Science, Adventure and Poop

Ocean Tramp – David

By now, a familiar sound onboard the Ocean Tramp (shoutout #teamtramp!) is the rhythmic squeak of our friendly onboard scientist, Megan, as she filters water gathered from various beaches hoping to find the tiny little microbes
we all generally try to avoid! We have all gotten into the spirit of her work, helping pump, pump, pump…and scouting locations (the grubbier the better!) for her to take her samples.

Today was a good one for sampling not only microbes, but also adventure…and poop. All of these things came together in a landing spot at Ketley Point where our boat was able to nimbly get into our anchorage. Once on land, half the group decided that a brisk hike to the top of a snow covered ridge was in order, while Megan and the science crew stayed by the beach to collect samples.

Now, for anyone who has spent any time around penguins, you will know all too well that the bit left out by all the cuddly movies and cartoons is the poop. And boy is there lots of it! And the thing about penguin poop, is that
it is likely the most slippery substance known to humanity. This stuff is so slick, that even the most sure-footed adventurer can quickly find themselves bum down or scrambling on their hands and knees to get traction. Luckily for
#teamtramp we are getting to be pros, so as one team effortlessly made their way across slippery terrain, up a snow-covered ridge and to a lookout over the strait, the other team was out in the kayaks and rib watching humpbacks
as they hunted for their afternoon meal. The views over the Strait meant the team got to see dozens of whales in and around the area – truly special!

The final mission, before getting back on board and heading to our night’s destination of Paradise Bay was to rescue an old fishing buoy stranded on shore, looking rather out of place in the pristine environment. Our crew expertly retrieved it and we brought it back to the boat to be up-cycled into a trendy disco ball 😉 In all honesty it will be patched up put to good use as another bumper for docking the boat…waste not want not is the name of the game out here!

Photo + Blog: David Divitt