In August, after months at sea,
elephant seals arrive.
They depend on this island for breeding.
Macquarie will soon be heaving with 60,000 elephant seals,
but they won't have the beaches to themselves.
One month later,another wave of migrants appear in the surf.
These are royal penguins,
and they're about to have their first sighting of land in seven months.
They've spent that time hunting for fish and shrimp in the open ocean.
One last hurdle and they're back on terra firma.
This island is actually the only
solid ground these penguins will ever set foot on.
Macquarie's nearest neighbour is more than 400 miles away,
and in the opposite direction from their favourite feeding grounds.