Campbell Island

Highlights of Gary’s progress on the

Our Far South Expedition

March 4, 2012

Gary Wilson positioning the piston corer

Campbell Island

How nice it is to be at anchor again, even if it is in a howling sou’westerly and the ship is swinging 60 on it’s anchor. We have two anchors out just to be sure. Unfortunately, in only 22 m of water, we can’t risk deploying the corer as it would quickly turn into an anchor as the ship swung away from it, so we wait in the hope that the wind dies down. We managed to spend a few hours at Duris Point at the Head of Perseverance Harbour and collect some samples that I have been wanting for some time to date the last glaciation of Campbell Island. 

While we wait for the wind to die down, we were able to hike up to Col Lyall and spend a few hours watching Royal Albatross as they nested, gammed and flew – they really are enormous birds, with a 3 metre wingspan, a body more than twice the size of a turkey and an enormous hooked beak – truly beautiful. Since the removal of introduced animals and the eradication of rats on Campbell Island by the Department of Conservation, the birdlife and mega-herbs that Campbell Island is so well know for are flourishing once more.

Still coming up …. Questions, questions… where will we find answers