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Heard Island

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November 26, 2002

After steaming down to the island's south end, we are forced to give up thoughts of landing at Spit Bay due to heavy surf. But much like the similar day at Ile de la Possession, we take advantage of the unusually clear weather to cruise around the island, and are rewarded with vistas of the upper elevations that are rarely seen.
The center of Heard Island is a massive, still active volcano that soars to a height of 2745 meters (9006 feet); some 80% of the island's surface is covered by glaciers. From our position near Spit Bay, we cannot see the central volcanic cone but we can see the huge bulk of the mountain all the way to the highest dome, called Big Ben.
Spit Bay lies in front of Elephant Spit, a narrow 7-km long finger of land that extends from the eastern end of Heard Island.
The Spit is green with vegetation (once again, mostly Azorella moss); the white specks on the shore are macaroni penguins which we had hoped to walk among.
The forbidding bulk of Big Ben shadowed by light clouds.
The hidden colors of Heard Island: a red cinder cone flanked by green patches amid the snow.
Waterfalls tumble from the distant cliffs.
Snow and ice looms above the glaciers.
When we reach the other side of the island, suddenly we can see the central volcanic cone of Mawson Peak. At the lower right, the distinctive black-and-white wing pattern identifies the seabird as a Cape petrel.
A plume of steam rises from Mawson Peak: it is still an active volcano. One of our passengers, Grahame Budd, was in the party that first climbed the peak in 1965.

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