14 Jan 2016

Snares Festival

Sitting inside the lifeboats as we cruised past Stewart Island was not where some expected to be, but all part of the drill for life aboard ship and the required safety precautions. The weather was kind for our first night at sea and the dinner superb, but the race was on to get to our first destination ahead of the forecast 35/40kt northerly winds. This meant an early wake-up call was in order and everyone piled into the five Zodiacs for a pre-breakfast cruise of the Snares Islands. As far as Snares visits go, we got the lot. The penguin slope, deep caves, Tomtits, the mass feeding of Cape Petrels, nesting Buller’s Albatross, fighting New Zealand Fur Seals, seal pups, Snares Crested Penguin chicks heading out for their first swim and even sunshine! The wind was increasing and the barometer dropping rapidly as dolphins escorted us back to the ship where we demolished a mighty breakfast. All lectures and presentations were cancelled for the afternoon as many headed to the library for music and fun hanging on for the ride in some big seas as we made our way towards the Auckland Islands.