This is the third and final part of my amazing trip down island to the southern most hut at Hurd Point and then returning north back to station.
In the last post
Seven Days on an Island - Part 2 Tony and I had arrived at Green Gorge after our walk from Waterfall Bay.
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| Arriving back at Green Gorge hut |
It was still quite early, so after changing out of our wet gear, we had a relaxing time in the hut, enjoying the warmth of the small efficient heater and the comfort of dry clothes.
Throughout the afternoon we ventured out between rain squalls to witness the the huge southeast swell that was pounding the beach - an unusual sight on the east coast.
The large male elephant seals, were oblivious to the swell and its effect on the harem. They were still intent on battling for control of the large harem in front of the hut.
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| The beach master and the challenger battling for control of the harem |
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| This battle ended with the challenger eventually making a hasty retreat to the tussock above the beach |
For the rest of the afternoon we relaxed in the hut going out every now and then when we could see, through the hut window, a big set of waves come through or hear the furore of the seals as the waves washed over the ones closest to the shore.
The king penguins were constantly making there way in and out of the surf, then having to negotiate their way through the hundreds of seals clogging up the beach.
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| A lone king penguin contemplates which route to take through the seals and skuas |
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| A huge set of waves ponds the rocks on the opposite side of the bay. |
When a particularly big set of waves came ashore it washed over the seals closest to the water. We watched in horror as one of the pups was washed back out to sea. We saw another that was washed out, bravely claw its way back up the sloping beach, all the while its mother was calling out to it.
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| Our view from Green Gorge hut |
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| The well stocked kitchen at Green Gorge |
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| The surf kept on pounding away |
Up early the next day (Day 6) and was surprised to see that a lot of snow had fallen overnight. This was accompanied by southerly winds and the outside temperature hovering at or below freezing. It has to be said that snow on the landscape results in a excellent photographic opportunity. Both Tony and I wandered around our local environment trying to get that special photo.
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| The snow covered beach just in front of Green Gorge hut |
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| The large elephant seal harem near Green Gorge hut |
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| Looking west from the edge of the beach at Green Gorge towards the escarpment and plateau |
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| The king penguins and elephant seal harem to the north of the creek at Green Gorge |
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| Many of the king penguins are inland from the beach with the snow covered escarpment providing an impressive backdrop |
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| The vista from Green Gorge hut is spectacular |
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| It was cold enough for the constantly dripping water from the cliffs just beside Green Gorge hut to turn to icicles |
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| Icicles in the cliff just next to Green Gorge hut |
It took me around 45 minutes to strap my blistered feet with tape, patches and bandaids, a process at which I was becoming an expert. We left Green Gorge hut around 1030.
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| One last look from the porch at Green Gorge hut, before continuing our journey |
It was a pleasant walk out of the valley. There were frequent light snow showers intermingled with patches of clear sky and bright sunshine. The snow had transformed the valley and the track - just a few days before it was wet and boggy whereas now the ground was partially frozen which made walking a lot easier.
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| Taking in the view just inland from Green Gorge hut |
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| After crossing the boggy valley floor we strayed our slow climb up the Overland Track |
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| Looking southwest at the snow covered hills across Green Gorge tarn |
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| Looking south from the same vantage point as the previous photo - zoomed in on the Overland Track as it makes its way out of the valley, with the predominant peak being Pyramid Peak |
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| Again from the same vantage point - looking southwest across Green Gorge tarn and the un-named peaks surrounding the valley |
After climbing out of Green Gorge, the track was
undulating and easy to walk. After a kilometre we dropped int a small valley
and we came to Lake Concord, to the left, very near to the track. I noticed
that the spray blown off the lake had frozen around the plants on the lakes
edge, which created a stunning effect.
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| Lake Concord - 2km north of Green Gorge |
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| Plants on the shore of Lake Concord - encased in frozen spray |
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| Other plants on the shore of Lake Concord completely encased in ice |
It wasn't long before
we were at the junction of the Brothers Track and from here it was mostly down
hill to the hut at Brothers Point.
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| Looking south, back to where we travelled today along the Overland Track |
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| On the Brothers Track looking north - in the distance is the Nuggets and a glimpse of North Head |
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| Brothers Point hut overlooking a perfect surf break |
We
arrived at Brothers Point hut at 1300, covering 8.1 km in around 2.5 hours
(Total 69.4km). Not long after settling in to the hut Nancye (MIPEP) arrived
with her two dogs Rico (golden labrador) and Katie (springer spaniel). Nancye
spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and sorting all the supplies in the
hut, while Tony and I relaxed and snacked while listening to some interesting podcasts
that Nancye had.
During
the afternoon Chris (TASPWS ranger) and Craig turned up. They had just walked
the east coast from VJM carrying out the annual elephant seal count.
Craig immediately turned around and headed back to
VJM via Sandy Bay and the OLT. Chris stayed for about an hour painting a stash
of track markers underneath the hut. He the made his way across the island to
Bauer Bay for the night.
