial recognising where 15 men from the Derrycastle (wrecked in 1887) were buried.
We had a brief lunch stop near Gargoyle Point (north-eastern point), then kept up our good pace around the coastline. Samuel took everyone into the rata forest where the ground was crimson with rata flowers. Our route then took us past Teal Lake, pristine, but no teal visible today.
Then we negotiated our way back through the sea lions and penguins at Sandy Bay, where we sat on the grass with a great view of all the action on the beach.
Once back on board Akademik Shokalskiy, our awesome day was finished off with a batch of Bruce's savory (sun dried tomato and pesto) scones. What a perfect day!
Day 24: Sunday, 7 January 2018
The Snares
A cerise-streaked, Snares sunrise, with a murmuration of sooty shearwaters enlivening the horizon, was just the start of our dawn cruise. The Snares Island group, discovered in 1791, interestingly, had four escaped convicts from Norfolk Island marooned here with only a few potatoes!
Folded muscovite granite cliffs provided the grey-headed Buller’s albatrosses a regal place on their nest stacks. As experienced speleologists, our drivers took us through yet another through-and-through arch adorned with muted, green-hued lichens. The white vests of the endemic Snares crested penguin – fairly glowed in the dawn light as they streamed down from the Oleara Lyelli (daisy tree) forest to the kelp-fringed shore. Penguins vacillated at the waters edge until a wave launched them into the kelp, while sleepy fur seals simply looked bored. Some rolled about as if in a washing machine during their communal swim, while a 25-knot wind, air-dried fluffy yellow eye-brows.
A sheltered inlet protected families of Antarctic terns with demanding chicks and, in the corner, the University of Canterbury research hut. A bouncy trip back to the ship, but the swell at the gangway was easily-conquered with the help of our Russian seamen.
A late, leisurely breakfast was followed by a talk by Chris on the impressive sea lions, 70 per cent of the world population breeding at Enderby and Dundas Islands. In the harems at Sandy Bay yesterday, the sexual dimorphism (gender size difference) was obvious as pups tried to avoid the sparring 450 kg males.
The females dive deeper, to around 350 metres and sea lions use a silvery lining behind the retina and whiskers to detect prey such as fish and squid. In November, males stake a claim on the beach and mate with the females about one week after pupping. In January the females forage for two days at a time, while the pups stay together in crèches till six weeks, then retreat into the vegetation, swim at two months and suckle up to 12 months.
Our researchers at Sandy Bay had discussed their project to look at declining numbers and postulate that hookworm and reduced and changing food supply could be predisposing the population to tuberculosis and meningitis. On a positive note though, sea lions are returning to breed on the Otago peninsula of the mainland and Dave from the Department of Conservation is a youtube star after removing a sea lion from a swimming pool with two hockey sticks!
Our afternoon featured a wonderful slide show produced by Julia, and showing off not only her shots, but those of Heritage staff as well. What a fantastic reminder of everything we have experienced.
After dinner, Greg did what he does best, created a warm and welcoming atmosphere for us to enjoy our final night together, with help from the generosity of the Mawson’s Hut’s Foundation.
Day 25: Monday, 8 January 2018
Port of Bluff
We picked up our pilot at 6 am and were alongside the wharf at Bluff by 7 am. After a filling breakfast, we bid goodbye to our expedition staff and set off on our next adventure. Thanks to everyone who made this such a fantastic trip.
