The Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand & Australia

November 2007

Derek Scott

This cruise, which visits the Snares, the Auckland Islands, Macquarie Island, Campbell Island, the Antipodes Islands, the Bounty Islands and the Chatham Islands, provides what must surely be one of the most outstanding seabird experiences possible anywhere on our planet. Billed by Heritage Expeditions as “Birding Downunder”, our 17-day voyage aboard the Russian oceanographic research vessel Professor Khromov (renamed Spirit of Enderby by our New Zealand tour operator) took us to a succession of tiny specks of land in the vast Southern Ocean and treated us to an extraordinary array of penguins, albatrosses, petrels, storm-petrels and shags, as well as some of the world's rarest land-birds. The Southern Ocean lived up to its awesome reputation for violent storms and gave us a very real taste of the ‘roaring forties' and ‘furious fifties' during our first week at sea, but the weather then settled down and towards the end of the cruise we were enjoying almost balmy conditions. Throughout our voyage, there was that wonderful feeling of wilderness, so rare these days on our overcrowded planet. Most of the islands that we visited were uninhabited and we hardly saw another ship in all the time we were at sea. On land, we were treated to magical encounters with a variety of breeding penguins and albatrosses, while at sea our identification skills were constantly being put to the test by no less than 13 forms of albatross, 21 species of shearwaters, petrels and prions, and four species of storm-petrel. Our time spent with the Royal Penguins and King Penguins on Macquarie Island was undoubtedly one of the most memorable interludes of the trip, but there were many other notable highlights including face-to-face contact with Southern Royal Albatrosses on the nest on Campbell Island, huge numbers of Salvin's and Chatham Albatrosses squabbling for food off the stern of the ship, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses in their beautiful display flight over a cliff face on Campbell, a rare Magenta Petrel on a sunny morning off the Chatham Islands, large numbers of delightful Snares Crested and Erect-crested Penguins at their breeding colonies, close encounters with flightless Auckland Island Teal and (for a lucky few) Campbell Island Teal, a pair of New Zealand Snipe on Enderby Island, excellent sightings of rare Chatham Island Oystercatchers and Shore Plovers in the Chatham Islands, and two of the world's rarest land-birds, Forbes's Parakeet and Black Robin, on Mangere Island, also in the Chathams. The six species of shags with very restricted ranges in the Subantarctic islands, although perhaps not quite as exciting, are probably also worth a mention here! Mammalian highlights included some very fine New Zealand Sea-Lions in the Auckland Islands and on Campbell Island, a large rookery of New Zealand Fur Seals in the Bounty Islands, and a nice selection of cetaceans including a Pygmy Blue Whale, three Great Sperm Whales, several schools of Long-finned Pilot Whales with Southern Right-Whale Dolphins in attendance, and a small pod of Killer Whales.

The tour started in earnest in Invercargill, at the extreme south end of New Zealand's South Island. Most of us had arrived in Invercargill a day early and were therefore able to enjoy some leisurely birding in the Invercargill area. At the New River Estuary on the outskirts of town, we found a nice assortment of waterbirds including Little Pied Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Grey Teal, Australasian Shoveler, Pied Stilt, Masked Lapwing, Red-billed and Black-billed Gulls and Caspian Tern. At Bushy Park private nature reserve, we found a pair a Fernbirds along with several Tuis, a New Zealand Bellbird and a Grey Fantail, while in nearby farmland, we came across several Swamp Harriers, a pair of Paradise Shelducks, three Australian Swamp-hens (Pukekos) and a large flock of South Island Pied Oystercatchers. A visit to Awarua Bay that afternoon produced a small party of Variable Oystercatchers, and in a nearby patch of native woodland we had superb views of several New Zealand Creepers and a Grey Warbler. Back at our hotel that evening, we met up with the rest of the 48 passengers on our Subantarctic cruise.

