Penguin Pete's Diary
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29/11/00, RSV Aurora Australis, 53° 06'S 73° 44'E
We reached Heard Island this afternoon. It is fantastic just to see land. I won't be able to go on shore here, but am enjoying the view. The island is mostly covered in cloud at the moment, but it is a relatively fine day, and the cloud clears now and again giving us fantastic glimpses of the summit of Big Ben. Legend has it that Big Ben is Australia's highest mountain, and also Australia's only active volcano. Check the details of that before you quote me. I have not seen any molten lava or plumes of ash and sulphur.
The view of Heard is spectacular. Big cliffs covered in snow poking out of the water. Crevassed glaciers leading up the mountain. Cloud constantly being formed around the higher peaks. There are lots of penguins, although not as many as I expected to see. Also lots of seals. I am not sure of which species of each yet, but would guess that we are seeing king penguins and elephant seals in the main. We should be here for a few days as we need to resupply the different base camps with food.