Le 23 novembre, à peine rentrés de Pointe Suzanne, Maxime et moi avons été
invités à aller plonger avec les bonbons, les jeunes éléphants de mer, qui se
mettent à l'eau le matin et le soir à la cale. Grâce à l'accord du chef de
district et l'encadrement des plongeurs, on peut passer un bon moment dans
l'eau avec ces charmants animaux. L'occasion pour les gens de la base de les
voir autrement. Gillou était dans l'eau avec nous, et Fred en surveillance
surface. Les combis semi-étanches qu'ils nous avaient prêtées nous ont permis
de passer du temps dans l'eau sans que cela soit inconfortable (car elle est
quand même pas chaude, dans les 5 °C!). Les bonbons, méfiants au début, se sont
relaxés peu et peu et sont venus nous voir de tout près. On était dans l'eau
avec une dizaine d'éléph, on a pu jouer avec eux et les caresser. Ils
essayaient de nous mordiller avec leurs petites dents de temps en temps,
c'était vraiment trop mignon! On remercie le disker et les plongeurs pour ce
moment magique. Deux jours plus tard, j'ai pu aller faire un tour de chaland dans
le golfe, et profiter du « taxi » pour voir un peu du pays.
Saint-Malo, Ile Longue, Ile aux Moules ont défilé devant nous et ces paysages
splendides nous enchantent toujours. J'ai pu montrer mes talents à la barre
(hummm!). Mais c'est surtout « l'escale » à l'Ile Verte que je
retiendrai particulièrement. Les filles qui y vivent, Marianne et Nana depuis
un mois profitent généralement du passage du chaland pour faire un brin de
causette (à deux sur une petite île pendant des semaines, ça leur fait toujours
du bien d'avoir un peu de compagnie différente) et prendre une douche. Du coup,
j'ai pu descendre avec Gilles. J'ai visité la cabane, qui est vraiment sympa.
Et puis surtout cela m'a permis de voir des sternes de Kerguelen de plus près,
très près même car elles nichent au sol et font mine de nous attaquer
lorsqu'elles jugent que l'on passe trop près de leur nid! On a même pu voir un
poussin. Le temps était splendide et ce petit moment passé à terre vraiment
agréable. Ensuite, nous sommes repartis et Denis nous a gâté en se rapprochant
au plus près possible de l'Alberta, une épave posée dans le golfe, pour qu'on
puisse ramener de belles images. Après l'avoir photographiée sous toutes ces
coutures, nous sommes rentrés à PAF. Bon, allez, j'arrête mon blabla et je vous
mets des photos.
On November, 23rd, just back from Pointe Suzanne, Maxime and I were invited to go snorkelling with young elephant seals; they go for a bath in the morning and in the evening every day at this time of the year on base. Thanks to the agreement of the « district' leader» and the supervision of professional divers, we can go have a good time with those amazing animals! For people on base, it's the occasion to see them from another perspective. Gilles was with us in the water, and Fred monitored this activity from the surface. We had semi-dry suits allowing us to spend some time on the water without being uncomfortable (the water is indeed pretty cold, only 40 ° fahrenheit). The young elephant seals, suspicious at first, started to relax after a while and came check us out. We were in the water with about ten youngsters, we could play with them and pet them. Every now and then, they tried to bite us but they had tiny teeth so we couldn't really feel it. It was very cute! We thank the disker and the divers to have made this magical moment happen! Two days later, I went on my second boat trip in the gulf and took advantage of the « taxi » to see new places. Saint-Malo, Ile Longue, Ile aux Moules all were very different and those beautiful landscapes always make us happy! I showed how good I was at manoeuvring the boat (hummm!). But most of all, it was the stop on Ile Verte that I'll remember. The ladies who were living there for more than a month, Mariane and Nana, usually took advantage of the lay-over of the boat to see new faces, take a shower, and a warm cup of coffee. During this time, I went on the island with Gilles. I visited the hut, which is really nice. And that was the first time I could approach Kerguelen terns from so close. They nest on the ground and fake to attack us if they think we're too close from their nests. We also saw one chick. The weather was very nice and this short moment spent on Ile Verte was very pleasant. We then left and Denis was nice enough to get as close as possible to the Alberta, a boat wreck that was on the way, so we could take nice photos. We went back to PAF after this nice break. Here are some photos.
On November, 23rd, just back from Pointe Suzanne, Maxime and I were invited to go snorkelling with young elephant seals; they go for a bath in the morning and in the evening every day at this time of the year on base. Thanks to the agreement of the « district' leader» and the supervision of professional divers, we can go have a good time with those amazing animals! For people on base, it's the occasion to see them from another perspective. Gilles was with us in the water, and Fred monitored this activity from the surface. We had semi-dry suits allowing us to spend some time on the water without being uncomfortable (the water is indeed pretty cold, only 40 ° fahrenheit). The young elephant seals, suspicious at first, started to relax after a while and came check us out. We were in the water with about ten youngsters, we could play with them and pet them. Every now and then, they tried to bite us but they had tiny teeth so we couldn't really feel it. It was very cute! We thank the disker and the divers to have made this magical moment happen! Two days later, I went on my second boat trip in the gulf and took advantage of the « taxi » to see new places. Saint-Malo, Ile Longue, Ile aux Moules all were very different and those beautiful landscapes always make us happy! I showed how good I was at manoeuvring the boat (hummm!). But most of all, it was the stop on Ile Verte that I'll remember. The ladies who were living there for more than a month, Mariane and Nana, usually took advantage of the lay-over of the boat to see new faces, take a shower, and a warm cup of coffee. During this time, I went on the island with Gilles. I visited the hut, which is really nice. And that was the first time I could approach Kerguelen terns from so close. They nest on the ground and fake to attack us if they think we're too close from their nests. We also saw one chick. The weather was very nice and this short moment spent on Ile Verte was very pleasant. We then left and Denis was nice enough to get as close as possible to the Alberta, a boat wreck that was on the way, so we could take nice photos. We went back to PAF after this nice break. Here are some photos.
Moi en compagnie des bonbons / Me and young elephant seals
Bonbon sous l'eau / Young elephant seals underwater
L'Alberta, épave du Golfe du Morbihan / The Alberta, a boat wreck in the Gulf of Morbihan
Sterne de Kerguelen sur l'Île Verte / Kerguelen tern on Île Verte
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