Before leaving Invercargill the next morning, we were taken to Southland Museum where there was an excellent exhibit on the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand. For some of us, however, the adjacent Queen's Park was equally tempting, and here we found several showy New Zealand Pigeons. We then drove the 25 or so km to Bluff Harbour and with mounting excitement boarded the Professor Khromov . There was a short delay before we set sail, and this gave us time to look at some of the birds in the harbour, including two Blue Penguins, a number of Stewart Island Shags of both colour morphs, several attractive Spotted Shags and about 20 immaculate White-fronted Terns. Shortly after mid-day we finally untied from the jetty and headed out of the harbour and into the open sea. By now it was clear that there was quite a storm blowing up, and it was distinctly choppy as we headed south across the Fouveaux Strait that separates South Island from Stewart Island. The sea-watching was, however, excellent, and we were soon enjoying our first Southern Royal, Campbell, White-capped and Salvin's Albatrosses, Sooty Shearwaters, White-chinned Petrels, Cape Petrels, Northern Giant Petrels, Broad-billed Prions, lovely Mottled Petrels and Common Diving Petrels, along with a single Little Shearwater. We were called below for lunch and again for a couple of important briefings on safety and life on board, but otherwise there were almost always a few of us sea-watching from the upper deck or bridge until the bar opened in the evening, a routine that we were to follow throughout the cruise.

Rough seas during the night slowed our progress and it was not until about 8.30 in the morning that we arrived off the main island in the Snares group. Immediately after breakfast we boarded the ship's zodiac-like naiads for a close-up look at these islands, renown for their huge breeding colonies of seabirds, notably Sooty Shearwaters. The Snares are a strict nature reserve and ordinary mortals are not allowed to land, but in the expert hands of our Expedition Leader Aaron Russ and his team, we were able to explore the kelp-covered sheltered bays and coves of the main island from the naiads. The star attractions here were the endemic Snares Crested Penguins which were nesting in dense colonies on the steep hillsides. We were able to approach many of these closely as they came ashore on the rocks or stood around wondering whether or not it was safe to get back into the water. Their hesitation was understandable, as there was a Leopard Seal around. Other common birds here included Cape Petrels of the relatively dark Subantarctic race, Subantarctic Skuas, Red-billed Gulls and Antarctic Terns. We also managed to spot several Tomtits of the all-black race unique to the Snares, and three Fernbirds, also of an endemic race. A dozen or so New Zealand Fur Seals were hauled up on the rocks, and several impressive New Zealand (or Hooker's) Sea-Lions emerged from one of the coves. We left the Snares shortly after mid-day and continued south towards the Auckland Islands. The wind had eased off a bit and the sea-watching was excellent, with many more Southern Royal, Campbell, Salvin's and White-capped Albatrosses, our first Gibson's and Northern Royal Albatrosses, huge numbers of Sooty Shearwaters, lots of White-chinned Petrels and Northern Giant Petrels, hundreds of Fairy Prions, a few more Broad-billed Prions and Mottled Petrels, and our first Grey-backed and Black-bellied Storm-petrels.

After another stormy night with 40 knot winds and big seas, we arrived in the shelter of Port Ross – the channel between Enderby Island and the main island in the Auckland group – just in time for breakfast. Our full day on lovely Enderby Island was a real delight; the wind had lightened a little and it was a great feeling to be on solid ground again. After landing on the rocky shore, we made our way up through the Rata forest, with its ancient, moss-covered gnarled trees, onto the open grasslands in the interior of the island, where there was a loose colony of Southern Royal Albatrosses. Here, by the boardwalk, we found a pair of almost rodent-like New Zealand Snipe creeping about in the grass, along with lots of extraordinarily tame Double-banded Plovers and New Zealand Pipits. Red-crowned Parakeets were also quite common and looked strangely out of place on the wind-swept grassland. On the north coast of the island, we were able to approach closely to several beautiful Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses on their nests on a cliff ledge. At Derry Castle Reef, a pair of flightless Auckland Island Teal played hide and seek with us amongst the rocks, and nearby we found a flock of Ruddy Turnstones and a Sanderling – a rare vagrant this far south and possibly the first ever recorded in the Auckland Islands. Back at the landing site that afternoon, we were entertained by several attractive Yellow-eyed Penguins as they emerged from the sea and trundled up to their nests in the shrubbery. We found another, more obliging Auckland Island Teal foraging in the kelp, and here also we had plenty of opportunity to admire several big New Zealand Sea-Lions from a safe distance.