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| Brothers Point hut - Rico wanting to get closer to the action |
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| Brothers Point hut - Rico and Katie obediently staying outside the hut |
For
dinner that night we had curry and rice which Nancye had brought from the
kitchen at VJM.
After
dinner we played 3 handed cribbage, which Nancye won. We were all pretty tired
and had an early night with lights out at 2100.
We were
all up pretty early the next morning. Nancye left at around 0830 to carry out
her daily work program which was for the day to systematically walk along the
escarpment at 10 m contours to search, with the dogs for any sign of rabbits or
rodents.
After breakfast and taping up my feet for the last
days walk, we left Brothers Point hut at around 0915. The initial part of the
walk was an easy stroll along Sandy Bay. The only hazard was the hundreds of
elephant seals that occupied most of the beaches. Some times we had to climb up
across the coastal tussock to avoid the multitude of female seals and their ever
hungry pups.
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| View to the north from Brothers Point hut across Sandy Bay |
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| Hundreds of seals in the harems on the beach of Sandy Bay |
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| Looking back from the beach on Sandy Bay towards Brothers Point hut |
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| A small waterfall near the northern end of Sandy Bay |
At the northern end of Sandy Bay is a king penguin
colony, where there were many adults that had come ashore to moult.
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| King penguins (some moulting) at the northern end of Sandy Bay - near the steps and boardwalk to the royal penguin lookout |
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| Lone elephant seal (female) amongst the king penguins at the northern end of Sandy Bay |
There is
a board walk that leads to a lookout that overlooks a large royal penguin
colony that is on the slopes above the northern end of Sandy Bay.
This
board walk and lookout was built so that the tourists, that arrive on Antarctic
Adventure tours throughout the summer, can view the colony without having a
impact on the environment and wildlife. The tourists that come ashore are
expertly guided by the ranger or volunteer guides (from station). I have put up
my hand as a volunteer for the summer.
We are expecting 15 ships to visit during the
summer. The first, Spirit of Enderby, arrives
next week on the 21st of November.
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| The boardwalk from Sandy Bay up to the royal penguin lookout - You can just make out Brothers Point hut at the southern end of Sandy Bay |
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| The huge royal penguin colony above Sandy Bay |
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| Pair of royal penguins in the large colony above Sandy Bay |
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| The large royal penguin colony above Sandy Bay - At the time the penguins were still turning up in their thousands |
The royal penguin colony above Sandy Bay is not as
large as the one at Hurd Point, but his one is different as these penguins have
to climb a fair distance up a gully to reach this breeding ground. Even more
amazing is that there are quite a few penguins which make their way up another
creek bed to sites way up the slopes, hundreds of metre above sea level and a
long way inland.
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| The large royal penguin colony above Sandy Bay - in the top left corner of the picture is another breeding ground |
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| Sandy Bay |
About hallway down along the boardwalk we stepped
of and made our way up the Sandy Bay Track which roughly runs parallel to the
creek gully up to the 4ways, which is the junction of the Overland Track, Sandy
Bay Track and Bauer Bay Track. On the way up we encountered several royal
penguins making their way up the creek bed to their high elevation breeding site.
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| Royal penguins making their way up the creek gully from Sandy Bay to their high breeding grounds |
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| View to the east from near the 4 ways - the boardwalk and royal penguin colony can be seen near the bottom of the slope and the Sandy Bay Track can be seen to the right |
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| From the Overland Track - view to the southeast to Brothers Point, Sandy Bay and the Finch Creek valley (Sandy Bay Track) |
We stopped for a break at a little un-named lake,
near Mt Blair, about halfway back to base. I had to make some minor adjustments
to my footwear and tend to my blisters.
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| Small un-named lake where we stopped - It was still quite cold and windy as can be seen by the ice blown into one side of the lake |
The last
few kilometres proved to be difficult as we made our way along the Overland
which was exposed by the very strong and gusty westerly winds. I was constantly
blown sideways off the track, my pack acting as a sail. This, combined with the
un-even footing, made it a battle to stay on my feet.
As we
topped the ridge and started don the Doctors track, the wind was that strong
that on several occasions I had to stop and struggle against the ferocious
winds to keep upright. I called this part of the walk 'The drunken sailor
walk'.
Just after experiencing the strongest winds, that were
funnelling up the slope, we dropped over the ridge in the shelter of the lee
slope. This was a huge relief and the rest of jump-down the Doctors track was
pleasant enough to enjoy the magnificent views.
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| Final jump-down the Doctors Track on the lee slope of the ridge - thankfully out of the very strong winds on top of the ridge |
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| The last leg of our amazing seven day walk |
Finally
arrived back at station at 1300. It had been an amazing seven days. Thanks to
Tony and all of those people that were in the field.
On our
final day we covered 11.3 km for a total of 80.7 km over the seven days.
Until next time.....
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