Sorry about the delay for this first posting, but living in
the middle of the South Atlantic isn’t particularly conducive to a reliable
internet signal!
Anyway, we begin.......
After training with the DEA (Department of Environmental Affairs) in Cape Town for two weeks, we were finally ready to board the mighty Agulhas. After an interesting send-off ceremony on the quayside, (we were called by name to process down the gangplank of the Agulhas one at a time), we set sail from Cape Town on the afternoon of 1st September.
We spent the following eight days at sea, not sighting land again until we arrived at Tristan da Cunha on 7th September. The next day and a half was spent unloading cargo and passengers - Tristanians returning home to their friends and family, and a lucky few visitors moving onto the island to live for the next few weeks, or in some cases months. On the afternoon of 8th September we continued on our way, passing Inaccessible Island and Nightingale, the latter of which had a field team deposited onto it for the next 5 months. And then we sailed on overnight, arriving at our final destination and home for the next 13 months the next day, Gough Island!
I will leave any further descriptions of the voyage as pictures will hopefully do it more justice. Even with a bit of seasickness at the start, the journey to Gough was spectacular, followed all the way by a range of stunning seabirds and passing the remotest and most beautiful islands in the world.......
After training with the DEA (Department of Environmental Affairs) in Cape Town for two weeks, we were finally ready to board the mighty Agulhas. After an interesting send-off ceremony on the quayside, (we were called by name to process down the gangplank of the Agulhas one at a time), we set sail from Cape Town on the afternoon of 1st September.
We spent the following eight days at sea, not sighting land again until we arrived at Tristan da Cunha on 7th September. The next day and a half was spent unloading cargo and passengers - Tristanians returning home to their friends and family, and a lucky few visitors moving onto the island to live for the next few weeks, or in some cases months. On the afternoon of 8th September we continued on our way, passing Inaccessible Island and Nightingale, the latter of which had a field team deposited onto it for the next 5 months. And then we sailed on overnight, arriving at our final destination and home for the next 13 months the next day, Gough Island!
I will leave any further descriptions of the voyage as pictures will hopefully do it more justice. Even with a bit of seasickness at the start, the journey to Gough was spectacular, followed all the way by a range of stunning seabirds and passing the remotest and most beautiful islands in the world.......
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Leaving Cape Town
(©David Kinchin-Smith)
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Onboard the Agulhas
(©David Kinchin-Smith)
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| Tristanians returning home (©David Kinchin-Smith |
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Tristan da Cunha with
a snowy Queen Mary’s Peak (©David Kinchin-Smith)
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A passing Black-browed
Albatross (©David Kinchin-Smith)
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Nightingale Island
(left) & Inaccessible Island (far right) (©David Kinchin-Smith)
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Gough Island – spot
the base! (©David Kinchin-Smith)
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Our home for the next
13 months (©David Kinchin-Smith)
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David
Sounds like a very regal send off,will we have to courtesy next time we see you? The pictures look fabulous, you lucky lucky woman. Could you bottle some peace and quiet for me please?
ReplyDeleteThanks Aunty Is!! No courtesy's, just a decent cuppa with real actual milk please!!
Delete