During the night, we moved the short distance from Port Ross to sheltered Carnley Harbour, between the main island and Adams Island in the south of the Auckland group. By the time we arrived in Carnley Harbour, there was a severe gale blowing, and it soon became apparent that we would not be able to make a landing to visit the White-capped Albatross colony at South West Cape. Instead, we dropped anchor in Coleridge Bay, and after breakfast, launched the naiads for a short cruise along the shore of the main island. The scenery was superb and we were able to approach closely to a group of about 50 Auckland Island Shags resting on a low cliff along with a few Red-billed Gulls. Tall forest extended right down to the water's edge and Tuis were much in evidence. With great consideration for our comfort, the Captain remained at anchor until we had finished lunch, and then we headed back out of Carnley Harbour, through thousands and thousands of Sooty Shearwaters, and rounded the south end of the Auckland Islands bound for distant Macquarie Island. By now we were ploughing almost head-on into the teeth of a south-westerly gale. Sea-watching was difficult as it was becoming dangerous to stand outside, and visibility from the bridge was very poor. Nevertheless, we managed to see our first Antarctic Prions and White-headed Petrels this afternoon, along with another Gibson's Albatross.

The next day was a full day at sea as we continued south-west towards Macquarie. Fortunately, gale-force winds in the morning eased somewhat during the afternoon and it was possible to do some sea-watching from the decks. Four more Gibson's Albatrosses were recorded, along with five other species of albatross, our first Southern Fulmars and Southern Giant Petrels, many more Antarctic Prions, a Blue Petrel, and more Mottled and White-headed Petrels.  

Sea-watching from deck the next morning added Grey-headed Albatross and Soft-plumaged Petrel to our list, and then just before mid-day, we arrived off the ANARE base on the Isthmus at the north end of Macquarie Island – the single Australian island on our itinerary. Pausing only briefly to take on board four local rangers, we proceeded further down the east coast of the island to Sandy Bay – the site of large colonies of King Penguins and Royal Penguins. Here we spent a wonderful afternoon amongst the penguins. The wind was now little more than a breeze, and there was even some sunshine as we went ashore and threaded our way through the Elephant Seals to the edge of a King Penguin colony where there were hundreds of large, chocolate-coloured chicks. Little groups of Royal Penguins were loafing about on the beach or waddling up a narrow trail to their colony on the hillside above us. Just sitting on the beach and being inspected by these fascinating little creatures was an incredible experience. It was difficult to tear ourselves away from the penguins, but there were other interesting birds to be seen here, notably about 25 endemic Macquarie Island Shags, several pairs of Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, a number of Southern Giant Petrels including several individuals of the white morph, a couple of Pacific Black Ducks (Grey Ducks), and lots of formidable Subantarctic Skuas.

