Macquarie Island

Australia · Antarctica

Macquarie Island

A windswept ridge in the Southern Ocean with millions of penguins.

Photo: NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the… · Public domain
Best months
Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec
Days needed
10–14
Difficulty
Strenuous
Nearest airport
Hobart (HBA)

When to go

  1. JanJanuary: Best
  2. FebFebruary: Best
  3. MarMarch: Poor or no data
  4. AprApril: Poor or no data
  5. MayMay: Poor or no data
  6. JunJune: Poor or no data
  7. JulJuly: Poor or no data
  8. AugAugust: Poor or no data
  9. SepSeptember: Poor or no data
  10. OctOctober: Poor or no data
  11. NovNovember: Best
  12. DecDecember: Best

BestGoodFair

Landings by permit on expedition voyages only.

Why go

Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Macquarie Island is an exposed portion of the Macquarie Ridge and is located where the Australian plate meets the Pacific plate.
The island is home to the entire royal penguin population during their annual nesting season.

Background from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Target birds

Map

Open larger map · eBird hotspots nearby · © OpenStreetMap contributors

Combine with

Nearby destinations