30 Nov 2015

Chatham Islands Days

Calm and clear weather made a welcome appearance during our time in the Chatham Islands where we began by spending a pleasant few hours exploring the native bush in the privately owned Awatotara Reserve. This magnificent stand of trees harbours many native species including the critically endangered Chatham Island pigeon or Parea. We followed the track down to the beach, pausing regularly to listen to the birdsong and take photographs. Some of our group also visited the conservation area of Sweetwater where they were able to see the rare Magneta Petrel.

Back aboard the Spirit of Enderby we set a course for ‘The Horns’ to look out for Magenta Petrel at sea but this search proved unsuccessful. Off Pyramid Rock the following day however we attracted five species of Albatross – Chatham Island, Southern Royal, Northern Royal, Buller’s and Salvin’s.

A Zodiac cruise along the coast of the protected nature reserve on South East Island yielded some good sightings of New Zealand Shore Plover, Little Blue Penguins and White-fronted Terns (some with chicks). At sea we spotted an assortment of Right Whale Dolphins, Orca and Long-finned Pilot Whales all in close proximity. Then a pod of Dusky Dolphins and some Sperm Whales passed by as Oceanic Bottlenose Dolphins escorted the ship while we sailed away from the Chatham Islands towards the sunset.