Most Australians could point to Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, or Kakadu on a map. Far fewer could find Macquarie Island; yet this remote, windswept sliver of land halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica might be the most extraordinary piece of Australian territory most people will never set foot on.
For travellers on an Antarctic or subantarctic expedition cruise from the Antipodes, it's often the unexpected highlight of the entire voyage.
Here's why "Macca," as local expeditioners affectionately call it, deserves a spot on your Antarctica bucket list.
Where is Macquarie Island?
Although technically part of Australia and administered by Tasmania as a state nature reserve, Macquarie Island may be a landing on Australian soil, but it’s right in the middle of the Southern Ocean.
The island sits roughly 1,500 km southeast of Tasmania and about 1,500 km north of Antarctica. It's a narrow strip of land, about 34 km long and rarely more than 5 km wide, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in sheer density of wildlife.
It’s one of the few places on Earth where the ocean floor's tectonic plate boundary rises above sea level in a geological rarity that earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1997.
A wildlife spectacle unlike anywhere else: What animals you’ll see on Macquarie Island
If you thought the Galapagos had a monopoly on jaw-dropping wildlife encounters, Macquarie Island will change your mind. Expedition guides often call the subantarctic islands the "Galapagos of the Southern Ocean," and Macquarie is the headline act.
King Penguins
Nearly 100,000 breeding pairs call the island home, and the colony at Lusitania Bay is one of the largest king penguin colonies on the planet. Standing on deck as a Zodiac cruises past a beach carpeted in tens of thousands of orange-and-black birds is an experience that photographs simply can't capture.
Royal Penguins
Found nowhere else on Earth, royal penguins breed exclusively on Macquarie Island. Watch them dash comically up and down the beach at Sandy Bay, weaving between the more statuesque king penguins.
Rockhopper Penguins
The smallest of the crested penguins, rockhoppers can be found cling to the rocky shorelines of Macquarie Island.
Gentoo Penguins
Found on the island year-round, there's a gentoo colony of about 2500 pairs that sits near the island's research station.
Southern Elephant Seals
Enormous, noisy, and utterly unbothered by visitors, these seals haul out by the thousands to moult and breed along the coast, often bellowing and jousting right beside the walking tracks.
Fur Seals
Antarctic, subantarctic and New Zealand fur seals all breed here as the population slowly recovers from historic sealing,
Seabirds Galore
Giant petrels, skuas, albatross and dozens of other seabird species wheel overhead, making this one of the richest seabird destinations in the Southern Hemisphere.
What history left behind on Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island's past is as dramatic as its wildlife. Sealers arrived in the early 1800s and, along with penguin "digesters" that boiled birds down for oil, devastated populations that are only now recovering; the rusting try-pots and digesters still standing at Lusitania Bay are a sobering reminder of that era.
The island later became a base for Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, and since 1948 it has hosted an Australian Antarctic Division research station, staffed year-round by a small team of scientists and support staff. Many expedition landings include a walk up to the historic Wireless Hill site or a view of the modern ANARE station, giving visitors a rare glimpse of what life is like for the people who call this remote outpost home for months at a time.
What to do on Macquarie Island
Landings on Macquarie Island are entirely weather-dependent and tightly regulated by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service, but when conditions align, a typical expedition visit includes:
- Zodiac cruising along the coastline at spots like Lusitania Bay, getting close to king penguin "cities" and hauled-out elephant seals without setting foot ashore
- Ranger-guided walks at Sandy Bay and Buckles Bay, weaving carefully between resting seals and penguin colonies
- A climb up the Razorback ridge for sweeping views over the isthmus, the research station, and the colonies below
- Photography time with some of the most photogenic (and least camera-shy) wildlife on Earth
- Strict biosecurity checks before and after landing — boots, bags and clothing are vacuumed and inspected to protect this hard-won conservation success story from introduced species
Because Macquarie Island sits directly on the route between New Zealand/Tasmania and the Ross Sea, it's typically included as a stop on subantarctic and Ross Sea expedition itineraries rather than being a stand-alone destination. You simply can't get there any other way. There's no airstrip and no scheduled transport; the only way to reach it is aboard an expedition ship.
Best time to visit Macquarie Island
The island is only accessible during the Southern Hemisphere summer, roughly November through February, when breeding and moulting seasons bring the wildlife right down to the beaches and weather windows are (relatively) more favourable for Zodiac landings.
Luckily, this is in line with the Antarctica cruise ship season, so you'll really only be able to access it during the best months to visit.
Why it's worth the journey
Macquarie Island rewards travellers who venture beyond the obvious. It's wilder than anywhere else flying the Australian flag, harder to reach than almost anywhere else on the continent, and home to wildlife spectacles that rival, and arguably surpass, the Galapagos. For anyone heading south towards Antarctica, a landing on Macca isn't just a bonus stop.
It's proof that Australia's most remote and remarkable wilderness isn't in the outback, it's out in the Southern Ocean.
Expedition cruise lines sailing to Macquarie Island
Being on the less-travelled side of Antarctica, not every expedition company venues to Macquarie Island. But those that do reward intrepid travellers with some of the world's most untouched landscapes and incredible wildlife experiences.
Ponant and are currently the only expedition lines travelling to the remote Australian outpost in the sub-Antarctic.