Our ‘extra terrestrials’ Peter and Warren spent this morning ashore on Cheeseman Island, the smaller (and less active!) of the two islands we are currently exploring. Here is a photo essay of the island courtesy of Warren.
First up, to give you a sense of how close the islands are, here they are from the sea (Cheeseman to the left, Curtis on the right).
View from the sea: Cheeseman to the left, Curtis on the right
Here is the crater on Curtis Island, with its collapsed sea wall.
Curtis Island crater and its collapsed sea wall
Getting ashore takes fine boating skills, split second timing and nimble footwork. Broughton is boatman here, and Peter is about to make his move.
Prepared to disembark: Peter poises ready to go ashore on Cheeseman, a task which takes fine boating skills, nimble foot work and split second timing
Cheeseman is covered in lots of native iceplant. Notable by their absence are the ants which were such a feature of the Herald Islands and Meyer Islands near Raoul.
A wider view of the terrain on Cheeseman – there are similar big boulders underwater around the island, as well. Cheeseman is a pristine island, which has never had any introduced mammals.
Untrampled terrain – Cheeseman is a pristine island which has never had any introduced mammals
There is no fresh water on Cheeseman. This is a pool of brackish water left behind after the cyclone at the end of March washed waves over much of the island – the evaporating pool has become a home to native mosquitoes, but much of the immediate vegetation and seabird burrows were inundated and destroyed by the salty water.
Cheeseman is a fresh water free zone – this pool of brackish water was left behind by March’s cyclone
Peter was delighted to find healthy Cook’s scurvy grass plants, of a new but already known species that is just about to be described.
Healthy Cook’s scurvy grass plants growing on Cheeseman
The next mission for the ‘extra terrestrials’ is Curtis Island, seen here across the channel (where you can make out the Braveheart at anchor). The wind has dropped a lot in the last 24 hours, and the seas have calmed which will hopefully make for an easier landing!
Next stop: Curtis Island (seen here across the water from Cheeseman)
