It's been a while

Well it's been quite some time since my previous post. For which I  must apologise.
Although, when I wanted to give an update I was faced with disappointment as our Internet connection was down. This did have it's benefits though.

But after plenty procrastination and unexpected disruptions here is my latest offering from Gough.

Life on the island pretty much continues as usual, except now we have been faced with certain food supplies getting severely depleted. It's not an issue as we have plenty other food to keep us going, it's just that it's our small luxuries that we enjoy most are almost finished. Guess that's a given that they would be the first to go. Not long now until we get some new stock and I'm sure we will all manage until then.
Something all of us out here are desperate for is an orange or avocado. Those will have to wait a little bit longer!

There has also been a fairy buzz about the base the past couple weeks as we prepare for take over in September. Through the year the grass has grown a fair bit and the salt in the air has taken it's toll on the metal surfaces of the base, which has left it looking less than perfect. So we had to attend to this before the new arrivals. So for the past while we have seen Sunette and Marius leading the charge with the weed-eater/whipper-sniper/weed-whacker to the grassy surrounds, whilst Leonard kicked things off with some sanding and painting of walls.

Stepping in where needed Nkoane, Boy and myself also got stuck in. Getting paint in the hair and grass up the nose. Everyone lending a hand so we can get the bulk of the hard graft out of the way so it is not a mad rush just before the arrival of the ship.
Things are now looking great and we are pretty confident that we will get rave reviews on the state of things. Well, we hope so as we have put a fair bit into adding to Gough House through the year with small projects here and there making things here a little bit more homely.

All that's left is to clean the emergency base and food store as well as clean all the rooms so our new guests can live in luxury- Gough Style.
Will be fantastic to treat them to legendary Gough hospitality.

Karen and Sylvain have been kept very busy during the transition into spring.
They have been out checking Shearwater  burrows for eggs and at present are returning to check on the hatchlings, and will continue to do so in an effort to measure the breeding success of the species.
The Tristan albatross monitoring continues, and with that I had the opportunity to join them for a day trip out into Gonydale to do nest checks as part of the monitoring programme.

Was an early start one chilly morning in July with a high having being forecast over the island. We have become quite comfortable with how unpredictable the weather out here can be so naturally we went prepared. And thank goodness we did. The walk out from the base went well and the clouds looked like we would be staying dry. This changed for me quite quickly during our river crossing as I misjudged the depth of the water and found myself creating the ideal place for a gold-fish to stay, in my boots. What adds insult to injury is the fact that my waterproof pants are split from front to back and also have numerous rips from where the seals have taken hold whilst we have been weighing them. Had this not been the case the rest of my trip would not have had the accompaniment of the squelching soundtrack emanating from my soaked socks floundering about in my gumboots
Thank goodness we had to keep on walking throughout the day, because the feet tend to get rather cold when wet and stationary for too long. It's on occasions like this when one dearly hopes for an extra pair of dry socks.
Monitoring of the albatross chicks required us to check if the chick had relocated to a new nest. Yes, they move around. Some will build a new nest up to 15 meters away from the original. Why they do this I do not know, but it is not all of them that do so. Inspections also involved checking the area for mouse burrows as well as any wounds having been inflicted on the chicks by the mice. All this provided that the nest had not failed and there was still a chick present. Thankfully my sample area only had one failure and the rest showed no visible signs of predation having occurred on the chicks, despite the presence of many mouse burrows. The nests checked by Karen, also in Gonydale, were also pretty good and she only reported two failures. Sylvain however was not as lucky within his zone in "The Hummocks". The Hummocks is an area just before Gonydale and is a transitional zone from the solid peat to the more marshy moss of Gonydale. This more solid substrate tends to provide a more ideal habitat for the mice and we speculate that this is the reason why he recorded 5 failures as opposed to 3 from the areas sampled by Karen and myself.
All the sampling was done with a chilly south wester blowing over us and bringing brief showers throughout the day. So much for the good weather that was predicted. But it doesn't stop us from having a good time and getting the work done.
Karen and Sylvain have since returned to Gonydale as well as having ventured further into Albatross Plain, with Nkoane once again assisting. Seems Nkoane's off days coincide quite nicely with the field trips, much to his delight. Sadly the results of this trip were less than ideal and a fair amount of failures were recorded in The Hummocks, Gonydale as well as Albatross Plain. This also raises questions about our theory of predation occurring more in certain areas.
From now on we can only hope that this trend does not continue and we can surpass the average breeding success of about 50% per season. The population dearly needs it as they are presently on a sharp decline.
Further on the bird front we have seen the Sooty Albatross return and will shortly see the Yellow Nosed Albatross as well. This bring a bit more colour back to the island and is indicative of the onset of Spring.



