October 4: Storm damage

We watched the southern ocean pound the Isthmus throughout Saturday afternoon, and heard it roaring into the night. As we all awoke on Sunday morning we feared the worst for the elephant seals of the Isthmus.
Lone figures roamed around the station, quietly processing the extend of the damage, both on infrastructure, but on the wildlife. Pups washed away from their mothers bleated out, and female elephant seals cried out to try and find their pups. Many of the pups were  stuck in holes or erosion gullies and unable to reach their mothers. The little pups most only a few days old were so small and still quiet helpless, hat they were unable to  work their way back to the harem after being washed away the day beofre.  Some were already falling victim to the Giant Petrels, and others lay alone on the beach, facing certain starvation over the coming days. Macquarie Island is a nature reserve and we are not permitted to interfere with the wildlife, regardless of the circumstances.  Most of us found this very confronting, and heartbreaking.
Whilst we'd held out little hope for the seal harems on the west coast, which bore the brunt of the 17 metre seas, we were thrilled to discover that may of them and their pups had managed to seek higher ground up in the tussock.

Erosion on the Isthmus from the storm surge overnight: Photo: Jacque Comery

Injured seal. Photo: Jacque Comery

Newborn elephant seal pup washed away from the harem. Photo: Jacque Comery

Erosion on the Isthmus. Photo: Jacque Comery

Abandoned pup. Photo: Jacque Comery

Giant petrels waste no time in feeding on abandoned pups. Photo: Jacque Comery

Expeditioners taking in the destruction. Photo: Jacque Comery

Seal pups huddle together. Photo: Jacque Comery

Makeshift breakwater wall of our cage pallets took the brunt of the waves to protect our buildings. Photo: Jacque Comery

October 3: The Storm

At 0515hrs on Saturday, most of us were awoken by the first strong gust of the storm. The buildings shaken so hard it was difficult to tell if it were the wind or an earth tremor! The weather due to build throughout the morning had arrived early. Throughout the morning gusts exceeded 60 kts, then 70 kts, topping out with a gust of 83 kts around 0900hrs. Around lunch time the seas began to build, lashing the west coast beaches with walls of whitewater. Elephant seal harems huddled on the highest ground they could find, but were soon at the mercy of the sea. Even two hours before high tide waves were washing over the Isthmus with such force that entire groups of seals, pups and even the big 3 tonne Beachmasters were washed away. Our concrete breakwater was washed out into the bay and the Isthmus slowly eroded under the relentless force of scouring surf. One large set washed through the Green Store and through market square, draining down between Cumpston’s Cottage and the Mess. 

Waves breaking over the elephant seal harems. Photo: Justin Chambers

Seal harems being smashed by the high seas. Photo: Justin Chambers

Seals on the Isthmus during storm. Photo: Jstin Chambers

Waves breaking over the isthmus. Photo: Justin Chambers

Storm surge washes over the Isthmus all day. Photo: Justin Chambers

September 6: Snow storms and sunshine on the featherbed

We experienced some pretty morning light as we headed out from Bauer Bay to the north to continue Petrel nest hunting. Squalls of snow  swept through all day, followed by clear blue skies and sunshine. The featherbed twinkled all day with the sun dancing on the constantly renewed snow dusting.
Driven by maritime weather, the speed with which the weather and the light change here from one minute to the next is incredible.

A dusting of snow on the featherbed looking north west. Photo: Jacque Comery

The next approaching storm from the south-west. Photo: Jacque Comery

July 31: Winds

This is what 85 knots (157 km/h) winds look like in Garden Cove... The record for  wind speed though was set in 1979 at 178 km/hr.

85 knots (157km/h) in Garden Cove. Photo: Jacque Comery

Wind gust blowing the water flat. Photo: Jacque Comery

July 12: Sunday stroll to Eagle Cave

A day without wind is a rarity on Macquarie Island. In a change from the usual prevailing westerlies, this morning we awoke to a light south-easterly wind. Myself and Ben decided a walk around the north-west featherbed SMA to Eagle Cave would see us tucked in out of the winds completely, so we set out at 0800hrs. Ben donned his headphones, but my incessant chatter finally broke him, and he gave up on the music. This part of the coast is usually exposed and windblown, so to stroll along in such great conditions, admiring the offshore surf breaks was a treat. In a round trip walk of 5 hours we checked out the caves, explored the beaches, and collected (more) marine debris treasures. The haul this time was a few bottles, green string, and a large docking rope.
We treated to reflections of the plateau, in Duck Lake, which reflected the colours of the mountain so beautifully.
A great way to spend a Sunday morning. We made it back to VJM (Station) by 1300hrs, despite the appearance of my baby giraffe legs and some spectacular uncoordinated feats of physical daring on the rocky sections with about an hour to go!
Thanks Ben Golden for the company!







