Green Gorge ahoy! A successful hut resupply

Most years, a couple of helicopters get brought down on the Aurora Australis (big orange ship) and spend the week of resupply buzzing all over the island, taking out food, gas (for heating and cooking) and medical supplies to the 6 field huts dotted all over the island.

Unfortunately this year, the powers that be decided we would not get any helicopters come down with the ship, and we could instead get all the supplies out to the huts by boat.

We are fortunate that among our expeditioners we happen to have 3 fully trained coxswains, the minimum Australian boating-licence required for the AAD to allow you to operate one of their IRBs (inflatable rigid boats - one of those orange rubber duck type numbers that lifeguards use). We need a minimum of 3 coxswains to be allowed to take the boats right around the island, or 2 for short local trips. Many years they only have 1 or 2 (or sometimes none) so at least they selected a good year to cancel the helicopters.

A couple of months ago we worked out the bare minimum of supplies that each hut needs for us to be able to continue to use it for the year, and ever since we have been waiting for a decent weather window. Who would have thought that it would take 2 months to finally have a day when the wind was below 20 knots - it's like we are living in the middle of the Southern Ocean or something...

But last week the perfect day finally dawned, and a group of 7 of us in 3 IRBs packed to the rafters zipped down island to stock up Green Gorge Hut. Mission completed! Now just 5 more huts to go...

Real life tetris - trying to fit a years worth of food, gas, trades and medical supplies (and maybe the odd bottle of wine) into the boats.

  

Greg, our plumber, checking everything is pumped up nice and tight.

Chris B (yes, out of 14 people we have 2 named Chris), our diesel mechanic, showing off his backing skills. Over the years there have been attempts at boat ramp and wharves, but such is the strength of the Southern Ocean they never last for long. These days we launch boats off 'Landing Beach' using a trailer extension bar (a type of torture device for people who rate their trailer backing). This is attempt number 7 to launch the first boat.....

And boat number three finally away (I'm in the black hat sandwiched between the boxes)

Days don't get any nicer than this on Macca. Blue sky only comes out once every month or two. Heading down island towards 'The Nuggets' - the double rock formation that was home to one of the more prolific sealing stations.

The boys are very excited to be on the water, and demonstrate this by racing up and down past one another. I wait for the inevitable injury.

Danielle, normally one of our weather observers, but today moonlighting as a coxswain. In the real world she works as a ships master and first officer (on actual ships). The AAD still made her get her coxswains licence so she could drive one of the rubber duckies...

After about an hour of zipping along we get to Green Gorge Hut (straight ahead) and scope out the best spot for landing

And we're ashore! Richard, our field training officer (FTO) styles one of the delightful dry suits we have to wear for any boating trips. They are a rather uncomfortable all-in-one (gumboots included) number that makes any movement almost impossible. Ideal for hauling boxes up the beach....

The loot waiting to be manhandled up to the hut. 

Mission complete, Rich takes us home via a King Penguin colony (white and black dots in the background)

Just like a pro straight onto the trailer

Pete, our electrician, gives the all clear to haul us back onto dry land. A successful day all round!

The busy month of May

May has been a busy month for us all on the Isle of Macca. While there has been a certain amount of work done, it's really been the ramping up of our social calendar which has kept the days ticking along rather nicely.

Jez Bird, our very aptly named resident bird scientist, had his birthday first up. These occasions bring the privilege of being able to select the dinner and cake of one's choice. Jez went with a pizza night, which was such a success that I can't actually recall what he had for a cake.

My birthday came next, and after requesting "something of an Asian persuasion", our chef Annette went all out and cooked a Thai feast (generating a feast-load of dishes) followed by a lemon and berry dacquoise. Having a professional chef for the year really is as good as it sounds. A week or two before I may have got a wee bit tipsy and unleashed my full karaoke rendition of the Lion King soundtrack, so somehow it ended up being a Thai Lion King themed celebration.

Next up was a viewing of this year's Eurovision (just a few weeks late) with compulsory wig-wearing.

Finally we celebrated World Whiskey Day by entering Macquarie Island as an official celebration site. This was roughly my eighth attempt at trying to like whiskey (or whisky depending on its origin) and while I definitely can't say I'm a convert, I came closer than I ever have before. 

Here's to June and whatever it brings.

Jez Bird is a PhD student studying burrowing petrels (a type of bird found on sub-Antarctic islands). The appropriateness of his surname is uncanny.  