Early the next morning found us cruising offshore from the huge King Penguin colony at Lusitania Bay. The sea was quite rough again, it was drizzling and visibility was very poor, so we abandoned any idea of going for a cruise in the naiads and decided to head back north to Buckles Bay and the Isthmus. On the way, we spotted a small pod of Killer Whales, and these reappeared in Buckles Bay to play with us as we were going ashore in the naiads. Onshore on the Isthmus, we visited a couple of small colonies of Gentoo Penguins with their adorable little chicks, watched an angry mob of Southern and Northern Giant Petrels squabbling over the huge rotting carcass of an Elephant Seal, had close looks at some fancy Macquarie Shags on the rocks, found a few Lesser Redpolls at their only locality in Australia, and witnessed the launch of a weather balloon before retiring to the ANARE base for tea and scones. This was all extremely pleasant, and it was with some reluctance that we finally said goodbye to our gracious hosts on Macquarie and boarded the naiads for the trip back to our favourite ship. On the way, we made a slight detour to look at a colony of about 100 pairs of Rockhopper Penguins on a rocky promontory – our fourth species of penguin on Macquarie. After a late lunch, we weighed anchor and, turning north-east, set off on the next leg of our journey to Campbell Island, over 36 hours away. Visibility had now deteriorated again, but the sea-watching was quite productive and during the course of the afternoon, we recorded a wide selection of tubenoses including another two Grey-headed Albatrosses, our first Short-tailed Shearwaters, and several Mottled, White-headed and Soft-plumaged Petrels.

The next day was another full day at sea, with sea-watching almost non-stop from dawn to dusk. Twenty-four species of tubenoses were recorded, including our first Wandering (Snowy) Albatross, 12 Gibson's Albatrosses, 10 Grey-headed Albatrosses, four Short-tailed Shearwaters, hundreds of Antarctic Prions, two Blue Petrels, 12 Mottled Petrels, 20 White-headed Petrels, our first Wilson's Storm-petrels and 12 Black-bellied Storm-petrels.  

By the time we awoke the next day, we were at anchor in Perseverance Harbour in the very heart of Campbell Island. After an early breakfast, we split up into two groups – an intrepid group who opted for the long hike up hill and down dale to the West Hut, and a slightly less intrepid group who opted for the long hike up the boardwalk to Beeman Col and one of the main Southern Royal Albatross breeding areas. Fortunately, the weather was kind to us, with nothing worse than a few light snow flurries on the hilltops, and both groups had a great day out amidst some of the finest scenery that the Subantarctic islands have to offer. A lot of our time was spent amongst the many nesting Southern Royal Albatrosses, but there was much else to see including Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses in their graceful display flight, Northern Giant Petrels and Yellow-eyed Penguins at their nests, endemic Campbell Island Shags in the harbour, and the many splendid ‘megaherbs' that are doing well since the eradication of rats on the island. Some of the intrepid group were fortunate in coming across two Campbell Island Teal, a species that until recently was confined to tiny Dent Island but has now been re-introduced on the main island following the eradication of rats. When the rest of us heard of this lucky find, we jumped into the naiads and visited the site, but the birds had obviously gone into hiding and we had to be satisfied with uncomfortably close views of some very large New Zealand Sea-Lions. It was after dark that night before we weighed anchor and set sail for our next destination, the Antipodes Islands.

The stormy weather was now behind us, and conditions were ideal the next day for sea-watching from the deck. This day we recorded an incredible total of 28 species of tubenoses, including no less than ten forms of albatross. The highlights included our first Antipodean Albatrosses, at least 100 Southern Royal Albatrosses, 200 Campbell Albatrosses, a Buller's Albatross, two Grey Petrels (a scarce bird at this season), over 100 White-chinned Petrels, our first Fulmar Prions (identified with the aid of digital photographs!) and at least 30 Grey-backed Storm-petrels. We also came upon our first of several schools of Long-finned Pilot Whales.

The sea-watching was just as good the next morning as we approached the Antipodes Islands, and produced at least 20 Antipodean Albatrosses along with several Little Shearwaters and five more Grey Petrels. We finally dropped anchor in Anchorage Bay on the sheltered north-east side of the main island in early afternoon, and soon had the naiads in the water for a cruise along the shoreline. Our main targets here were the Erect-crested Penguin, which breeds only in the Antipodes and Bounty Islands, and the Antipodes Island Parakeet, which is confined to the Antipodes. The penguin was easily found; indeed, there were about 77,000 pairs breeding on Antipodes Island in the mid-1990s. We had some extremely close views of several hundred of these very fancy penguins in a sheltered cove near the northern tip of the island, along with a small number of Rockhopper Penguins which also breed here. The Antipodes Island Parakeet was much more of problem. We spent some time checking patches of fern and tussock grass along the steep slopes and eventually found a few Red-crowned Parakeets of the endemic race hochstetter i, but only a few of us were lucky enough to see an Antipodes Island Parakeet from the wobbly naiads.