The month of August also saw Nkoane and myself once again making the perilous journey down the rope at the cliffs of Tumble Down, to grab hold of a few more seal pups for the 250 day weigh-in.
I was really hoping that the Rock Hopper penguins might have started to make a slow return but my wish was not granted and we were only left with the bark and whine of the pups and the occasional adult female.


Thankfully this trip went off without incident. And by that I mean no serious bites. The worst of the day was a nip Nkoane took on his forearm. But thankfully the chill in the air protected him as he had layered up to stay warm. So he was thankfully able to walk away unharmed.
We couldn't find our 20kg super pup this week and were left with the largest being a respectable 18.5kg male. Largest female on the day was 17.2 kg.
Since the 200 day weigh-in the males have porked out by 400grams and averaged 12.0kg's on the day. The females have shifted by 200 grams to push the days average to 10.7kg's.
All the pups are in good health and are thankfully showing steady gains in weight.


The final 300 day weigh-in will be at the end of September beginning October. In between there is a likelihood that we will be deploying some GPS tracking devices on a couple individuals and possibly also weighing some of the adults during September. Will hopefully hear more about the research plan for the take over period in the next couple of days. This is rather exciting as it will allow me to learn considerably more from my supervisor and expert in the field, Professor Marthan Bester.

It has to be said that the chance to get involved with the seal sampling out here has really stoked the fire of interest in doing a trip to Marion Island as a sealer. Although that was what I initially applied to do when I considered Antarctica and Islands, this has now cemented my interest in doing a expedition as a sealer.
And another Island trip wouldn't be too bad.

On the weather side I have never been so cold. August has seen the mercury plummet on many occasions well past zero and has seen the heaters throughout the base spark into life.
We have finally experienced what the "roaring forties" are all about! With gusts roaring at over 150km/h and the sea swell firing at 5-7 meters. If only we could surf and the water wasn't so dramatically cold.

The southerly swell has chilled the water down a fraction more and is now at a pleasant 10.8 degrees. Compared to the highest of about 14.5 degrees which we experienced in April/May.
Things will slowly start to warm up again on all fronts as we approach September and see Spring kick into gear. Although, the sight of the hills covered in hail will be one that will be missed.



So that is a summation of the past month of island life.  Things are definitely looking great in and around the base, and it is dawning on us more and more each day that we will actually have to leave. A thought that is always greeted by mixed emotions.
And having heard the words: "Island life is addictive", spoken so many times by our veterans, Nkoane and Leonard, who have 7 expeditions between them, I have become increasingly aware of how true these words are are.
Something about the simplicity and stress free nature of being out here has taken hold of my heart, and it will be hard to leave this life behind.
One thing of true value that I have taken from this time is the reminder to hold onto to the lessons learnt and not let them slip away, but strive to apply them continually.
The greatest lesson definitely being the truth that life need not be so complicated and stressful. We don't need as much as we may think, and it really is just stuff that complicates and clutters our lives.
All this makes it so clear how warped the world view of success is.
Truthfully the successful man is the content man, for he is the one that has found happiness and joy in his allotment. This is the man I so desire to be.
The best way I can describe this is if we minimise our thoughts of and pursuit of material things that will clutter a room, so it will become evident through all areas of our lives. Because the less clutter, the easier it is to navigate. So the less our thoughts are cluttered by these things the easier it becomes to navigate this life. Free from unnecessary obstacles and complication.
So many people are after the minimalist design in a house, so why shouldn't it be the same with our thinking and living?!

