Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Maquarie Island

Macquarie Island, or Macca as it is often referred to by locals, is located at 54°30' S 158°57' E. This is half way between New Zealand and Antarctica. Luckily for me and many other expeditioners who are able to get there, the island is managed by Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service (TASPAWS) and is considered part of Tasmanian territory.

There's plenty of in depth information out there on the web and yes, the Wikipedia page is fairly accurate. Also check out the AAD information.

A few interesting points to consider:
  • Macca sits on a fault line and is one of the few (or is that only - I don't remember) islands where the ocean floor and Earth's crust are exposed directly.
  • It is home to a plethora of wildlife including: elephant seals; 4 types of penguins; various varieties of birds and fur seals.
  • Introduced species include: wekas (eradicated); cats (eradicated); rabbits; ship rats; and mice. This year there will be a huge operation to try and eradicate the rabbits, rats and mice from Macca. Should be facinating to be in the middle of that particular project.
There's so much more and not enough battery life....

Until next time.
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6 comments:

  1. StuMarch 25, 2011 at 7:04 PM

    I demand penguin photos!

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  2. blogeonMarch 29, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    I'll take as many as I can, although I still have to get there.

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  3. MishApril 6, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    My favourites are the Macaroni penguins - I have a friend that has been to Macquarie and saw her photos - those elephant seals are scary though!

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  4. Vittoria RoseApril 6, 2011 at 6:42 PM

    You are on a fault line.... Have there ever been any earthquakes there?

    I am surprised that all those animanls you are seeking to eradicate can survive in that envirnoment.Isn't it extremely cold there on Macca.

    Also what locals are you talking about? Do people actually live there and raise families? Is there a community there?

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  5. blogeonApril 7, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    Mish - Those penguins are pretty cute and as for the elephant seals, I'm wary...

    Vittoria - Apparently there are tremors fairly frequently, though i'm not sure how often larger earthquakes occur.

    Cold, yes. but not frozen. The temperature ranges from around -6 to about +10. The problem is the constant precipitation and winds averaging 15 - 25 knots.

    The only locals are the expeditioners who change over every 6(ish) months to 1 year (or thereabouts). There's a community of people on the station, but no families and no shops.

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  6. Vittoria RoseApril 28, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    Too cold for me!
    Perhaps not having a permanent community is not so odd for city dwellers. People living in the same street often don't know eachother. Coming from the city life I think we are used to transient relationships. I think you will get to know the people you are living with very well. I don't think you will ever forget them. That I think is quite lovely.
    Is there any effect that can be noticed from having the earth's crust exposed to the ocean floor or is it a non event?

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