So it was a sad goodbye to Le Soleal this morning, with the crew turning out in force to wish us well. Our Dunedin friends picked us up for a few more hours holiday, before our afternoon flight to Auckland. We drove to the Moeraki Boulders, strung along in a stunning beach setting. The fog provided perfect light for pics.

We also stopped at Shag Point, a favoured haunt of NZ fur seals.

We had time for a quick lunch in Dunedin, it felt rather strange to pay for food, before heading to the airport. It was great to catch up with Steve and Lisa, thanks so much guys, see you soon in Tas.

We are safely ensconced in the airport hotel, ready for an early flight to Sydney, then Lonnie. The seal below sums up our Antartica and New Zealand trip, it’s been absolutely amazing but we need some sleep and are slightly overweight !

The last day onboard is always a bittersweet moment for us. Whilst we are glad to get home and see Cooper and Rosie, it’s a wrench to break out of the cruising lifestyle.

Apart from packing, the day was taken up by lectures, lunch and our final expedition briefing. This turned into a few hilarious presentations, and really reinforced what a great team we had.

All too soon the lighthouse at the entrance to Dunedin Channel appeared with attendant Royal Albatross. It seems ages ago that we had visited there.

There was a lot of sea mist and low cloud about, giving me some moody photographs. I’ve really enjoyed taking them this trip, helped by choosing the right equipment. Hopefully my panoramic film shots will turn out ok. I’ll post the best of them once they have been developed and scanned.

It’s been an amazing journey, hopefully you’ve enjoyed the ride and might be inspired to try a trip to the White Continent yourself. Tomorrow we will spend a little time with our Dunedin friends, then fly to, and overnight at Auckland Airport. It’s an early start the next day to Sydney and home, Launceston. However we are on the move again, with a European river trip and a cruise aboard Prime Thyme scheduled soon. See you then !

The geology of the Snares has produced an island full of character with plenty of micro climates resulting in an abundance of life. Our guides, Penny and Lindsey provided plenty of information, and were appreciative of the almost perfect conditions, again !

It was another location where penguins, this time Snare Penguins, seemed to lurk around each corner with their “runways” going up cliffs.

We also saw numerous seals and abundant bird life, especially albatross.

Plant life was in abundance as well, with kelp swaying in the currents, and mega herbs growing in soil pockets along cliffs.

However the jewel in the Snares crown were the Sea Caves.

Our adventurous guides took us through a couple, revealing stunning colours in the crystal clear water, and a few drips !

The Snares certainly didn’t disappoint, smiles all round 😁

We finished off the day with a Gala cocktail and Dinner. The Captain and his crew have done a magnificent job in looking after us, whilst keeping us safe in a hostile environment.

After our Macquarie Island Zodiac cruise and landing we did a ship tour northwards towards the Australian base.

It soon became apparent that the wind was picking up, we still got a view of the base, but with the wild weather no personal were seen. Out Tassie guide, Penny, who has worked there described the huts and their various functions. Only 14 ships a year are allowed to land, and this can be reduced depending upon passenger numbers. We were ship 13, certainly not unlucky, with her repeat visit being the final one of the year.

A giant Petral escorted us out as we headed into a big swell.

That evening the swells increased to 5.5 metres, with 65 knots of wind. It was a wild ride and not many people got much sleep. Things gradually eased off during the next sea day, but there were a few running repairs going on around the ship.

This morning we positioned ourselves off the Snares, and were able to take a Zodiac cruise around them. The abundant bird life and green vegetation is a dramatic contrast to life on the ice shelf.

It was also our last Zodiac ride for the cruise, as we are now heading back to Dunedin. I managed to take 400 plus pictures, so will sort thru them tomorrow, as it’s a sea day, and do a final post. In the meantime we have a number of events to attend, mainly to say thanks to all the crew and staff who have done such a great job. The expedition guides have really made this trip special.

The ships motion eased during the night as we got closer to Macquarie. It was overcast and 9 degrees, we felt right at home, especially as it’s administered by Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife !

We then had one of the best reception committees ever organised

We were first up, so had a quick brekky as the ship was repositioned to our Zodiac wet landing beach.