This is something many know so well, but we all struggle to apply to our lives and forget it so quickly once in the rat race.
All I want is a simple happy life.
It's incredible what the island does to a person!

The closing ceremony

With the final date fast approaching everyone is moving into the prep phase for what could basically be called the closing ceremony of our year on Gough.

Almost time for take over.

With less than a hundred days to go until the relief team arrives in September, we are all planning the final bits and pieces that need to be sorted out before the arrival of the SA Agulhas II. Most of this involves prepping the base and the surrounds. So just a bit of spring cleaning here and there and a spot of gardening.

But hey, this isn't to say we don't keep our home clean. We just want it shinning for our relief team. Gough 58 we are all very excited to have you join us and hope you will enjoy your stay as much as we have, and will appreciate the effort we put in, in preparing “Gough House” for you.

At resent the G58 team are in training in Johannesburg and Cape Town and I am sure are getting extremely excited about heading down south to the roaring forties.

Other things we are all doing is trying to figure out what happens when we all get home. Where will we work, what will we do. Each of us will soon be going in our own separate direction, so now it's a matter of trying to get ducks in a row.

Since my last post we have once again headed out to weight the seal pups. This time it was just Nkoane and myself. The size of the pups has not changed since our last weighing trip, but the lack of an extra pair of hands in the form of Karen and Sylvian was definitely felt.

The average weight of a pup being around 11-12kg's becomes rather burdensome after about the 50^th pup. Thank goodness Nkoane is “a giant” and is more than capable of grabbing the scale and finishing up when it felt like I was on the verge of slipping a disk.
It's really hard to explain how difficult it can get when weighing the pups, but hopefully the facial expressions will tell the story a fair bit better than I can.

 

It took us a little bit longer to get hold of all 100 pups but eventually we managed and were warm and dry up until the very last one. But it wasn't the rain that got as shivering, instead it was the sea water.

Each week when we finish up we head on to the waters edge to give the hands a bit of a clean in the ocean. It's a bit of a task as you have to balance precariously on the slippery rocks with plenty seals lurking about whilst timing your movement towards the water just right with the rhythm of the incoming waves. Problem is you always seem to get the big one that comes with the set. This time both Nkoane and myself were caught totally off guard and got a through soaking. Guess it's no different to when you go out waking and the rain starts to fall.

We just laughed it of and sat down for a break before we headed back to the base. And it just wouldn't be right if we didn't have Nkoanes favourite jelly-babies and eat-sum-mor's for lunch. I think he has got me hooked now.

We are also caught slightly off guard when a couple of the pups managed a quick turn and nipped one of Nkoanes knee's, as well as my fingers and both knees. Thankfully it was nothing serious and we still had our wits about us and were able to avoid the full force of a bite. Still a scary moment non the less.

Happily we still have all apendages in tact and hopefully we can keep it that way until we head home

Still got another trip out to weigh the seals before take over, and then will finish up the seal season during take over once the project supervisor, Professor Marthan Bester arrives.

Definitely looking forward to having him around to finish up the season and hopefully hear a couple stories of his time on Gough as part of G20, G21, G23. Definitely an island veteran. These combined with his overwintering expedition to Marion Island and his numerous take over trips to both Marion and Gough.

But that's pretty much it for now. All we waiting for is spring and the ship to arrive, and for our arrival in Cape Town. Still loving every second out here, and will probably be dragged off kicking and screaming when it is time to go.

Gough 58, you are going to have the time of your life and have an experience that you will never forget. We all look forward to meeting you.

Here is a link to take a look at regarding the new ship that will be coming out to fetch us, as well as a video of Nkoane weighing one of the pups.

