In the afternoon, we are set ashore at the north side of the cove and escorted by two of the station members across the island to Crique du Sphinx (Cove of the Sphinx). Despite some steep, tiring climbs through soggy vegetation and nasty weather conditions (a strong, chilly wind and misting rain that kept my glasses coated with fine droplets of water), it is a fascinating introduction to the subantarctic world of Possession Island. Our approximate route is marked in orange.
While we gather to wait for our guides, these king penguins come ashore in front of us with complete unconcern for our presence.
Two gentoo penguins (front and left) wander by the larger king penguins; the brown material in the top background is kelp that has washed ashore.
Wandering amidst the penguins is a member of the only subantarctic bird family that lacks webbed feet: a lesser sheathbill. Aggressive scavengers, sheathbills would dart up to a backpack that had been set down and immediately start tugging at loose straps. One fellow traveler set down a roll of film, only to have a sheathbill snatch it up and run away with it (fortunately, it was quickly dropped as inedible).
As we cross the low ridge between Crique du Navire and Crique du Sphinx, a huge albatross chick (looking a lot like Baby Huey) regards us warily through the rain.
The Kerguelen cabbage, Pringlea antiscorbutica, is the only cabbage species in the world that is not pollinated by flying insects (there are none in the Crozet, Kerguelen, or Heard islands); instead, a wingless fly does the job. Rich in vitamin C, its scientific name reflects its antiscorbutic (i.e., curing scurvy) property, known to sailors long before the discovery of vitamins.
Shortly before we descend to Crique du Sphinx, we have an opportunity to climb out onto a cliff face and photograph this nesting light-mantled sooty albatross. One of the two really serious birders in our group called it the most beautiful seabird in the world.
The view of Crique du Sphinx from the cliff above. The brown mass in the left foreground is a young elephant seal. After feeding voraciously all winter, elephant seals come ashore in the antarctic summer and lie inertly on shore for months at a time, moving only rarely as they live off their ample fat reserves.
King penguins move freely among the dozing elephant seals on the shore of the cove. Masses of kelp can be seen in the water.
As we return to Crique du Navire, the huge extent of the king penguin rookery is evident even through the gray rain.
