17 Mar 2014

Pitt Island Flowerpot

It is the penultimate day of this expedition and of the 2013/2014 Southern season. It has been a rewarding and satisfying season with so much seen and so much achieved and this expedition was no exception.

During the last 3 days at the Chatham Islands we saw and achieved everything we set out to do plus many extras. We were blessed with some amazingly calm and clear weather that certainly helped. We Zodiac cruised in near perfect weather at South East Island and had close up views of the rare Shore Plover and Oystercatcher. We took the ship out to view the seldom visited Forty Fours, an island group to the north east of the Main Chatham Islands, and home to hundreds of Northern Royal and Buller’s Albatross. We spent the night at the historic 'Flowerpot' anchorage off Pitt Island and on Saturday morning were hosted by the Pitt Islanders who shared their unique history with us over a cup of tea. The weather remained calm enough that afternoon to Zodiac from Pitt Island to Mangere Island (a feat rarely achieved due to prevailing weather conditions). On Mangere Island everybody enjoyed great views of the rare Forbes Parakeet. Yesterday we were hosted by the Tuanui family at their private bush reserve on the south coast of the main Chatham Island where we enjoyed bush walks and birding in beautiful sunshine.