The SA Agulhas II on a test run towards Antarctica:
 http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-07-10-all-aboard-the-sa-agulhas-ii
Nkoane weighing a seal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hR5OMnz_0o&feature=plcp

It's a small island indeed

Finally I got a chance to head out, stretch the legs and camp out under the stars... pity I couldn't see them. Pesky clouds!

Gonydale leading toward Michael's Col  (central ridge) and South Rowett of Mount Rowett (peak on left)

Well my time came as I expected.
Last week Sunday I was again approached by Karen and Sylvain who had plans on heading out on the Monday for a little holiday camping trip to the north of the island. Finally I was off and I could relieve the cabin fever that had so tightly gripped me for the past couple weeks.
They checked out the weather forecasts and explained that there was a high that was going to be lingering over us for the next couple days, so best we take advantage of the good weather.

The next morning, feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed with my excitement being almost tangible I got the backpack loaded and off we went. Starting along the Gonydale path we would make our way toward the centre of the island to Waterfall Camp which sits at the base of Edinburgh Peak. The highest point on the island, and the real reason for my hike.
We had planned on spending 3 days and would be back on Wednesday evening.
But as we got on our way and got further up into the hills we slowly found ourselves getting wetter and wetter and could not see much more than 20 meters in front of us. The mist was hanging low. But we persevered and got up to Gonydale just a little less chipper than when we left. We pushed on over Gonydale and started our way up Michael's Cole, where we eventually decided to turn back and see if the weather improved.

Gonydale and Mount Rowett

Yes we had hiked all that way lugging our packs and then decided to call it off.
Once we were at Michael's Cole we sat and assessed the situation. It didn't look like the mist would be lifting anytime soon, and the rain was coming down harder the further up we went.
So we weighed up all the pros and cons and decided that a trip in this sort of weather would not be worth it, and would leave all of us feeling rather disappointed. So instead of attempting to tackle the next couple hours of hiking in a state of unfulfilled grumpiness we turned back. But, not before we resolved that we might venture out again in a day or two's time. After all the forecast called for very little cloud cover.

Thank goodness none of us unpacked and we were all ready to go. Cause after a day's rest we all got kitted up again and had our packs slung over our shoulders and we were off again. Round 2, here we come!
We set off once again over the familiar Gonydale path with the sun coming through the scattered clouds. Things were looking good!
Again we moved over Gonydale and up Michael's Col, covering familiar terrain. Once at Michael's Col we shifted west and worked hard to get up the first of many steep slopes as we climbed up Mount Rowett's steep embankment. We then ventured north along the ridge of Mount Rowett as we pushed hard towards the north.

View from up top Mount Rowett

 The brief respite from the steep embankments was a welcome relief, but we now started to feel the cold chill of the westerly wind and soon realised that the clouds had moved back in. Things weren't looking so good and visibility was once again diminished. Although this seemed to be rather intermittent. And we had come this far, and weren't going to turn back again. After all the visibility could improve still. All we needed was for the cloud base to lift or completely disappear.
We trudged along the path in good spirits. The weight of the pack lifted by the mood of being out in these beautiful surrounds.
Once at North Rowett we had a shallow decent onto Windy Ridge, where we all noticed our packs again. As per the name, the wind really howls up here. The cumbersome packs were acting as large sails pulling us over under the imposed weight of the strong westerly wind.
We eventually found some shelter around some rocks and took a well deserved break, before setting off for the last short stint to Waterfall Camp where we would settle in for an early night.

Waterfall Camp

 

Sunrise at our camp

The following day saw us wake up with the wind chill still lashing out like an angry mob. Cutting through the layers, the only way to warm up was to get walking.
The plan when we left for the trip was to summit Edinburgh Peak, but the forecasters clearly got it wrong and the peak was still caught in the grips of the low hanging clouds. We then went out to explore the northern and western ends of the island an take in the incredible views even if they were very intermittent.

The northern end of the island is unlike anything else I have seen before. From the huge pools of water at Tarn Moss to the innocuous rocky outcrop that just comes out of nowhere which forms
Barren Dome, all the way through to to ridiculous rock formations that dot the landscape all around the western hills, particularly expedition peak.