Upon landing we were assigned Penny as a guide. A fellow Tasmanian she has spent numerous years working here, so a perfect person to show us the 2 colonies of Royal and King penguins.

But first we had to cross Penguin alley, a constant stream going to and fro from the sea. The rookery was huge, noisy and smelly !

There were not many chicks left, but lots of adults moulting, resulting in white feathers everywhere.

Descending down to the beach we passed two of the Mega Herbs found here.

The later were particularly impressive with large inflorescences

On the way to the King Penguin colony we came across the local traffic warden, who’d had enough humans pass….

Our 1.5 hours were up, but Penny gave us a leisurely stroll back to the beach, passing posing penguins and elephant seals.

We made it back to the ship fine, but the boats in the afternoon were getting a bit wet !

One of the joys of this cruise are the enthusiastic people onboard. Apart from the Exploration Guides, we have officials from New Zealand and Australia who not only ensure everything is done correctly, but also impart their knowledge.

Patricia, who is onboard, works for the Antarctic Heritage Trust. They conserve and maintain the historic huts we have visited and had a auction last night to help raise funds.

One of the items that caught my eye was a book titled STILL LIFE by Jane Ussher and Nigel Watson, it’s now out of print and rare.

I managed to successfully bid for it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that all the photographs were taken with a digital Hasselblad Camera, similar to one I have at home. Hopefully my film Hasselblad photos will turn out as good as hers !

In addition to the authors signature Patricia generously signed a card to remind us of our times aboard Le Soleal. If you have an interest in these amazing huts it’s well worthwhile looking at what the Trust do, and considering membership to help their funding.

Last night the Captain warned us that we would have to start paying back for all the fine weather…..he wasn’t wrong.

With a swell of 5.5 metres and 55 knots of wind the seas were soon whipped up and we started to rock and roll.

During the night there were a lot of crashes and bangs, this morning all outside decks are closed, as are the top restaurant and observation lounge. Apparently there’s a lot of broken glass.

Penny, a fellow Tasmanian presented a lecture about Macquarie Island, which we hope to visit tomorrow morning. She danced around the stage trying to keep her footing, but at one point she disappeared into the wings as the audience held on.

The Captain is aiming for a bubble of good weather between 2 storms, but our landing depends upon the amount of swell. We have a bio security inspection this afternoon just in case we can make it.

We are heading north towards the Sub-Antarctic Islands, with hopefully a Macquarie and Snares Zodiac tours / landing.

Days at sea means lectures, with an informative one about shipwrecks in the southern ocean, how appropriate ! by Mark this morning. In the afternoon Sabrina presented one about the mystery of the megaherbs.

It was extremely well presented and researched. She could have taught some of my old Botany professors a lesson or to !

Divided into sections her lecture covered historical, identification and the future of this topic.

Suffice to say I should now be able to identify them, so long as the conditions are better than what we encountered at Enderby Island on the way down .

We had an early morning Zodiac ride around 2 of the Balleny Islands, and it didn’t disappoint. The morning was heavily overcast, with a big swell and snow blowing through.

As we go closer “tracks” showed up in the snow. These are in fact Penguin highways scaling the slopes for snow free nesting sites.

Everywhere you looked there were Penguins !

Down on the rocky beach there was a constant to and fro’ing

Eventually a large group entered the water and went porpoising past. One even landed in another Zodiac, then jumped out !

The landscape was amazing, and with the snow and swell increasing made photography challenging.

What a trip ! A more remote and wild place would be hard to find, but remember……you are being watched !

So we are heading to the Belleny Islands, with a full day at sea. The fog and snow reduced visibility making a whale sighting difficult to photograph. Instead I did a lot of picture sorting, blog writing and went to another excellent lecture by Natalie about moving the Halley VI station.

Time for afternoon tea, a photography session for our new New Zealand friends, and dinner. The days excitement peaked with a pod of humpbacked whales around the ship in front of our dining table ! I quickly excused myself and got these images……pretty pleased 😁

It appeared to be a pod of at least 3, if not 5 individuals spread out.

As a special treat one rolled one to feed, showing their knobbly snout.

What a dinner treat. An early bed for us tonight, our Zodiac ride is a 7:10am, it’s probably going to be a bit cold, and wet !