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It was 200 years ago today on the 10 April 1810 that Frederick Hasselborough, master of the brig Perseverance discovered Macquarie Island. Within 10 years the fur seal population was almost completely extinct and the elephant seals were well on their way to a similar fate. With the sealers came cats, mice, rats and rabbits. Today Macquarie Island Nature Reserve is one of the most valuable reserves in Australia and the world, well recognised for its conservation, geological, ecological and scientific values. It is a World Heritage Area, a Biosphere Reserve, and is listed on the Register of the National Estate. Today the wind, which was gusting into the low 50's, had abated enough by late morning that we could anchor south of our normal anchorage. Whilst it was still too windy to fly helicopters to the ship, we were able to finish the discharge (by LARC) of the last apple hut and the timber bases which have become a familiar sight in the No. 1 lowers of late. It is worth noting that the introduced cats on Macquarie Island were finally eradicated a few years ago. The apple hut that has just left the ship will be used as a remote field site for the ambitious program to eradicate the remaining introduced pests, the rats, mice and rabbits, which will swing into action in just a month’s time. The last of the refrigerated and frozen food is ready to fly off on the helicopter deck in nets and Bulka bags, cunningly packaged so that they can be lifted individually by an AS350BA or in pairs by the stronger Sikorsky S76. Currently conditions are perfect for refuelling but unfortunately it is too late in the day to start. Here's hoping the weather holds for tomorrow.
Regards, Andy, Mick and Karen
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.