Macquarie Island - the final station of the voyage
As ANARE's fourth research station, Macquarie Island was first established in 1948 and has operated continuously to the present day. It is steeped in history - being a temporary home in past history to many whalers and sealers in the past 100 plus years, the principal reason for many of the species in the region being close to extinction. This tiny spot of land in the vastness of the Southern Ocean represents a unique habitat, and as such has been recognised with World Heritage listing.
We arrived at the northern end of the Island in mid to late afternoon - and at this latitudes the afternoon light fades fast. A rough sea with a three to four metre swell was constantly buffeting the spectacular west coast of the Island. As we sailed into the eastern lea of the island it was obvious that getting ashore either by boat or helicopter was going to be difficult - if not downright dangerous. We decided eventually that attempting a boat transfer was unwise in such a big, swell especially as far as landing on the beach. We decided to head out to sea for the night and come back into the lea of the Island in Buckles Bay early the next morning.
Unfortunately the weather was showing little sign of improving - whilst there was a brilliant view of the snow covered Island - the swell and winds were against us. It wasn't until later in the day that we decided that conditions would allow us to at least blade up one of the Sikorksy helicopters to enable the transfer of some supplies and essential personnel to the Island.
Around 4pm four people and a load of mail and other essential supplies made the short flight from ship to shore.The following day we got back into Buckles Bay and started blading up the remaining helicopter - albeit with a strong swell still running, making it difficult to ready the aircraft . By mid-morning, having transferred the remaining essential personnel ashore, we were well into the swing of flying the various supplies into the station. The cargo was transferred to the heli deck on Aurora Australis and the helicopters would sweep in over the deck and attach the load to the sling-chain dangling from the underbelly of the aircraft. The distance to the Island from the ship was under 2 miles making for a quick turnaround of cargo deliveries.As we flew cargo to the Island, the second Sikorsky was busy transferring supplies to various field sites around the Island. Some sites at the remote end of island require provisions and equipment - the helicopters make for easy transfer of materials, as the trip by foot (there are no roads down the Island) is an arduous one and certainly not one conducive to carrying heavy items - but we havent always had access to helicopters have we?
Late in the afternoon a Sikorsky loaded with cat food took off from the station to visit all huts on the island. Cat food you ask? Well, the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service have for some years been conducting a feral cat eradication program on the Island. These wild cats have been around since the days when sealers and whalers visited these shores. The cats they brought with them continue to roam today, threatening the very existence of many of the Island's bird species. The cat food is used to entice these cunning creatures into traps. So far many cats have been trapped and disposed of - but the job goes on.
The weather closed in later in the day forcing operations to be halted until the following day.The following day saw little improvement in the weather. We were now very close to completing the operation - all that remained was the RTA (Return to Australia) cargo to be flown aboard the ship, together with the return of ship personnel who had been working on the Island during our short stay. We also had to bring aboard those people who had been staying on the throughout the previous summer season, with two of the people coming out with us having spent over 500 consecutive days on the Island.
By mid afternoon it was decided that the weather conditions and low visibility due to mist and rain, were making for unsafe helicopter operations and it was decided we should leave the lower priority return cargo and make ready to depart the Island for Hobart..
We aimed to back in Hobart in under three days. By now all aboard could hardly wait to see the Port of Hobart, as we made our way on a North Westerly course back to what is in itself a tiny island in the middle of a vast ocean - Tasmania.
