From January 30 to February 2, I went to the Entrecasteaux hut located at the foot of the cliffs southwest of the island to help Corisande, VSC ornithologist who studies ecopathology - dispersion of avian cholera between the different populations of birds, especially yellow-nosed albatrosses. To reach the colony of yellow-noses you have to cross the island from north to southwest through the heights of the island, and then descend to the foot of the Entrecasteaux cliffs. Here is a map of the island to see more clearly:
Corisande often works at the hut for several weeks, and she constantly needs 2 handlers to help her in the colonies. However, very few people can afford to leave the base for so long (depending on the work of each). So, relays are organized to allow two or three people to accompany Corsiande in turn, often for 4-5 days (including transit days). On Saturday, January 30, I headed for Entrecasteaux point with David (infra) and Antoine (IT VSC / IPEV logistics), to replace Colombe and Clément, who had been at the cabin for the past few days.
The path leaves from the base, located in the north of the island, and almost at sea level, then it goes up to the edge of the Caldeira and at the foot of the Dives, which is about 800m above sea level. Then we walked along the Peat Bog Plateau and arrived at the Pignon, which is a viewpoint from the top of the cliffs overlooking the Entrecasteaux point. This portion of the transit lasts approximately 3 to 4 hours. We had rain, fog and wind, but we were very happy!
Then, off we went down the Pignon to the Dining Room, where the via ferrata, to access the bottom of the cliffs, begins. On relay days like today, the team leaving the cabin, and the team arriving from base meet at the Dining Room, a legendary picnic spot. We joined Colombe, Clément and Corisande around 12 noon, and the weather cleared up a bit. We could see the cliffs through the clouds, impressive!
Colombe coming up the rope just at the foot of the dining room!
The teams reunited.
David and I say goodbye to Antoine, who had accompanied us until now, and returned to base with Colombe and Clément (we must always be at least 3 people during off-base manipulations). Then, off we went with Corisande for the rest of the trek: next step, go down the rope and the via ferrata.
After this challenging descent, we were at the foot of the cliffs. But, we still had some way to go: we still had to cross "Vietnam", which is the name of the flat part at the bottom of the cliffs, and is full of rushes and mud.
After a hard hour of pulling our boots and legs out of the mud, we arrived at "the beach", a rocky area filled with rock-hopper penguins and fur seals.
We arrived at the cabin at the end of the afternoon, very tired from this beautiful day of walking and climbing. A real pleasure to be here! We made ourselves at home in the cabin, which is well equipped and comfortable. We could hear the waves and the wind very loudly.
The next morning, the tops of the cliffs were in the clouds. The weather was good, and we could smell the sea. We got ready to go and work in the yellow-billed albatross colony: flexo, biosecure boots and backpack, and off we went to climb halfway up the cliff.
On the way up, we saw plenty of albatrosses on their nests, adults and chicks. The adults are so elegant, with well-defined features and strong colors. So thrilling to see them so close!
The chicks are really big, all fluffy, and so cute. They look like the joker. Hihi !
We arrived at the colony which Corisande studies. We started with a daily check of the nests (presence or not of chicks). .Unfortunately many die, particularly because of rats. It is for this reason that ecopathology studies are made on these albatross colonies. Samples are taken, and individuals vaccinated to better understand the impacts caused by the introduced species, and to try to limit the mortality.
These birds are just beautiful. They are so big, it's spectacular to see them open their wings, fly above us and land in the tufts of rushes.
When they parade, you can see the orange color of the line of their beak.
Once the day's work accomplished, we returned to the hut at foot of the cliff. The weather was beautiful.
In the afternoon, David and I went to the beach which is a short walk from the cabin. There were many fur seals and rock-hopper penguins!
These little penguins seem to attract the curiosity of the fur seal pups ...
3,2,1 ... we jump!
They take a break ... and it's off again, jumping one behind the other, halfway up the cliff to where their colony is located.
They know where they are going, and don't get distracted.
The beach is full of pups, very noisy as usual, with their cries that sound like little goats :)
The seals surf in the large waves ...
Little wet pup!
Then, we returned to the cabin as the sun was setting.
The next morning the albatrosses were flying really low, they almost brushed against us, It was awesome.
We returned to the colony and worked until noon, then went to see the view from Loup Bay until late afternoon.
The end of another lovely day, watching the albatrosses flying with the evening colors.
Back to the base the next day, we said goodbye to our albatross and penguin friends, who opened the way to Vietnam (we really did have to queue behind the penguins so as not to disturb them, it's their route afterall).
We climbed up the rope, then the via ferrata, to the Dining Room.
Reunited with Marc, Camille and Antoine! Marc and Camille went down with Corisande to spend a few days at the cabin, and David, Antoine and I returned to base.
A little less fog this time, we could see the peat bog plateau, and the beautiful views of the sea and the cliffs. We even saw Amsterdam albatrosses flying over the plateau (they are much bigger than the yellow-billed albatrosses)!
The various stages of the return trek was rhythmed with changing weather (and will be detailed in a future article)
Return to base at the end of the day, just in time for the pancake evening!
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