Barren Dome

Tarn Moss

 

 

Rock formation around Expedition Peak

The valleys drop down for hundreds of meters as the rivers continually carve out their lines towards the vast expanse of the South Atlantic.

One of the many great views, and the source of a river.

 Wandering this end of the island where so few have been, sinking waist deep into the peat moss, walking delicately so as not to loose your boots as they get sucked into the marshy mires, slaving up the steep hillsides and over slippery rocky surfaces all the time whilst braving the bitter wind. This trip really reinforced what an incredible opportunity coming to Gough has been.
Having read the account of the first scientific expedition,  and having now seen much of what was written about has left me with such a great fondness for this hidden gem, and a new appreciation for the challenges faced by the teams who had only the most basic, and by today's standards, rudimentary gear.
What a magnificent experience this has been.

The return trip was as comical and enjoyable as the outbound. Seeing us once again tumbling down small embankments as we crossed over the many streams and sinking into the mires and wrestle to get ourselves out.
A new route was chosen for the return, along the western side of the island, back until Gonydale.
The western slope of Mount Rowett descends down into Albatross Plane, which then rises up to the peak of Low Hump.
We went far around from where we initially ventured and rose up the western side and the steepest face Low hump has on offer. Walking along the most treacherous slippery rock surface with shale-like fragments constantly threatening to take our feet out from beneath us, and send us over to serious injury was exhilarating. Reaching the top to peer over Albatross Plane and look upwards to the peak of Mount Rowett which we had walked just the day before was a welcome relief from the slope that lay behind.
Slowly coming down Low hump onto the base of Mount Rowett saw us land on familiar ground and brought us back around to Gonydale where we could look back at the vast distances we had just covered.

Footprints in the moss

Sometimes the prints go a good two feet deep

My most exciting trip to date, and definitely one in which we covered the most ground and allowed me to appreciate the island in all it's glory.
I have developed such a strong attachment to my unique home, and will be truly saddened as I watch  it fade into the distance when we sail back home.
Will just have to remind myself that many more spectacular adventures await! 

The Heat of Winter

As I expected, the onset of winter has seen the onset of monotony. It's rather tragic!

I realised that once winter arrived and the weather turned there would be considerably less to keep occupied with. As it so happens I tend to be more inclined to an outdoor adventurous lifestyle. I guess it explains why I would come to a place like Gough. But, as with all things we have to take the good with the bad. And here is not to say that winter out here on the island is bad, but lets be perfectly honest. Nothing beats the summer sun. 

But now we settle in for the winter haul and dream of sunny days that are coming, and will be spent at home, where new adventures await.

So once again I skipped posting last week, which I'm sure is understandable. And likely it will continue at this rate, unless something significant happens on a week to week basis. I am working on it. Honestly I would love to sit writing every week, it's just tough when all you have been able to do is stare up at the clouds and eat. Lately it has been eat, sleep, gym, work. In no specific order.

Hardest part has been watching others head out whilst I'm once again left with my work responsibilities. But I said it before and I am confident in the fact that my turn will come soon enough, and I will be the one chattering my teeth as a lie down for the evening in Goneydale.

I guess one thing winter has brought with it-and its rather obvious- is a change in the weather patterns.

As the days have past so we have seen how the weather patterns on the island have changed.

The types of clouds have differed, the winds have picked up, the rainfall patterns have altered and so has the variation in temperature.

From walking around in shorts and a t-shirt I have now had to pull out the winter warmers and get the heater on and the rain jacket/windbreaker is also being put to excellent use.

There has been a noticeable change in the clouds. We are seeing constant presence of towering cumulus clouds. The significance of this is that they bring rain. But not continuous, just showers. And if we are really lucky and the conditions are just right, we get a bit of thunder and lightning. Much to everyone's surprise. When this happened on two occasions it was the talk of the base. We were told during our training that conditions out here are not conducive to thunderstorms. So it obviously came as quite a shock when we heard the crack and saw the sky light up. It also put into reinforced the fact that you can't always rely on theory. Just because the conditions aren't perfect for something to happen, it doesn't mean it won't.

