Campbell Island, here viewed over a sleeping Southern Royal Albatross, is a stunningly beautiful stop. Photo: Steve Howell
“Unique” is an overused word these days, but it can be rightly applied to these remarkable islands that lie between the Subtropical and Antarctic Ocean Convergences south of New Zealand. Each island group has its own character and its own avifauna—an incredible and under-appreciated diversity of life within a small area, akin to the more famous Galapagos Islands but dominated by seabirds. Breeding species include three endemic crested penguins, nine endemic albatross taxa, six endemic shags, and even parakeets and pipits. The Snares have millions of Sooty Shearwaters plus Snares Crested Penguins; Enderby Island in the Auckland group is a pristine jewel of restored island biodiversity; Macquarie has millions of Royal Penguins, thousands of Southern Elephant Seals and King Penguins; Campbell is home to the Southern Royal Albatross; the Antipodes have their endemic parakeet and Antipodean [Wandering] Albatross, plus Erect-crested Penguins; the stark Bounty Islands hold almost all the world’s Salvin’s Albatrosses; and the subtropical Chathams have Shore Plovers, Northern Buller’s Albatrosses, and two endemic shags. The relatively short at-sea transits between islands are never dull, with up to ten albatross species accompanying the boat as well as good numbers of many other tubenoses.
Day 1: The tour begins this evening in Invercargill, New Zealand’s southernmost city, with dinner at our hotel. Night in Invercargill.
Day 2: Breakfast at your leisure in the dining room at the hotel. The program will advise a time for bags out, and then we’ll transfer to the wharf to board the Spirit of Enderby and head out to sea, bound first for the Snares Islands. The afternoon will include introductions and briefings as well as the first seabirds—perhaps including Mottled Petrels.
Day 3: The Snares is the first of the Sub-Antarctic Islands we’ll visit, and we’ll arrive there in early morning. It’s an amazing island group—with more nesting seabirds than in the entire British Isles. Landings are not permitted, so we’ll cruise by zodiac along the sheltered eastern shore, where we should see the endemic Snares Crested Penguins, Tomtit, and Fernbird. Pintado Petrels, Antarctic Terns, and Red-billed Gulls also inhabit the coastline, and we may see some early returning Southern Buller’s Albatrosses. Estimates of nesting Sooty Shearwaters on the Snares number in the millions, and flocks often swarm offshore in dense, insect-like clouds.
Campbell Island, here viewed over a sleeping Southern Royal Albatross, is a stunningly beautiful stop. Photo: Steve Howell
Day 4: Arrive at Enderby Island, an almost pristine island in the Auckland Island group, where we land at Sandy Bay, the main breeding ground for the very local Hooker’s Sealion. Most of the day is scheduled for time on land, where nesting birds include Southern Royal Albatross, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Northern Giant-Petrel, Yellow-eyed Penguin, Auckland Island Shag, Auckland Teal, Bellbird, New Zealand Pipit, Red-crowned Parakeet, and endemic races of Double-banded Plover and Tomtit. We’ll also search for the Subantarctic Snipe, which we have a very good chance of seeing, and on Derrycastle Reef we may find Bar-tailed Godwits, Ruddy Turnstones, and perhaps other migratory shorebirds.
Day 5: This morning we’ll cruise to Carnley Harbour in the south of the main Auckland Islands. There will be an opportunity for energetic participants to climb to the White-capped Albatross colony at Southwest Cape. If time allows, we may also see Gibson’s Wandering Albatross, which nests above the colony among the tussocks. Those remaining on board will explore the coastal forest, with a chance to see New Zealand Falcon and to enjoy close encounters with other bush birds. We depart the Auckland Islands in mid afternoon and head southwest towards Macquarie Island.
Day 6: At sea we’ll have a series of lectures illustrated by videos of the biology and history of the Sub-Antarctic islands and southern oceans. The Sub-antarctic Convergence Zone is usually close to the area through which we sail, and the birdlife should reflect this as we get closer to Macquarie Island. We’ll be at sea all day, another opportunity to watch numerous tubenoses, including Wandering (three taxa), Southern Royal, White-capped, Black-browed, and Gray-headed Albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, White-chinned, Mottled, White-headed, and Pintado Petrels, Common Diving-Petrels, and Gray-backed and Black-bellied Storm-Petrels.
Days 7-8: Arrive at Macquarie Island, the only breeding ground for Royal Penguin, of which we should see thousands, as well as countless King Penguins and smaller numbers of Gentoo and Rockhopper Penguins. Along the coast we’ll also see Macquarie Island Shags and both giant-petrels, including some white-morph Southerns. Redpolls can be seen, as can European Starlings along the cliff edges! We plan landings at both the ANARE base and at Sandy Bay, and we’ll also cruise Lusitania Bay by zodiac, where there is a huge King Penguin colony. After exploring Macquarie Island we depart for Campbell Island on the afternoon of our second day.
