The Glen and Elephants of the Sea - 4 April to 10 April

This has been a great week here on Gough...

Looking south from roughly due east of the Glen, the Admirals sea stacks are visible at the far left.

Firstly, I have made my final visit to Seal Beach (hopefully I won't have to go back in takeover). I went there to deploy GeoLocators on the penguins before they depart after the moult. I am really glad to not have to go back and brave the seals by myself again. It is quite scary sitting concentrating on something, like how to get a furious penguin into a capture bag, and realize that a seal has come within a meter or two without you noticing. Then the seal sees you, barks loudly and you nearly die of a heart attack. Not fun at all!

The coast to the north of the Glen.

Next I found out that the last big storm we had managed to remove a 200kg pump from Snoekgat. It was about ten meters above sea level and at least thirty back from the sea. The pump was used as part of the Sagina control, it was used to remove top soil and thereby remove the seed bank in the soil. So that part of the work plan gets scrapped too...

Local inhabitants greeted us as we came ashore. The male Elephant Seal was about 6m long.

Then we got news that the Edinburgh had been released from its charter assisting with the cleanup of the oiled birds on Inaccessible and Nightingale islands and would be arriving on Friday, bringing with it parcels for the team and the Tristan Chief Islander and his Assistant, who were coming to pay us a visit during their fishery inspections. This was wonderful news because you cannot believe how nice it is to see new faces and hear different voices in the Base! They only stayed for a day but they were able to organize with the Edinburgh for them to give Michelle, Robyn and I a lift to the Glen. The Glen is the site of the old Meteorological Station on Gough from the '50s until the '60s when it was moved to its current location. It is also where the sealers used to stay, where the passing ships collected water and has a large number of engraved rocks to commemorate their visits that date back as far as the 1700s. There is also a large penguin colony there that I needed to visit to check that there are no oiled penguins and to collect feathers from some of the birds as part of a population genetic study.

Male and female Elephant Seal. The male appeared to be moulting.

So, bright and early on Saturday, we left the island on the crane and got into one of the power boats from the Edinburgh. They took us around to the Glen, passing between the sea stacks at Admirals. The island is particularly beautiful from the sea, with towering cliffs and tumbling waterfalls. It is very reminiscent of the opening scenes of the Jurassic Park films with overgrown cliffs disappearing into the mist. The powerboats are fibreglass and so they could not get too close to the pebble beach at the Glen for fear of holing them. So we had to bail over the side and swim ashore, no easy task when fully clothed and with a heavy pack. At least the sea was calm and warm.

Michelle was trying to give picture some scale and it wasn't really working because she wouldn't go within 5m of it.

We staggered ashore and were greeted by the sight of a pair of Elephant Seals. Words cannot convey how massive they are and pictures do not do them justice at all. It is simply astonishing! Robyn's eyes nearly dropped out of her head when she saw the male. His head is so massive that my entire head would fit inside his mouth if I would put it there (Not a chance of that, their breath is bad enough to kill from five meters away). They are surprising quick for something so large, when they move they look like massive wobbly caterpillars.

A concrete plaque commemorating a team from the '50s.

My dad had asked me to visit Sophora Glen, which is just next to the Glen, to take pictures of the Sophora trees that grow there. The copse there is the only one on the entire Tristan group of islands and their native range is limited to South America. How they came to Gough and why they have not spread beyond the one stand is a mystery. Sadly, while getting on to the top of the ridge separating the Glen from Sophora was relatively easy, the descent into Sophora looked beyond ridiculous and I abandoned my plans.

The sealers cave, ironically now filled with seals and temporarily, us.

The plan had been to walk back from the Glen to the Base via South Peak but Michelle came down with a stomach bug that evening and she would not have been able to manage the difficult and strenuous walk. So the Edinburgh kindly delayed their planned departure on Sunday morning and sent a zodiac to collect us and return us to the Base. Michelle is recovering well and hopefully should be right as rain soon. It seems she picked up the bug from one of the Tristaners as several people on Tristan have also been sick.

Archway Rock and the Edinburgh. Sophora Glen is on the other side of the arch.

It was an interesting and truly special experience again. This island keeps on delivering magical times and I am really going to miss it when I have to leave.

The Edinburgh retrieving its power boat.