We have also seen an increase in ocean activity over the past while. During summer we would have days pass where the ocean appeared as glass, whilst now it seems that has been shattered. This past week we experienced a pretty severe swell coming through from the south. Generating waves of around 5-7 meters. The significance of this is that there is no shallow reef that the waves can build up on to gain such height. As it is a volcanic island it pretty much drops straight off from the sea cliffs. So the waves that are forming have such a huge amount of water contained in them and move with such tremendous speed. As they crash into the sea cliffs the amount of power causes a huge crushing force against the rocks which sends the spray high enough to shower down on us where we stand at about 20-25meters up and has the ground shudder.

It has been remarkable to see the oceans sheer power on display and has left me with a feeling of such humility. How weak we are in comparison to all that makes up this beautiful planet. Yes, we may be able to harness it's power, but never will we control it. We will always be at the mercy of the elements. But what a great display they put on. What an amazing production this life is, and how epic the part played by planet earth is. 

I am left in awe!

Something that has cropped up as of late is me wrestling with the idea of heading further south to SANAE (South African National Antarctic Expedition) South Pole. The polls are open. Who thinks it's a good idea? 

It's rather cold...

I apologise for the pun!

Some Pictures of the large swell we experienced. They were taken from crane point.

The young sooty albatross was fortunately still around even after being soaked. Thankfully he was not washed away. It will also fledge very soon.

The swell was also considerably larger earlier during the day before I got down to take these photos. But hopefully this will give some idea of what an incredible display it was.

Hard Graft

I took a bit of a break last week. Mostly due to the fact that there was nothing going on.
Only thing of significance was the eventual arrival of the SA Agulhas II in Cape Town.
For those back home in South Africa, this would be a pretty big deal and surely heard something about it. As for the rest of the world, well the ship arrived. It's quite exciting and now we wait for it to come collect us. Really I can't say much more about it.

This week seemed to be going along the same lines as the previous. Plenty of rain, and night time temperatures seeing the mercury slowly dip below freezing. This has kept us all indoors and only sees us venturing out when the sun does sneak a peak from behind the gloomy clouds.

And we had one such day. But even if this wasn't the case we would have had to go out none the less.
We were out again weighing the seals. And It is now becoming seriously hard graft!

Fortunately, Nkoane and I were able to recruit Karen and Sylvain to give us a hand this time round. And it was hugely appreciated and desperately needed. I like to see it as them returning the favour for the times we assisted them with the birds. But we volunteered to help them and I was so grateful that they volunteered to help us.

The seals have really filled out since the end of March and have got a good fat reserve to keep them warm this winter. Makes me think I should do the same!
All went really well and there was no drama or any incidents.
We had Karen taking down all the weights whilst the rest of us hauled out seals ranging from sub 10kg's all the way to the beast which tipped the scales at over 20kg's. Not sure what that one has been eating but it did make for plenty of amusement as we chased him down and hoisted him up. It was much to everyone's amusement as I struggled with all my might to read the mass off the scale as this monster merrily dangled about and tried to take chunks out of my gumboots. It didn't seem to end there! In the hassle of holding him up I forgot to check the sex and was reminded after I had already turned him loose. This saw Nkoane and myself bounding along over the slippery rocks amongst the scattered seals trying to catch the one we had just released, before he could get to the ocean. Fortunately we have become rather skilled at chasing seals over the rocks and were able to grab hold of him. Only issue was we had to hoist him up one more time. Needless to saw, my back was not entirely thrilled by the ridiculous amount of strain it was being subjected to through the course of the day. And I can say with certainty that Sylvain and Nkoane shared my sentiments and welcomed the call from Karen to say that we had got all one hundred pups.
What a pleasure it was to have the extra set of hands, and I hope they enjoyed the seals as much as I enjoy assisting them with the birds.

Lets hope next month they are just as eager to help.