Austangi Day Challenge. Marine debris collection on the West Coast. This weeks Macca Gallery feature s a wide variety picture from four photographers.

Austangi tug-of-war challenge

In late January, the Kiwis of Macquarie Island made the challenge to the Aussies for the ‘the Ashes’ tug-of-war trophy. This trophy was relinquished from the Kiwis by the Aussies at the mid-winter games day.

Due to the success of the MIPEP (Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project) we thought it a fitting challenge as it seemed unlikely that there would be enough Kiwis on Macca to make up a team in the future. The date was set to be on a combined Australia /Waitangi (Austangi) games day that would happen during the MIPEP teams end-of-January break.

This time it was agreed to have an enforcement of the rules: as in weight for weight and equal number of people in each team.

To say there was a buzz of excitement in the Kiwi team, myself included (honorary Kiwi, Billy the Welshman) throughout January was a bit of an understatement. We were all keyed up for this competition and ready to win back the Ashes.

Friday the 31st January saw the Kiwis have a quick team meeting at the bar and a team get together was planned for the next morning, Saturday at 10:30am, in the Green store; team members Jack, Dana, Angela, Pete, Keith, Nick, Mike, Billy, Leona (the Boss). But where was Leona? Still in bed! It was a birthday week for the Boss so we decided to let her rest.

Tactics were sorted, positions worked out and a little practice of three aside with me giving a few tips to the team. I used to pull for a local team years ago back in Wales. We were organised and there was little doubt that we were going to win back what was rightfully ours; ‘The Ashes’.

One o’clock was swim time, and although summer was in full swing, that water was still chilly. Swim over, into the spa, a warm soak and then out for the big event.

The Kiwis came out in their all black team colours (including Leona) ready for the event. We all gathered in the Green store for the weigh in. With our boots off and onto the scales we had a combined weight of 750 kilograms. The Aussies had to match it (this time) and after a bit of juggling of people they managed to get a combined weight of 776 kilograms. We were happy to let them have a slight ‘advantage’! There were a few big lads in their team; you could see where the extra 26 kilograms were!

The Aussie team were full of confidence saying that we were going to be a push over.

The rope was set and we won the draw and chose the south end of the rope for the first pull. The teams lined up, the rope strained then Clive, the official judge called the start and the pull was on.

From the start the Kiwis had the Aussies under pressure. We steadied ourselves and then applied more pressure, slowly and steadily pulling the rope in our direction. They tried hard, those Aussies, but not hard enough. We inched them over the line and won the first leg.

We were pumped and ready for the change of ends. Again the rope strained and Clive signalled the pull was on. The Aussies came out determined this time and pulled like hell, they actually managed to gain a metre or so, but the tactics we had discussed earlier came into play. The team steadied, leaned back on the rope and the pull for victory was on. Being in the anchor position, I was calling the ‘pull’ for each backward step. The enormous pressure we put on saw the Aussies slowly coming our way and we eased them over the line once again.

Oh yes, a sweet victory was ours and a little Kiwi-style chanting from Nick filled the air as the team revelled in the win.

The Ashes trophy; well where was it?  No one seemed to know, the Aussies just couldn’t find it — so they said. Five days later and it still hasn’t been found, truly lost or hidden from it’s rightful place with the Kiwi team!

Though there were to be other games on that day the tug-of-war was the biggy.

