Antarctica Travel Blog Dec 3 and Dec 4: Wildlife of Macquarie Island
December 3, 2011
We arrived at Macquarie Island about 7am. The sea was calm and the weather was foggy with light mist. We were met by park rangers from the ANARE station for a walk around the Isthmus. The Isthmus was teaming with wildlife including huge male elephant seals, king penguins and rock hoppers. We spent about 2.5 hours on the Isthmus and then took a quick zodiac ride to view Shags before returning to the Ship for a quick lunch. After lunch, we visited Sandy beach, where Royal Penguin colonies sprawled across the landscape. This part of the island is known for the 100,000 pairs of Royal penguins who breed only on Macquarie Island.
December 4, 2011
We arrived at Lusitania Bay at 7am to view the King Penguins colony which was clearly visible from the bow of the ship. We watched the King Penguins and the view of Macquarie Island fade as we headed north toward Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
(This is Laurie's fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica cruise; the Kapitan Khlebnikov's Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. This is Laurie's final post from the field. Pictures from Laurie's past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)
Adventure Life has been an extraordinary travel resource for us over the years and today was no exception. Our River Cruise booking was handled by Jess (who has been our personal trip planner for several years) the same day as our inquiry. Suggestions were given for cabin choice and pre-trip options (that were not shown on the cruise line's website) like airport transfers and prepaid gratuities. Trip insurance recommendations followed and we were assigned a travel co-ordinator till the end of the tour. All we have to do is show up! Great service from friendly folks.
APtravelwell
1 day ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
1 day ago
Although there was a lot of paper work, I received help and guidance when I needed it.
Donna Kirby
2 days ago
Our travel was flawless! The rider pickup (airport, hotel, ship) was seamless. Jane's recommendation for Emerald Cruise Sakara was everything I wanted but the experience was soooo much more. Adventure Life took care of each and every detail and this was the easiest of all my travels.
Anne Petty
3 days ago
Follow up was effective any questions were answered in a timely manner