Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Last Big Trek, part 4

This awesome pink and orange beanie was knitted for me for my birthday


Hurd Point Hut, situated at the southern tip of the island and surrounded by the plateau edge, is a wonderful place for a rest day as there's plenty to see outside the big corner window and it's a lovely area to go exploring the lands around the hut. I spent the morning reading and relaxing before having a little sleep and then taking the camera for a walk. As the weather was fairly ordinary, Adrian the head ranger, decided to stay in the hut until it cleared. And how lucky we were that the winds dropped, the clouds slowly dissipated and we had a gorgeous afternoon for weather and I had a great time with the wildlife. That evening Dana, Adrian and myself were joined in the hut by ranger Meg and I made pizzas for dinner. With the calm and clear skies we would've had a perfect night for aurora (if there were any), but instead we were treated to a spectacular display of stars helped by the distinct lack of moonlight.

Male ele seals being very lazy
Jostling for beach position

Roaring seal warning the others to stay off his sand

Royal penguins returned for their moult

Dana taking the dog for a walk.


Next day was my final day in the field as I had work the day after, so with an early rise and a couple of trips to the beach, I quickly packed up, got my gear ready and was off at the slightly civilised time of about 7:45am. The winds were calm enough and sun warm enough that I didn't need the Gortex jacket nor fleece top when walking up from the hut. At the top I met up with Claudia and Dana for a quick chat and continued on my merry way, stopping occasionally to take in the views and say goodbye to the southern half of the island. 4hrs and about 17km later and I was back at Green Gorge hut for a tea and a short break. While there Dr Eve and weather observer Janelle arrived with hunter Tony and I had a great little catch up with them. One this trip I carried seeds collected from the azorella plant by ranger Meg and mail that Nancye had left for me to deliver further north. The seeds are being added to a seed storage/vault thing as well as being studied to learn more about the plant.

Next up was the rest of the walk back to station and I was that warm that I decided to ditch the Gortex layer and walk with just my thermals, shorts and fleece top - what a shame the drizzle started to fall later on... hah! I loved it. I had mud splashing up my legs, I was comfortable and generally having a good time. The only time that I was feeling any sort of cold and needed to give myself motivation was near the end of the walk where there is a large open rocky area. The wind is always stronger through here and this time the visibility was about 20 metres, so I started singing nonsense songs to get me to the end. When I finally arrived on station (again around 4hrs and 16km later) I had walked the approximate 34km length of the island in a day. Something that a number of people have done this year and something I felt like doing. Interestingly enough, while walking towards Hurd Point hut a few days previously, I found that I no longer wanted to do the walk - I already knew that I could, but had to to get back for work. That evening I was in bed by about 7:30pm, but woke again at midnight and only slept lightly afterwards.

I felt completely (mentally) refreshed and am still buzzing from the walk. Hopefully I get the opportunity to do one more quick jolly before the boat arrives. Wheeeee!

1 comment:

  1. 34km in a day... I barely drive that most days. These posts never cease to amaze me mate.

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