Reflections of the plateau. Photo: Jacque Comery





View toward Half Moon Bay from the featherbed. Photo: Jacque Comery

Duck Lake. Photo: Jacque Comery

Ben 'hipster much' Golden. Photo: Jacque Comery

July 5: White snow and black skies

Leaving Bauer Bay hut early this morning, I found myself a lone figure moving through a beautiful monochrome landscape. The light changed by the minute, casting a new filter upon the landscape faster than I could appreciate the previous one. If light be a costume, Macquarie Island wears it well.

Snowy Bauer Bay morning. Photo: Jacque Comery

Beach ball. Photo: Jacque Comery

First view of the plateau weather. Photo: Jacque Comery

Frozen Island Lake. Photo: Jacque Comery



Sun breaking through. Photo: Jacque Comery

Stormy skies. Photo: Jacque Comery

Almost home. The last section of the Doctor's Track. Photo: Jacque Comery

This post of beautiful scenery is dedicated to my Aunty Fran.

June 30: Wild weather

After three days in a row of winds exceeding 55 kts, today we received 73 kts in the early hours.  Swells of 8 metres were predicted, however by the time they were standing up approaching the shoreline, they were such behemoth walls of water that it was difficult to ascertain their size.
There is a large rock (small island) to the west of the beach, at least 20 metres in height, and the waves were crashing over it, sending plumes of spray into the sky.
The waves pounded the beach all night, and in the morning light we discovered out Station Isthmus cut in half. The sea was flowing from west to east with the largest of the waves in the set.
The numerous elephant seals who had taken refuge on the beach were not bothered at all, and continued to wrestle, belch and snort despite the water washing all around them.
The LARCS, our Station centurions that stand guard facing the west, stayed in place or rather they held the helipads that they sit on in place!
Kelp was thrown up around the very edges of the buildings, and water washed into the store building, and under the bunkroom building.
Over the past few days the winds have blown the boat shed door off and the Ionspheric Prediction Service mast (approx. 25 m) collapsed. Luckily, apart from a whole lot of erosion and mess, the remainder of Station suffered no further infrastructure losses.



A wave surges over the Isthmus from west to east. Photo: Jacque Comery

The seals don't seem to mind the new river. Photo: Jacque Comery

Kelp dumped right up behind our buildings. Photo: Jacque Comery

Waves surging up to the buildings. Photo: Jacque Comery

June 18: Pastel sunrise

Such a simple thing as the colours of the sunrise, are a sight not to be taken for granted during winter at Macca.  With almost everyday delivering us precipitation, we usually awake to grey cloud laden skies.
On this crisp morning pastel pinks were painted across the sky like water colours.  A beautiful sight.  It is the things that you don't see that often that captures your attention and your imagination sometimes.

The rising sun glows over the Southern Ocean. Photo: Jacque Comery

Pastel sky from the Hamshack. Photo: Jacque Comery

Pretty pink dawn skies over The Nuggets. Photo: Jacque Comery

June 1: Welcome to winter..with a rainbow

Double rainbow over Hamshack Hill. Photo: Jacque Comery

I was on slushy (kitchen hand) duty today and was in the store getting oranges and grapefruits out of the big refrigerator. This beautiful rainbow greeted me when I lifted the roller door!
Welcome to winter!

The building in the foreground is our Mess, Kitchen and Surgery.  The concrete slab in the middle is a helipad (!), and we call this area the market square, although there has yet to be a market held here. The hill behind has the old ham shack on it which is now used as a lookout for Orcas, amongst other things.

May 4: Art vs science

Campbell-Stokes recorder.  Photo: Jacque Comery

This elegant looking glass sphere is our Station Campbell-Stokes sunlight recorder.  The sunlight is focused by the glass spherical lens onto a card mounted behind the sphere. The number of hours of sunlight is measured by the length of the slot burned into the card.  Needless to say that our cards are pretty much intact!  A rather beautiful piece of scientific equipment.

May 1: Too windy for anything!

OK so it looked like a pretty rubbish day when I looked out of the window, but thought I'd stop making excuses and get out and about.  With a plan to walk up Wireless Hill and take some photos of the new emergency Tsunami Shelter I headed off..... well I didn't even make it a third of the way up and was getting blown sideways off track. To take this pic I sat down on the track behind a rock..... the pic is just to prove I was there... and not every day is a day in paradise on Macca, well at least not weather wise.  They do call it the furious fifties!


West side of Isthmus from Wireless Hill. Photo: Jacque Comery



April 30: Launching Weather balloons

Louise our BoM observer launching a weather balloon. Often a feat in these winds.. Photo Rich Youd

Thanks Rich for the pic...