tiabunna's photos

Young male elephant seals wallowing among the kelp that surrounds the island and is strewn on its beaches.

Macquarie had its usual low cloud when we landed, at least it wasn't raining! The first sight, for most visitors, is of the elephant seals spread along the gravel beach, interspersed with penguins.

When I left Macquarie Island after a year, in December 1968, I would never have conceived that I would return as a tourist 37 years later (see Macquarie Island 1968: A new industry arrives... ). At left is the main body of the island. The station is situated below North Head, at the right of the connecting isthmus. Macquarie Island is famed for its poor weather: the low cloud is almost constant there, with rain on most days (we were fortunate in that regard).

Unlike my first trip on it (see note), this time the Southern Ocean was benign. The squall line proved to be no more than the passing shower seen at left.

This is a close up of the little native orchid. I make no claim to any real botanical knowledge, even less on specialised subjects such as orchids: my interest primarily is in finding something which bobs passively in front of my lens and that makes me excited when I get the photographic result I'm seeking. But, were I to put a name to this one, I think I'd call it a Dragon Head Orchid , and I'd probably add a © sign to that. :)

This is a little orchid, native to Australia. When we bought it there was a tag identifying its name: sadly, that is long since lost, so I am unable to give more than a description. The plant stands about 200mm high and the flower is between 15 and 20mm long.

Heading down the Derwent River estuary at Hobart on the "Marina Svetaeva".

Looking back at the city from the 'Marina Svetaeva'.

Our old mate has now gone, after sharing 13 great years with us. Always a gentle giant.