Day 9 – Misty Isles

Misty conditions in the morning. The day begins with a birthday chant for Klemens. At around 8am we lift the anchor and steam across to Bollons Island. The steepness of the submerged crater make it hard to imagine that there are penguin colonies on its slopes. The first colony we spot is on Archway Island, essentially part of the crater but separated from main Bollons by a narrow gap.

The penguin colony is sitting halfway up the southern side of the island connected to the sea by a rock slope. Tiny white dots are moving up and down that slope while we sit on deck of the Evohe and observe through our binoculars.

There is a bit of drizzle in the air so that we are unsure whether flying the drone is an option. While we still weigh our options, Robin spots another penguin colony in what appears to be the most unlikely place on Bollons Island, about two thirds the way up the inner crater wall. How they get there, we don’t know. Eventually, Richie launches his drone and scouts the Archway Island colony before flying over to t the Bollons colony to take a series of photos for us to count birds. There seem to be Rockhoppers mingling with the Erect-crested penguins.

Thomas flies a full island survey with his drone and shoots the extent of the Archway colony manually. Around 9.30am the Evohe steams back to Anchorage Bay. Before the grand unloading begins, Ros presents Klemens with a gorgeous chocolate cake.

Around 10.30am Thomas and Dave are the first ones to be dropped with James and Richie in Hut Cove, where a bit of surf makes for a safe yet wet landing.

Elephant seals are spreadeagled on the boulder beach. It takes about 45 minutes to rig the flying fox from the timber A-frame on top of the cliff down to the beach. In the interim, the rest of the team has arrived and the crew of the Evohe start ferrying our gear – most of it stashed in green and yellow buckets – to the landing where Jeff and Robin stand in waist deep water to received the gear. Eventually, the gear is transferred into a net which dangles from a pulley system with the end of the rope being pulled by Dave, Thomas, Jeff and Hannah, while Robin, Bianca and Klemens take care of the loading of the empty net. The transfer is a laborious project, and takes about 3 hours to complete.

By 2.30pm the while team is up at the hut re-hydrating. The mist never really lifts but it is still warm. All gear is finally transferred into the hut, the doors closed and each and every container and bag opened to check for any stow away rodents. The rest of the day is taken up by sorting food into the pantry and getting the sleeping arrangements sorted.

And early dinner around 5.30pm after which Thomas is keen to test of the Starlink system works. Using one of the window blonds as a base the Starlink dish is installed in front of the hut and powered off the generator. At 7pm, broadband internet connection is established converting each of the team members into screen junkies that text or video chat with their families and friends. A long day ends with a round if Scotch to drink on Klemen’s health and a general hut induction for the team.