Friday 10 December 2010

Day 2 Snares Islands

Snares at Sunrise (c) Ewen Bell

If we thought this would be a gentle introduction – how wrong we were. At midnight we hit seas and the rocking began. Anything not nailed down quickly flew about the cabin, including a full bottle of Canadian Club that landed squarely on my foot. Some sorry looking faces at breakfast this morning.

Our Zodiac cruise inspected the endemic Snares Crested Penguin as well as sea lions cruising playfully among the kelp. A cry came out for a young leopard seal patrolling the shore in search of inattentive penguins to snatch. Expedition leader, Rodney Russ, regaled us with tales of stowaway convicts cast ashore on these tiny islands. They apparently spent seven years before rescue and re-incarceration but these islands are now declared human-free and no-one sets foot here anymore.

Back aboard we are out into the swell again, en route to Enderby Island.

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