![]() Other moments of minor miracles, such as watching the ivory gull feeding in front of a glacier, seeing ice shapes like stolen out of fairytales, the surprisingly lush and green playgrounds under the grand bird cliffs, enjoyed by young foxes, the many shades of grey on a rainy day, the many colours of ice in different light, seals popping their heads out of the water to have a curious look at us in the Zodiac, the warm welcome of our Russian guide in Barentsburg, Kitiwakes nesting on the window ledges in the village. This is what makes a Svalbard expedition so special.Īnd much more.Īs someone told me – “on an expedition cruise you need to be in the moment, there is nothing else but now”. Having this experience in the magnificent archipelago of Svalbard, on a friendly and homely ship like M/S Quest, with all these lovely fellow adventurers to share the moment with, makes it a trip that I will never forget. Today we made a landing in Australian territory, on the most remote island imaginable. At the very bottom right corner of the world map you can see a small line sticking out of the depth of the sea - MacQuarie Island. This is home to about 80,000 elephant seals and hundreds of thousands of penguins and other seabirds. The most special is the royal penguin which nests only on this remote island. In other words, you have to visit Macquarie Island if you want to have seen every penguin species in the world. When you are here you can also take the opportunity to tick off three other species: king penguin, gentoo penguin and rockhopper penguin. And we didn't have to search very long to find the animals. ![]() At the ascent of Sandy Bay, it was rather difficult to find a vacancy on the beach to go ashore. The elephant seals were literally in piles and between the piles of blubber, the penguins tried to get up to reach their nesting sites higher up. We gently wandered between seals and penguins who barely took any notice of the two-legged visitors, and it was difficult to know where to look and photograph. The animals' daily lives took place before our eyes and everything happened at the same time. Few places on the planet can exhibit such a concentration of wildlife, where one can also be in the midst of them. Waking up on the island of Isabela's coast makes you think you have travelled back to ancient times.
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