First Day at Macquarie Island

Today we reached our furthest distance south and west on the voyage. Macquarie Island, like all the sub Antarctic islands, is windy, wet and cold. Most boats that reach it cannot actually land people on the island because of the wind (they’re not called the furious fifties for nothing) and the limitations on the permits (they’re only issued for particular days and places on the island). It has five days a year when it’s not completely cloudy. Today I could see my shadow, the sea was calm, and it was easy to get to shore.

The day started auspiciously by seeing the island in the distance 

and penguins frolicking in the water.

Soon I could see the enormous penguin colonies from my balcony (the king penguins are on the beach and the royal penguins are completely filling the “bare” patch on the hill).

Then we were taken on to the shore, where we could walk around (no closer than five metres) the fur seals (they’re going through their six week catastrophic moult, that happens every year, and they can’t go into the water while it’s happening)

and the penguins (some of which are moulting, while others have eggs and there are even some chicks)

and go up on the board walk that leads to the royal penguin colony. Unfortunately a petrel decided to make a nest on the boardwalk, so we weren’t allowed to go very far along it, but there was still plenty to see - the mega flora, 

the Royal penguins going too and fro, 

the skuas trying to pinch eggs, 

the eggs they had stolen, 

and the petrel chick and a skua chick. That afternoon we went back with a guide and saw it all again, including skuas attacking the king penguins and trying to get the chicks.

It was a fantastic experience!