02 Dec 2017

Albatross & Petrels Galore

2 & 3 December

The first Galapagos of the Southern Ocean expedition of the season has kicked off in style, leaving from Dunedin through the stunning heads of Otago Harbour, flanked by Otago Shags, and cruising through calm seas toward the tip of New Zealand.

Last night we rounded the tip of Stewart Island and made our way into the Southern Ocean and unfortunately the weather has turned just slightly since our last expedition. The increased swell and wind made for a bumpy arrival to The Snares where, unfortunately, we couldn’t undertake the Zodiac cruise we had hoped for. We made a few passes close in to the islands though where Snares Crested Penguins came and investigated the ship and we could see a couple of large groups on the shoreline. A superb adult Grey-headed Albatross provided another distraction, as did the huge number of Pintado Petrels, Diving Petrels and albatross of 6 species.

This afternoon was more comfortable as we turned southwards toward the Auckland Islands and we expect to arrive in serene Port Ross in the early hours of tomorrow.