It was a relatively short voyage to our next destination, the Bounty Islands, and by dawn the next morning we had already arrived at these isolated granitic rocks, the smallest of New Zealand's Subantarctic islands. The scene that awaited us was quite spectacular – a group of low-lying rocky islands seemingly devoid of vegetation and entirely covered in breeding sea-birds and fur seals. We quickly boarded the naiads and moved in for a closer look. Salvin's Albatrosses and Erect-crested Penguins were present in their thousands, and allowed extremely close approach. In 1997, there were an estimated 30,750 pairs of the former and 28,000 pairs of the latter breeding on these tiny islands. Amongst the masses of albatrosses and penguins, we picked out about 100 Bounty Island Shags, the entire population of which breeds on these islands and numbers only some 500-600 pairs. We also had great views of hundreds of Fulmar Prions, which unusually for a prion visit their cliff nesting sites by day. Here for the first time we encountered large numbers of New Zealand Fur Seals – a species that was almost exterminated by sealers in the 19 th century but is now recovering well under protection. We rounded off our short visit to the Bounty Islands with a session of ‘chumming' as we moved slowly away from the islands. The rotting squid that we tossed overboard were clearly irresistible to the Salvin's Albatrosses, and within minutes we had hundreds of these gorgeous beasts squabbling in our wake, only a few feet away. As the Bounty Islands slipped away behind us, we settled down to a great afternoon of sea-watching. The sea was now relatively calm and conditions were ideal for spotting cetaceans. The first of these was a real surprise – a Blue Whale which passed quite close to the ship. This was by no means as large as Blue Whales can get, and was presumably an individual of the small subspecies brevicauda , known as Pygmy Blue Whale. Soon after, we came across a big school of Long-finned Pilot Whales accompanied by about 50 acrobatic Southern Right-Whale Dolphins, and around tea-time, a group of five Gray's Beaked Whales surfaced just in front of the ship. There were also plenty of birds about, including ten Little Shearwaters, several Broad-billed Prions and 12 Soft-plumaged Petrels.

The next day also turned out to be a great day for sea-watching, as we steamed towards the Chatham Islands. The highlight came early on in the day, just after most birders had gone below for breakfast. To the astonishment and delight of those few remaining out on deck, a beautiful Magenta Petrel passed within about 50 yards of the ship and stayed long enough for photographs. Such was the significance of this sighting that the Captain turned the ship around and spent some time circling in the area where we had seen it, but although we poured fish-oil onto the sea in an attempt to lure it in, the bird never re-appeared. With an especially vigilant bunch of birders out on deck for the rest of the day, we built up an impressive tally of tubenoses including Wandering, Gibson's and Antipodean Albatrosses, our first handsome Chatham Albatrosses, several Buller's Albatrosses presumably of the northern form (Pacific Albatross), ten Great-winged Petrels of the form gouldi (Grey-faced Petrel), and at least 200 attractive little White-faced Storm-petrels. It was also a good day for cetaceans, with close views of two huge Sperm Whales and another mixed school of Long-finned Pilot-Whales and Southern Right-Whale Dolphins. By late afternoon, we had arrived at Pyramid Rock, the southernmost of the Chatham Islands and only breeding site for the entire world population of Chatham Albatrosses. We slowly circled the rock, ‘chumming' as we went, and enjoyed wonderful views of thousands of albatrosses sitting on their nests, circling over the top of the island and squabbling for food only feet away off the stern of the ship. A truly magical experience! Later we moved the short distance to South East Island where we dropped anchor for the night.

