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We arrived at Macquarie Island in the early hours of the morning with fog all around us and the island nowhere to be seen. At anchor in Buckles Bay, it slowly lifted, revealing the steep green slopes, rocky beaches and station buildings of magical Macquarie Island. It's hard to describe just how beautiful the island is with the plateau shrouded in mist. There was huge excitement at the thought of getting ashore.
Due to low visibility, the decision was made to transfer people by LARC rather than helicopter but after toolbox meetings had taken place and the crew had safely completed unlashing the LARCs the wind was gusting over 45 knots which is unfortunately no good for lowering LARCs. It was a classic case of hurry up and wait for the expeditioners eager to get across to the island.
Lots of expeditioners made the most of the downtime to get out on deck and take photos of the misty island and the petrels and albatross sweeping around the ship. Finally around 3pm, the weather proved too great an obstacle to get anything or anyone off Nuyina and operations were cancelled for the day. We were able to complete some ship based preparation works so it wasn't all bad news.
A big thank you to everyone for their patience and perseverance but we all know weather has a personality all its own in the sub-Antarctic. For now there's time to relax and enjoy the view. Let's hope the weather gives us a break tomorrow.
REGARDS: Brendan, Jenn, and Nick
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.