wander around the island on our own. There were a few no-go areas but this didn’t really affect us too much as we had plenty of space to explore. The wind seemed to be getting stronger and stronger and the island was very exposed so we couldn’t really find anywhere to shelter from the wind! We kept stopping to check out the different nesting sites of the penguins and watching them coming and going was a joy. We then headed to the highest point and this really was a struggle due to the force of the wind. The views from the top were amazing, and we got down the hill a lot faster than we had going up it. Although it was very windy it was relatively clear which made for good viewing. We then headed back down to another little beach area and just sat down watching the penguins. They are so adorable but they do seem to have lots of little squabbles between themselves and the chicks are certainly put in their place. If a chick harasses a penguin that isn’t its parents they don’t half give it a good

squawking to and the odd little peck! We also saw a Skua eating a dead chick, it wasn’t a pretty site but hey I guess this is nature in its rawest form. It also means that nothing is wasted and everything is cleaned up so to speak.

Even though we were getting quite literally battered by the wind it was a complete joy to be wandering around a true penguin colony. What amazed us the most was how far from the sea most of the rookeries were. Not only did these amazing little creatures spend most of their day swimming, they then had a good hours walk often up steep hills to get back to their nests! They are true busy bodies always busy doing something whether it‘s re-building a nest which entails pinching as much as it can from its immediate neighbours or just simply preening themselves, but they are always busy.