A voyage to the Ross Sea Antarctica, part 13
Another day at sea; encounters with royal & king penguins on Macquarie Island.
The past days blur together and I’m becoming exhausted. The end of the cruise feels nigh, and while we’ve spent two days at sea, its not been without activities.
The morning after the dance party I linger in bed. I’m not so hung over, but I delay movement until it’s time to attend Mark’s lecture on shipwrecks in the area. It’s been a while since I’ve made so much small talk and I feel my social battery draining. Amazingly, I’m still seeing and meeting people for the first time.
I head to the gym in an attempt to wake myself up. Almost as soon as I start, the man next to me cries out. Whales! as two right whales surface right next to the ship. I imagine I’ll never again have such amazing views while working out at a gym.
In the afternoon Sabrina gives a talk about megaherbs in preparation for our visit to Macquarie Island and I find myself superexcited now to see them.
Before dinner Leonie conducts the auction to benefit the Antarctic Heritage Trust. She does an amazing job keeping everyone entertained while moving the bidding along. Other guides model the lots as they come up for auction. The bottle of Shackleton whiskey goes for less than I had guessed. The scarf is the last on the block and Allie stops the bidding with her initial bid of $1,000 USD. She’s hungry and wants to head to dinner.
I bid on a few items, winning a print of a watercolor of the Endurance and a flag of Brittany signed by the expedition guides and the bridge. One flies on the bow of the ship in honor of its owner, and they keep many on hand as they get destroyed over the course of a voyage. It’s one of my favorite world flags of the world as its one of the few black and white flags that exist. I’m thrilled to have it as a memento of the trip.
The next day Penny gives a fascinating lecture on a year on Macquarie Island, breaking down what happens to the flora and fauna on a month-by-month basis. She’d spent some time on the island as a researcher, and her personal anecdotes bring home a lot of her points.
The afternoon tea time is a caviar tasting and I find myself hanging out with Cheewai and Lily. I keep going back for seconds and thirds, making sure sure that Cheewai is well taken care of.
We have dinner with Mick, who I’ve seen around the ship but haven’t had the opportunity to chat much with. He was also part of the dance competition, making it into the final three. He’s great to talk to, appreciative of good food and wine. He gives me some recommendations for Sydney and I’ll end up loving a meal at Yellow, a vegan restaurant serving natural wines. He tells me we should have dinner again and look to share a bottle. I tell him I’d love to but we run out of time.
That evening I head back to the bridge, which has reopened now that we’re out of the ice. The Safety Officer asks me how I’ve been and we catch up over the past few days. I mention that I won the flag and she tells me that June didn’t sign it as he was asleep. I head to my cabin to fetch it so that June can add his autograph.
She tells me she heard I won the dance competition and I hand her my phone to show her Emma and I’s winning moves.
On the 12th the Captain announces our arrival at Macquarie Island at 0700. We’re stopped just off the coast of the Lusitania Bay King Penguin Colony. I had set an alarm to wake up but I’m not fully convinced I want to get out of bed.
Convincing myself I slip out from under the covers and open the blinds. King penguins surround the ship, and with the balcony door open their hooing calls fill the cabin.
An orca slips by off the bow. I see its fin glide by and then disappear. I wait to see it resurface but it’s gone.
After an hour we navigate north up the coast of the island to Sandy Bay where colonies of king and royal penguins reside. We’re hoping for a landing.
Once again, we’re one of the first groups to be called and we’re suited up and ready for departure by 0830. Penguins dot the sea behind the ship, swimming curiously around the zodiacs as they navigate in and out of the marina.
It’s a quick trip to the island. On our approach we see royal penguins in the water and elephant seals on the shore. They lay on a rocky promontory lined with more penguins, their white breasts a sharp contrast to the volcanic rocks upon which they perch.
On shore, king penguins waddle up to greet us. It’s impossible to keep our distance from them as they’re as interested in us as we are in them.
They stand in small groups upon the beach. Mark greets us and invites us to follow him to the king penguin colony, which we’ll visit before backtracking and climbing up to the royal penguin colony.
Marcus, one of the current inhabitants of the island has met us. He’s an electrician, working on the island for the year. Last night he and another hiked to a nearby hut so that they’d be there to greet us in the morning. I ask him how they determine who gets to greet the passing ships. They draw straws.
He tells us about Bruce, an elephant seal who’s become a bit of menace on the island. He’ll chase people and kill seals for fun, and then pulls up a video on his phone to show us another elephant seal by their research station. It drawfs the people next to it.
The king penguin colony sits on the shore at the base of a sloping hill. It’s amazing to see so much vegetation. The lush green color floods our eyes, unaccustomed to these wavelengths color after the pale whites, greys, and blacks that have surrounded us for the past week.
