On my 23rd birthday, I woke to the ship rocking in a way that indicated one thing to me. It wasn’t looking good for us to be able to land on Macquarie Island. Looking out through the porthole, I could see the golden island dusted with snow, shades of grey in the gloom, and the sea tossed in foamy spray.
I was up and outside, camera in hand. The icy air numbed my fingers immediately, and I ran up to the bow of the ship to get the best view out towards the island. King penguins were plunging through the water, exploding in spray as they porpoised in towards the shore. Macquarie shags, their blue eyes bright, would flap heavily into the wind as they passed us on their way out to forage. Through my binoculars, the surf was absolutely pounding the shore. It was definitely not looking good for a chance at landing. This unique island, a wildlife haven home to millions of seabirds, would have to be appreciated from just offshore.
Every now and then a golden lance of sunlight would illuminate the island, and send the sea plunging from slaty grey to a blue that was almost black. Every now and then a wall of cloud would wash over us, snow dancing through the wind around the ship as we worked up and down the coastline. We tried all day to find somewhere calm enough for us to land – but it never did happen. This disappointed a lot of people. Macquarie is a huge drawcard on trips to this part of the world. It’s the only place to see King and Royal penguins, which are present in hundreds of thousands. It’s the first time that this trip hasn’t been able to land on Macquarie in over 30 years of operation. That alone tells you how rough the weather we experienced was!
I’d had images in my mind of spending my birthday on Macquarie surrounded by penguins. But as soon as I woke up that morning, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. And that was okay. A lot of people commented to me at the end of the day that I must be absolutely devastated – but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
How lucky am I to have spent my 23rd birthday travelling up and down the coast of Macquarie Island? How many people get to see Macquarie Island in their lives? We were snowed on, strafed by sleet in howling winds, and I stayed outside almost all day photographing my birds. If you’ve kept up with my blog you’ll know that my favourite bird is the Light-mantled albatross, beyond question. On my birthday I had these birds fly past me, their velvet wings close enough to touch. I heard their wailing cries over the wind. I watched their synchronised courtship flights against the snow-blanketed backdrop of Macquarie.
What a gift.
I spent the day with an amazing group of people, sharing the joys of photography and wildlife in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We had a fantastic time, we ended the day with a fantastic meal (and a huge cake, thanks boys!), and I couldn’t have been happier. I fell asleep in a rocking bunk, bound for Campbell Island. I always sleep much better at sea than I do on land.
My philosophy in life is to expect nothing, and appreciate everything. Exploring the Southern Ocean comes with no guarantees of anything but adventure. It may not be the adventure you were expecting, but believe me, it will be nothing short of spectacular.
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