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tiabunna Says: If you visit Macquarie Island, you’ll be hard put to not find yourself surrounded by Royal Penguins. Well, that’s probably one of the main reasons why you would visit anyway!The Royal Penguins (Eudyptes schlegeli) are endemic to only Macquarie Island, where they are the...
See the very regal King Penguins
tiabunna Says: Not quite as large as the Emperor Penguin, to which they are closely related, for my money the King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) qualify as the most visually impressive penguins. What they give away in size to the Emperors, the Kings make up for with more highly...
tiabunna Says: Apart from the immediate station area, the Tasmanian Parks Department, which now administers Macquarie Island, allows visitors only to visit Sandy Bay, where there is a colony of King Penguins and a colony of Royal Penguins (plus assorted other penguins and seals)....
tiabunna Says: These gulls are common around the coasts of the island. If there is a dead seal or penguin, they are soon there, but may be pushed aside because they are lower down the 'pecking order' than the larger and more dominant Giant Petrels and Sub-Antarctic Skua Gulls. Dominican...
tiabunna Says: Elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) have a circumpolar distribution, mainly on the Antarctic Peninsula and sub-antarctic islands, though they sometimes visit the coastline of greater Antarctica. (They are a different species from the Northern Elephant Seal, of the north...
tiabunna Says: The skuas seen at Macquarie Island are Sub-Antarctic Skuas, also known as Southern or Great Skuas. Scientifically they are Stercorarius skua. These are are slightly larger and darker than those in the Antarctic, though otherwise very similar. It is interesting to be walking...
See Macquarie Island Cormorants
tiabunna Says: As do most sub-Antarctic islands, Macquarie Island has its own species of cormorants. They are commonly seen around the coast resting on rocks. Their flying abilities are not great and they have been seen flying backward in strong winds! Obviously they must have better...
Helpfulness
Despite the increasing tourist numbers at Macquarie Island, the good people in the station remain very proud hosts. Not only will you be made welcome, but free tea, coffee and scones are provided in the Mess. Of course, for the "locals", this is the island's restaurant and amenities room.
Favorite Dish: There's nothing like a warm "cuppa" when you've been hard at work taking photographs :) .
Written Jan 11, 2006
Address: Macquarie Island station, the isthmus.
Helpfulness
There is only one way to reach Macquarie Island: by crossing about 1500km of ocean by ship. Unless you are involved in one of the research expeditions there, that means travelling on one of the increasingly frequent expedition-style tourist ship visits.
There are no wharfs and no harbours. Landing is by zodiac (weather permitting - NB that it may not be possible). Although the National Parks authorities allow landings only at a few places, at the places you visit you'll still see plenty of the wildlife.
Updated Jan 6, 2006
Website: www.auroraexpeditions.com.au
Macquarie Island Expeditioners – 40 years on!
tiabunna Says: I’ve mentioned the importance placed on Midwinter celebrations by former Antarctic expeditioners. That leads on to reunions and, somehow, 40 years have passed since my year with a bunch of other ragged outcasts at Macquarie Island. It definitely was reunion time.Our...
tiabunna Says: Through the kindness of the 2005 Met Office staff, I was able to watch the preparation and launch of the morning balloon. As a comparison with the previous tip, here’s how it’s now done.The first noticeable change is the added emphasis on safety. The balloons are filled with...
tiabunna Says: Notice that nice pointed roof on the cream coloured building in the centre of the main photo? That’s “Chippy’s Church”, and the ‘gothic’ roofline may have something to do with the religious overtone. Yes, it’s the nearest thing to a church or chapel at Macquarie Island but,...
tiabunna Says: The meteorological office has released the main balloon flight of the day every morning since the station opened in 1948. Of course, during that time the technology has changed considerably.Back in 1948 the balloons would have been tracked with visual theodolites. In the...
tiabunna Says: Somewhere in the mid-1960s, a tradition of performing a pantomime version of ‘Cinderella’ at Midwinter commenced in Australia’s Antarctic stations. We didn’t have it at Mawson in 1966, but I gather it was performed at Wilkes. Either way, we had it at Macquarie Island in 1968...
tiabunna Says: In recent years, apart from increasing numbers of cruise ships, a few private yachts also have found their way to Macquarie Island. Should you have a notion to do this, read on!Macquarie Island has more than its share of shipwrecks. The first was recorded in the first...
HarryLeviathan Says: The only real risk you face on Macca is the cold, especially if it's rough coming ashore and you get wet. Make sure you have hat, gloves, socks, thermals, waterproof pants and jacket. If you follow the instructions of your guides and don't get within 4m of the animals,...
Helpfulness
Photo Equipment: There are no stores at Macquarie Island. So make sure you have plenty of batteries and memory cards. Expect to take substantially more photos than you would normally - or even more than you expect!
To get there you will be on an extended trip, so consider a laptop or other portable storage device for your photos.
Written Jan 6, 2006
tiabunna Says: This is "off limits" to tourists, probably as much as anything for safety reasons, as the climb is steep and can be hazardous. Because of low cloud, it also is far more prone to fogs than the coast (in my time, most routes were marked only by occasional pegs), and is very...
An important (and historic) scientific instrument
tiabunna Says: In the early 1960s, the Meteorological Office at Macquarie Island began measuring the profile of ozone in the upper atmosphere, for Australia's national research body, the CSIRO. At that stage, the measurements were purely for 'scientific interest', with no known relevance....
Helpfulness
Favorite thing: In recent years, a webcam has been installed at Macquarie Island. The webcam window also includes the current weather details. If you want a real change from your current surroundings, and long for a very different view (and aren’t fussed about the weather), check here.
The webcam is in that structure on the roof of the buildings in the background and often shows photos of the beach at Buckles Bay, adjacent to the station on the east coast. This photo looking toward the camera shows how wildlife (here Elephant Seals, King Penguins, Royal Penguins and Gentoo Penguins) can be found right through the station area. This is looking south toward the meteorology and communications buildings (and webcam), the main living area is behind the camera.
Updated May 26, 2007
Macquarie Island - Unique, Wet and Isolated
First up, where is it? Macquarie Island lies at 54.5S 159E, 1500 km SE of Australia. That places it SW of New Zealand and midway to Antarctica. It is long (about 34km) and narrow (widest 5km) and...
Build your own Macquarie Island page
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