A thin rope marks the boundary of where we can be and we stand in a line along it to watch the penguins be penguins. Mark watches a skua attack a chick and kill it; the adult penguins do nothing to intercede. We watch as the bird pecks at its kill, feeding on the baby penguin.
Patricia will capture a video of another skua stealing an egg from penguin as it rolls from its feet. The egg is probably infertile, but it’s no less sad to see a penguin lose its young.
Penguins wander to and fro, and I wonder where some are going. One group awkwardly ascends a rocky outcropping before us before descending and walking on.
I love being surrounded by the kings; watching their antics and watching them watch us I am enthralled. They quickly jump to the top of the list of my favorite penguins.
Up close we can also see their feathers and the beads of water that collect on their surface. It’s also a joy to be able to observe from such close range how their orange and yellow colorings fade to white along their chests.
Mark has to nudge us away so that there’s time enough to visit the royal penguin colony no the other end of the beach. He tells us he gets it as we are slow to move and try to linger. He’d spend all day with the kings if he could.
Once again I’m reminded of Oscar’s story of how a guest on one cruise managed to kidnap a penguin and keep it in the shower for a few days before they were discovered. How amazing it might have been to live with a penguin for a few days. How on earth did they manage to sneak it past all the guides and the crew? How crazy would someone have to be to even attempt it.
We leave the colony and walk back towards the landing site. Penguins pass, walking in the opposite direction back to their temporary homes.
The king penguins are everywhere on the beach, checking out what we’re doing, inspecting our gear. Their heads turn this way and that as they take us in, before deciding to move on with their days.
To reach the steps and walkway that leads to the royal penguin colony we have to cross a wide swath of royals that have collected on the beach near the water. They spill out of a small valley that forms a thoroughfare to the sea.
Mark leads us to the edge of the water and has us walk single file so as not to disturb them.
On the far side of the beach we climb a set of steps to a wooden walkway that leads us up into the hills We can see the colony in a small patch of bare land surrounded by the tall grass. A skua is nesting nearby, and we do our best to make sure it feels unthreatened.
The royal colony stretches across a barren patch of ground, around the hillside where it disappears behind a ridge. They’re so densely packed I imagine they must look like a snowfield from afar.
Mark asks me to take some photos of the path and the vegetation around it. He’ll be giving a lecture on the work that has been done to eradicate invasive species on the island and he’d love to include a photo of what it looks like now beside what the area looked like before the project was begun to eliminate the cats and mice and rabbits that had been introduced and had fed on the land.
Sabrina arrives with a group of guests, signaling our time to leave. We walk back down the path to the beach where we’ll welcomed one again with a group of king penguins who look us over before deciding to ignore us.
Patches of feathers mimic snow on the ground. Individual feathers are shaped like crescents, reminding me of how the light of a solar eclipse filtered through the leaves of a tree cast similar patterns on the ground.
We watch as penguins strut before us and make their way into and out of the water. It’s fun seeing them ride the waves onto the beach and then gather their legs under them before lifting themselves off of the sand to waddle onto shore.
My the multi-land penguin superhighway Mark gathers us together and has us once again walk in single file along the water. The royals wait for us to pass before looking back out at the sea, seemingly uncertain whether it’s time yet to leave.
We walk slowly back towards the zodiacs, trying to eke out as much time as we can on Macquarie Island. King penguins walk the beach, some test the waters. One wave brings a raft of penguins with it and suddenly the beach is swarmed with penguins flapping their wings and shaking their bodies dry.
A clean skull on the beach reminds us of the harsh conditions under which the animals live and of how quickly fortunes can change.
Mark swaps with another guide and pilots our zodiac into the bay. Elephant seals mock fight on the shore as we head back towards the boat. Royal and king penguins swim about us.
The winds have picked up and the seas are swelly once again. Later, Mark will admit that he thought we only had a 30% chance of doing the operations, and our window was cut short in order to allow all of the passengers a chance ashore. I’m glad because its an experience not to be missed.
after operations have concluded I watch as the crew hoists the zodiacs back on board, careful to keep them from swinging into the ship.
We continue sailing north after the zodiacs are secured, passing the research station. Penny is on the deck and I ask her if she misses it. She admits to a twinge of nostalgia. It’s different seeing it from this angle and the perspective of a guide.
In the evening, we’re invited to a white cocktail party (black and white dress code also ok). I hadn’t prepared for this and am thankful that I had packed a pair of (off) white slacks. I always pack something black.
We toast our penultimate operation, and I do my best to avoid the dawning realization that the cruise is quickly coming to an end. I have no interest in returning to the ‘real’ world. 🇦🇶
— 12 February 2025