More pizza topping choices than Pizza Hut in the late 80s

Danielle and Angus are both quite pleased with their topping choices

Annette keeps a watchful eye on the cooking process

Angus, Greg and Jez decide pizza night definitely justifies a couch-dinner. Also an excellent meal choice for low levels of dishes.

A Thai feast somehow combined with the Lion King theme. Not your traditional combo, but it worked surprisingly well.

Our dinner soundtrack - who needs the backing music? I know every word.

So many choices; definitely a night for over-eating

But sadly the opposite to pizza night in terms of dishes. The clean-up required 3/4 of the station. Very pleased to have an excuse to get out of dishes that night!

Post dinner, the most rousing version of 'Happy Birthday' sung all year (a kind of jungle chaos theme)  - Danielle on keyboard, Rich on 'cymbals'...

And Ranger Chris on 'drums'

The berry and lemon dacquoise

Seriously delicious, although seriously difficult to cut tidily

Onto Eurovision night - the rule was 'no wig, no dinner'. Annette and Richard get the night started early (Rich complete with his crochet)

And some more punters arrive. From left Vicki, Tim, Jez, Norbert, Danielle and Richard. Fortunately there are about 40 wigs on station, so no chance of running out.

And finally onto the slightly more sophisticated World Whiskey Day. The organisers were quite excited to have such a remote site registered as holding an event. The range of whiskeys we happened to have on station was quite impressive.

Whiskey cocktails to start the evening (definitely my pick of the night) and we even managed to find a bit of tartan. From left Jez, Norbert, Greg, Ali (our station leader and main whiskey enthusiast), Ranger Chris (with a brave hart inspired wig), Danielle and Annette

We are but visitors here

One of the biggest attractions of Macquarie Island is the animal life. Despite near-decimation after decades of sealing and penguin harvesting in the 1800s, local animal colonies have slowly rebounded back towards their original numbers.

Whilst I thought that you'd have to get down-island to see the good stuff, it turns out there is an incredible number of animals all over the isthmus around station. Lucky for me, as good cameras are bloody heavy, and I'm not quite 'island fit' enough to lug mine up some of the steeper hills.

Once you have been here a while you realise we are very clearly the visitors here.

Eat your heart out David Attenborough.

The illustrious elephant seal. Clearly the inspiration for Jabba the Hutt. Their 'roar' sounds like the most gratuitous round of farting you've ever heard. They also smell appalling.

Their maturity is determined by their body mass but also by the size of their nose. This one is a young male but not yet a beach master (breeding male). During the breeding process the males blow air into their noses to make them look more impressive to the females. 

Hard to believe this cutie is a young version of above...

It is just coming towards the end of the molting season for the females and young males - they spend a month or so ashore with their skin slowly peeling off - the perfect recipe for a seriously grumpy mood

So hard not to go and give them a belly rub!

Those eyes...

We accidentally disturbed a group of young ones on a walk along the beach. Much farty roaring followed.

The Fur Seal really wins in the seal-attractiveness department. Although they are extremely aggressive and will chase you if you get anywhere near them. We had one that waited for Tim at the bottom of the stairs just so it could chase him across the courtyard.

They are so much like dogs or cats it is quite unnerving. And those whiskers!

A mother and breast-feeding pup who took up residence underneath our balcony. We named the pup Squeaky as it would wake us up several times a night with its squalling. By this stage Squeaky wasn't much smaller than his mother, and despite her best efforts to wean him (including some rather vicious fights) Squeaky always seemed to win.

A rather regal looking 'furry'

And a little less regal a few seconds later. Nothing like a roll in some rotting kelp.

The Gentoo Penguins are everywhere 

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They can also cause quite a ruckus

They have glorious yellow leather feet. Totally colour co-ordinated with their beaks.

The King Penguins live up to their name with lots of elegant posing

So photogenic

However, they are much friendlier than the Gentoos - the minute you stop they'll come over for a nosy. It's not hard to see how they were almost wiped out by oil seeking expeditions - various reports describe them dutifully following each other up a plank into the mouth of a 'digestor'

A Northern Giant Petrel. They have a wing span of 1-2 meters, look incredibly pre-historic and have a Pterodactyl-like cry.

They are incredibly skittish (they'll start panicking even if you are 50m away) and are unfortunately rather ungainly when they take off. Hard not to laugh as they lope along and eventually give up after a few half-hearted flaps.