Steve (Billy) Barton

New Zealand team weigh in. All nine members, dressed in ‘all black', are standing on the large scales in the Green Store
The Aussie team weigh in. There are eleven team members (two reserves) trying to fit on the large scales in the Green store
Australian team bonding session. Eight members of the team are standing in a circle. The image was taken from below, looking up at the circle of smiling faces
New Zealand Team bonding session, with an itinerant Aussie photo bomber. Eight members of the team, dressed in black, are standing in a circle. The view is from below of their faces. In the bottom left corner part of the face of one of the Aussie team members wanting to spoil their session
The Aussie team trying hard to win ‘The Ashes'. The nine member team are all leaning back on the rope. The foot marks in the sand suggest that they are losing ground.
The nine member New Zealand team, pulling hard to the south. They look resplendent in their all black clothing
Great effort Ange. The view is of the New Zealand team with Ange the front person showing concentration and effort in pulling the rope
The nine member Aussie team trying hard to win the second round. It shows the effort on their faces. It looks as though they have gained a little ground
Honorary Kiwi Billy the Welshman as anchorman for the NZ team, pulling for victory. The view is from the back of the NZ team looking down the line of nine team members. The Aussie team can be seen at the other end of the rope in the distant background
Victory celebration by some of the New Zealand team. In the picture is Keith, Jack, Nick, Mike and Pete, with anchorman Billy on the shoulders of Jack and Nick
New Zealand team members Leona, Dana, Ange, Keith, Jack, Nick, Billy (on the shoulders of Jack and Nick), Mike and Pete celebrate their victory. They are in ‘all black’ uniform

Marine debris collection on the west coast

In late-January, five of us undertook a sweep of the coastline from Aurora Point to Aurora Cave, a distance of two kilometres and collected a huge amount of marine debris. This part of the west coast had not been cleared for a few years. We carried all the debris back to Bauer Bay Hut where it will hopefully be flown out by chopper during the next resupply.

Plastics bottles and the commercial long line fishing materials are the scourge of the oceans. It is hard to imagine how much debris is floating in the seas, when we find so much on a two kilometre length of Macca coastline — a mere speck in the vast Southern Ocean.

Clive Strauss 

Many pieces of green braided fishing line washed up on the rocky beach
Keith and Clive contemplating the removal and carrying of a huge piece of styrofoam, measuring about a metre by 50 centimetres. Both clive and Keith have their survival pack on their back loaded with marine debris, including a couple of large plastic containers and a small gas cylinder
Slow progress across the vast featherbed — shows three people, each wearing a survival pack loaded with extra marine debris, trudging across the misty featherbed
Packhorses: Clive, Kris and Keith crossing the featherbed. Each has their backpack loaded with marine debris, including large plastic containers, A small gas cylinder, plastic bags filled with debris, a 20 litre bucket and Kieth is carrying the large piece of styrofoam
Hiking out the marine debris crew, Keith, Bianca, Vicki, Kris and Clive. Each is wearing a survival back pack loaded with extra marine debris
Standing on the grassy area beside Bauer Bay hut with the marine debris, Clive, Keith, Kris, Bianca and Vicki
On the grassy area beside Bauer bay hut is a huge pile of marine debris collected from two kilometres of coastline. It includes several plastic bags full of drink bottles, green string and other rubbish as well as several fishing floats, polystyrene, big plastic containers and a small gas cylinder

Macca Gallery

This week the Macca Gallery features some stunning photos from four photographers covering a wide variety of subjects.

Spotlighting moments — this amazing images shows an aurora australis with a silhouette of MIPEP’s Lachlan in front of the moon on the left
Antarctic tern in flight. The view is of the underside of the tern
Close up of a royal penguin standing on a rock, with the beach and a few other royal penguins in the background
Green Gorge Beach. The view from above the beach shows some elephant seals and hundreds of king and royal penguins. Some dark ominous clouds appear on the horizon
Close up of a light mantled sooty albatross on a grassy ledge overlooking a rugged coastline. Another sooty is in flight in the background
'Extreme sunscreen'. The image is of the head and shoulders of Aaron. He has a beanie pulled over his eyes with sunglasses over the beanie
Two giant petrels sitting amongst the grass near the coastline. The ocean looks calm and there is another giant petrel and elephant seal in the background
Cirrus invading the sky. The view is down the east coast and eastern escarpment with strands of cirrus cloud appearing to move across the trop of the island
Sandy Bay on the east coast on a sunny day as seen from the grass just near Brothers Point hut
Seal pile-up. Five moulting elephant seals in a wallow beside a track. two of the seals lie on top of the other three
Orographic Lenticular cloud cap over the island. The view is from the golf tee and looks across the station and the isthmus and escarpment which has a cap of cloud extending all the way across
View from Razorback Ridge lookout. In the foreground is the wooden steps that lead up to the lookout, with the vivid azure blue ocean in the background and the east coast escarpment in the left of the picture
on