365 @ 54°30' South: Macquarie Island Station

Showing posts with label Macquarie Island Station. Show all posts

Sunday, 23 August 2015

August 20: Macca Fuel Farm and Workshops

The southern end of station from the Hamshack. Photo: Jacque Comery

Saturday, 22 August 2015

August 10: Monochrome snowy world

Frozen LARC. Photo: Jacque Comery

Morning Moon. Photo: Jacque Comery

Southern Aurora Donga (SAD) buried in the snow. Photo: Jacque Comery

Containers an d the plumbers workshop Nissan hut. Photo: Jacque Comery

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

July 28: Macquarie Island fuel farm

These tanks hold our years supply of SAB - Special Antarctic Blend diesel.
They also welcome all new comers to the island, just in case after sailing across the Southern Ocean they didn't know where they were at! I love the lettering on the fuel tanks. They reminder me of being at a school sports carnival and spelling out the name of your team with placards.
Go Macca!!!!
The dog kennels in front of the tanks remain from the MIPEP (Macquarie Is Pest Eradication Program) when dogs were used by hunters on the island to locate rodents and rabbits. With the island now declared pest free these kennels are no longer used, and will be dismantled for return to Australia, before the Aurora Australis returns for resupply next April.

Macca Fuel farm. Photo: Jacque Comery

Dog kennels in front of the fuel farm. Photo:Jacque Comery

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

July 16: More fur seals on station

Another cold and windy day has brought another of these fellas in for shelter.....

Sleepy fur seal outside Hass House. Photo: Jacque Comery

All snuggled into the tussock. Photo: Jacque Comery

Sunday, 5 July 2015

July 2: Bauer Bay to Station via the Northern Featherbed Special Management Area

Today rather than return to Station via the plateau and retrace our steps we thought we'd go around the west coast and see if we could collect some more storm debris. This route crosses over the breeding grounds of the Giant Petrels, and so is considered a Special Management Area (SMA). The access to the SMA ends at the end of July, so it was wonderful to experience this part of the coastline, especially as there was little wildlife to disturb. We were still investigated closely from the air by a number of Giant Petrels squawking like pterodactyls, who call this part of the island their home.
We picked up plastic bottles, fishing marker buoys, another 130 pieces of green string, and many pieces of rope.
We carried what we could, and the rest, especially the buoys were left at caches along the way for collection at resupply when we can get a helicopter.
We took a small detour to visit Eagle Cave where the survivors of a shipwreck once spent an entire year before being rescued!
It was a great day of walking along beaches and the featherbed, a floating peat and moss bog that bounces up and down as you walk on it. We had a few near bogging events with both Andrea and I stuck up to our knees a few times.
We arrived back on Station tired, but no too late to tuck into hot soup and shortbread. (Thanks Chef!)A huge thanks to Ranger Andrea Turbett, for showing me this part of the island, and allowing me to join in on the marine debris action. A great day.

A fishing buoy and piece of boat that was washed up. Photo: Andrea Turbett

Taking photos at Eagle Cave. Photo: Andrea Turbett

Looking towards home. Photo: Andrea Turbett

Thanks so much for the pics Andrea (Turbo) Turbett!

Saturday, 16 May 2015

May 14: The front gate

Our station is surrounded by a wooden fence, complete with farm gate on the track to the Isthmus, designed to keep out the four tonne Beachmasters, the male elephant seals, which will arrive in spring. For now it hangs open, as most of the seals on station are small enough to squeeze through the gaps anyway.
It is not that we don't want visitors, it is just that they lean up against the warm buildings......and four tonne is a lot of seal!