Day 9: At sea en route to Campbell Island, with a similar range of species to those we saw en route to Macquarie Island from the Auckland Islands.
Day 10: Arriving early in the morning, we’ll spend the day exploring the island by foot from Perseverance Harbor. Campbell Island is a magnificent island; rats have recently been removed successfully, which has meant encouraging increases in small bird numbers, most notably the New Zealand Pipit. There are great birding and photographic opportunities on this island, especially for nesting Southern Royal Albatross and the flowering megaherbs. During the day ashore we should also see Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Northern Giant-Petrel, Campbell Island Shag, Brown Skua, Red-billed and Kelp Gulls, Antarctic Tern, and even Redpolls and Dunnocks, far from their original homes in western Europe. The regeneration of megaherbs since the removal of sheep in the 1970s is a spectacle to behold.
Day 11: At sea en route to the Antipodes, another great day for pelagic birding. Species seen commonly in this area include up to ten albatrosses, Soft-plumaged, Mottled, and White-headed Petrels, and Gray-backed and Black-bellied Storm-Petrels. This region of the Southern Ocean is one of the few places where Fairy Prion, Fulmar Prion, and Antarctic Prion occur together, providing a good opportunity for comparison.
Day 12: Antipodes Island is one of the most isolated, least known, and rugged of New Zealand’s Sub-Antarctic Islands. Landings are not permitted, but we plan to cruise the coastline by zodiac, where we have a good chance of seeing the endemic Antipodes and Red-crowned (Reischek’s) Parakeets and the Antipodes subspecies of New Zealand Pipit (probably a species in its own right), as well as both Erect-crested and Rockhopper Penguins breeding along the coastline.
Day 13: Arrive at the Bounty Islands, inhospitable granite knobs lashed by the Southern Ocean, where we plan early morning zodiac cruises, weather permitting. The spectacle here defies words, and the islands are simply packed with Erect-crested Penguins, Salvin’s Albatrosses, and New Zealand Fur Seals, as well as Fulmar Prions and the endemic Bounty Island Shag. We then depart for the Chatham Islands, entering waters with distinctly different birds, perhaps including Northern Royal Albatross, Soft-plumaged Petrel, Little Shearwater, Broad-billed and Fulmar Prions, and White-faced Storm-Petrels. There is always a chance we could see the rare Chatham Island Petrel, and we will be keeping a close watch for the even rarer Magenta Petrel.
Day 14: This morning, as we continue toward the Chatham Archipelago, will be another good opportunity for pelagic birding. We’ll be looking out especially for the Chatham Island and Magenta Petrels, but we’ll be very lucky to see either one, let alone both. In the afternoon we’ll arrive at spectacular Pyramid Rock, the only breeding site of the handsome Chatham Albatross.
Day 15: At South East Island (Rangatira), one of the world’s greatest nature reserves, we will cruise by zodiac (landings are not permitted) to obtain what we’ll hope to be good views of the superb little Shore Plover (now extirpated from the main New Zealand islands) and the rare Chatham Island Oystercatcher. We should also see the Pitt Island Shag, Tui, Tomtit, Red-crowned Parakeet, and marauding Brown Skuas. This afternoon we’ll cruise past Mangere and Little Mangere Island, from where the endemic Black Robin was rescued in the 1970s when the total population was only six birds. In the evening we’ll sail across Pitt Strait to the main Chatham Islands and pass the Tuku Valley, where Magenta Petrel breeds.
Day 16: Today we’ll land at Waitangi, the main settlement on the Chatham Islands, and near the landing we should see the endemic Chatham Island Shag. Local buses and Landrovers will transport us down the South Coast to the Tuku Reserve. Here, on private land and guided by the local people, we’ll enjoy a walk in some remnant native bush and hope to see the endemic Chatham Island Warbler and Chatham Island Pigeon. We’ll return to the Spirit of Enderby in the early afternoon and depart for Dunedin.
Days 17-18: En route to Dunedin we’ll cross what is known as the Chatham Rise, a relatively shallow area of water that is one of the best areas for pelagic birding, with a mix of birds from northern and southern latitudes. We can expect to see Wandering (3 taxa), Royal (2 taxa), Northern Buller’s, Campbell, White-capped, and Salvin’s albatrosses, Northern Giant-Petrel, Pintado, White-chinned, Great-winged, Mottled, and Cook’s Petrels, Buller’s and Sooty Shearwaters, prions, storm-petrels, and diving-petrels, as well as a number of marine mammals. There could well be unusual birds, so it’s a good time to be on the bridge or on deck.
Day 19: We’ll arrive in Dunedin and, after passing through Customs, disembark and transfer to our hotel. Night in Dunedin.
Day 20: The tour concludes this morning at the Dunedin International Airport.
Updated: 15 July 2008
Prices
- 2008 Superior Cabin price $10,300
Notes
Those departing on Day 19 will have unused day 19 lodging and meals refunded. For more information, please contact the WINGS office.