16 Nov 2018

Back to Nature in the Auckland Islands

Image (c) K Ovsyanikova

Day four of our voyage saw us arrive at the Auckland Islands' Enderby Island, a location that never fails to impress. Free from introduced pests, Enderby Island is home to Yellow-eyed Penguins, numerous New Zealand (Hooker's) Sea Lions and a wide range of birdlife including the Southern Royal Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Auckland Island Shag, Flightless Teal, Banded Dotterel and Tomtit, Bellbird, Pipit, Red-crowned Parakeet and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross.

Our birders were delighted at being able to tick off all the endemic birds on offer and, in a very special moment for many, the Auckland Island Snipe. A number of our group also tackled the 9km journey around the island before heading back onboard Spirit of Enderby.

The next morning we enjoyed a pre-breakfast Zodiac cruise around Musgrave Inlet and, despite the windy conditions, were rewarded with amazing views of the Eastern Rockhopper Penguins nesting along the northern shoreline.

Later, as we approached the entrance to Carnley Harbour the wind began to calm and the birdlife on offer was a sight to behold with the majestic Gibson's Wandering Albatross a definite highlight for many. The late morning/early afternoon was spent at the South West Cape where energetic expeditioners scaled the Cape to the Shy Albatross colony and witness the thrilling sight of White-capped Albatross on nests among the tussock, while the remainder of the group enjoyed a Zodiac cruise beneath the colony and around the Subantarctic megaherb meadow of Fairchild's Garden on Adams Island.