Well, it looks like we are half way through our stint on this small island, well roughly anyway. Since we arrived here back in May we’ve become accustomed to living amongst all of the amazing wildlife and scenery that looks as though it’s straight out of a David Attenborough documentary.
Although we’ve been ‘stuck’ on this small patch of land in the Southern Ocean for half a year, things are never dull, or never the same for that matter. In the last few months, we’ve had penguins, seals and various other seabirds returning to the island to nest.
Now we get to see baby gentoo penguin chicks and seal pups daily, as we go about our life on station! Although, the seal pups have now mostly reached the age where they have to fend for themselves, and their mothers have returned to the sea.
They are known as ‘weaners’ and have commenced a full-scale invasion of the island, blocking every road, gate, door and walkway around the station! But we love them.
Other notable events that happened recently:
- The running of the Macca cup, also known as the race that stops a station, which I came 3rd in!
- My first solo hike to Brothers Point hut, which was a great success, but tried to make bread and it was a successful failure
- Boat ops training
- My first haircut on station, from two carpenters
- A cake in the shape of a hydronic radiator
- Heaps of fresh produce in the kitchen from our amazing hydro team
- A successful trip to the best dental clinic on Macquarie Island to repair a chipped filling
- Mastering photographing birds inflight (sort of)
I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story.
Cheers, Jay (Macca Sparkie)