Next morning we were up early for a naiad cruise along the shore of South East Island, home to several of the world's rarest birds. Almost immediately, we spotted several Pitt Island Shags, and as we approached the shore we found our first Shore Plovers, definitely one of the world's rarest and most attractive waders. It took us a little longer to find the other rare wader on this island, the Chatham Island Oystercatcher, but eventually one flew past and we found another resting on a boulder beach. There were about 100 attractive White-fronted Terns nesting on the low cliffs and several Blue Penguins swimming about offshore, while Red-crowned Parakeets and Tuis flew about over the woodland. Later, as we cruised along the east side of Pitt Island, we had good flight views of ten Chatham Island Shags. The weather was now very pleasant, with bright sunshine and calm seas, and as we had some time in hand, our Expedition Leader decided to launch the naiads for an unscheduled cruise along the shore of Mangere Island. It was on this island that the intensive recovery programme for the Black Robin was initiated in 1976, when the last seven individuals were transferred here from neighbouring Little Mangere. Thanks to the calm conditions, we were able to bring the naiads close in under a small patch of woodland, and here, quite remarkably, some of us caught a glimpse of a Black Robin. We were also very fortunate in seeing at least six Forbes's Parakeets, another extremely rare Chatham Islands endemic confined to Mangere and Little Mangere islands, as well as four more Chatham Island Oystercatchers, two more Shore Plovers (recently introduced from South East Island) and a couple of Chatham Island Warblers. It was not until early evening that we finally left this remarkable island and headed off across the Chatham Strait towards the main island.

When we awoke the next morning, we were at anchor off Waitangi, the capital of the Chatham Islands. Soon after breakfast we went ashore, and after a quick look at the Pitt Island Shags in the harbour and Welcome Swallows by the jetty, boarded a small fleet of buses which took us across rolling grassland dotted with cattle and sheep to a forested gully near the south end of the island. Here we soon found several large, colourful Chatham Island Pigeons and a number of diminutive Chatham Island Warblers along with several Silvereyes. A pair of sturdy Wekas appeared near the bus as we were having our picnic lunch and then, well satisfied, we returned to town to check out the small visitor centre, handicrafts store and local pub. By mid-afternoon, it was time to set off on the long voyage back to Dunedin on the east coast of South Island. As we headed south-west out to sea, we saw three more Chatham Island Shags, but the rest of the afternoon produced little of note other than about 100 Salvin's Albatrosses, our last Chatham Albatrosses and 20 Buller's/Pacific Albatrosses.

The first of our two full days at sea en route to Dunedin was a beautiful sunny day with only a light breeze. For those of us not sun-bathing, the sea-watching was very rewarding, producing about 15 Cook's Petrels and a good selection of more familiar tubenoses including six Antipodean Albatrosses, a Light-mantled Sooty Albatross and at least 25 Grey-faced Petrels. It was also a good day for cetaceans, with another Sperm Whale, two groups of Long-finned Pilot Whales, a small school of Southern Right-Whale Dolphins, and a couple of groups of unidentified beaked whales. Our final day at sea, however, was a day of thick mist and calm seas. For most of the day, sea-watching was hopeless, and even when the mist cleared in the evening, it appeared that there were very few birds about, the only bird of note being a close Cook's Petrel.

We arrived off Taiaroa Head at the entrance to Otago Harbour in the middle of the night, and then at first light, took the pilots aboard for the highly scenic cruise up the narrow harbour into Dunedin. There were still plenty of birds about, including our one and only Pied Cormorant, several Royal Spoonbills, a pair of Paradise Shelducks and a few Variable Oystercatcher, but all those wonderful albatrosses and penguins of the Subantarctic islands were now just a memory – something precious to take home with us at the end of a truly remarkable trip.