26 Dec 2019

Cruising with Rockstar Penguins

Rising early on Boxing Day we launched the Zodiacs at Musgrave Inlet for a pre-breakfast cruise of the Eastern Rockhopper Penguin colony. With their wild yellow crests and flaming red eyes, these birds really are the rockstars of the penguin world.

Cruising along the rugged coastline we observed several small groups stretched along several hundred metres of colony and could hear many more unseen birds calling from burrows under the huge fallen boulders. A thick band of bull kelp in front of the colony surged in and out with the swell, while a profusion of megaherbs Pleurophyllum and Anisotome in full bloom painted the cliff ledges above the colony, beyond the reach of wild pigs.

Before returning to the Spirit of Enderby, we crossed the choppy inlet to enjoy the serenity of a collapsed sea cave, a peaceful oasis in the midst of a wild sea, its vertical ochre walls overhung by flowering rata trees.

Following a late morning walk up to the Tagua Bay Coastwatchers' Hut, we are now steaming towards Macquarie Island.

Image from file © A.Chavanne, Heritage Expedition