1565: Forgotten Islands of the South Pacific 15 Dec 2015

Day 1 - Tuesday 15 December 2015 Bluff The little town of Bluff in the far south of New Zealand is the gateway for voyages into the Southern Ocean. With only 2,100 inhabitants it is very small, but it has its own oyster festival and colourful houses are picturesquely nestled against the windy hillsides. When our bus arrived at the port we saw our ship the Spirit of Enderby waiting for us at the pier. After walking up the gangway we were welcomed aboard by hotel manager Graceie and members of the expedition team led us to our cabins. Once we had settled in we had time to explore the ship and enjoy fresh scones and hot tea or coffee in the bar before we met expedition leader Rodney in the lecture room. He welcomed us aboard and introduced us to the team, the two chefs Robin and Andy, the expedition staff of Chris, Rachel, Mitch and Katja and also to the recipients of an Enderby Trust Scholarship. Graceie explained the finer details of ship life and at 5pm it was time to cast off and sail south. We watched with much excitement how the pilot got off the ship in very rough and challenging conditions. As Bluff disappeared in the distance we knew our adventure had finally begun. Later we all met in the lecture room again and listened to the life boat and safety briefing. Afterwards it was time to dress warmly, don our bright orange lifejackets and head to our assigned lifeboats. We had the dubious experience of climbing into them and felt how crammed and uncomfortable they would be if we had to use them. Let’s hope we will never see them from the inside again! The bar was opened in the evening and we could meet our fellow travellers over a beer, wine or lemonade. Dinner was served earlier than usual today and with glasses in hand we headed to the dining room. Despite increasing ocean swells the chefs had cooked a fine dinner for us. Sometimes big waves would hit the dining room windows and make the whole ship shudder so most decided it was time to retreat to the cabins and get some rest. Getting our sea-legs could wait until tomorrow.  Photo credit: K.Rees Day 2- Wednesday 16 December 2015 Nearly the Snares Islands This morning we were woken by Rodney’s voice telling us we had arrived at The Snares as planned, but that the wind was blowing at 25 knots from the south. Not the greatest conditions for any activities here. Nevertheless after breakfast we met in the lecture room to learn about safe behaviour in and around the Zodiacs. These trusty black rubber boats would take us ashore or enable us to get closer to wildlife during a Zodiac cruise. At the beginning of the briefing Rachel showed us a Broad-billed Prion that had crash landed on the ship. During the night birds sometimes get disoriented by the lights of the ship. This one was a beautiful light grey bird with – as the name implies – a very broad bill. The reason for this is that the bird feeds on krill and its beak contains baleen plates just like the jaws of a whale, only much smaller. Since we are not permitted to land on The Snares, the plan was to go for a Zodiac cruise this morning. We found some shelter in the lee of Broughton Island, but it was still very rough. After launching three Zodiacs the captain decided that the conditions were too rough and that it wasn’t safe to continue, so all boats and drivers were heaved back on board. At least while bobbing around in the confused seas we had seen a few Snares Crested Penguins and several albatross species. Now we could head south towards the Auckland Islands. The swell soon increased and the ship started to roll so not many came to Rachel’s lecture about her research on Mottled Petrels. For her PhD thesis she studied chick growth and found that in 2013 when conditions were shaping up for the current El Niño the adult birds had to fly long distances to feed their chicks on krill, prey with a much lower food value than their usual diet of small fish. The results were smaller chicks which fledged below the average adult weight and size. After lunch Mitch gave us important tips on how to distinguish the different albatross and mollymawk species. Bill colour and the leading edges of the wings were important things to watch out for when trying to identify the albatross. Sometimes differences were quite subtle and we can only hope that the albatross will glide past us slowly enough so that we can look for their eye colour and black lines on their beaks. To prepare us for arrival at the Auckland Islands next day Rodney gave a presentation, telling us more about the colourful history of these islands including Maori and English attempts to settle there, the various ship wrecks and the Coast Watchers during the Second World War. As sea conditions improved more and more people were up, enjoying the views from the bridge and watching sea birds that were following the ship: Buller, Campbell, White-capped, Southern Royal and Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, flocks of Cape Petrels and also White-chinned Petrels.   Photo credit: H.Ahern Day 3- Thursday 17 December 2015 Sandy Bay, Enderby Island Very early in the morning the movement of the ship decreased significantly. We had arrived in Ross Harbour in the Auckland Islands. On previous maps the harbour was sometimes called ‘Sarah’s Bosom’ for reasons that were as obvious to us as to sailors of past centuries - it is comfortable and sheltering. After breakfast Rodney prepared us for our first landing. He talked about Enderby Island, our walking options and the biosecurity measures we would have to take before going ashore. In order to avoid the introduction of foreign species to the island we had to vacuum our clothes, backpacks and camera bags and remove all seeds, any plant material or soil and dip our boots in an herbicide called Vircon. After gathering a tasty lunch from the goodies that Robin and Andy put on the counter we were ready to go ashore. For many of us that was our first Zodiac ride and it was very exciting. We landed at Sandy Bay and right at the landing site we could see Yellow-eyed Penguins and Hooker’s Sea Lions. The first sea lion pups of the season had arrived and between dark massive males and honey coloured sleek mothers we could make out the cute little pups with white whiskered faces. A wooden sign in the shape of a pointing finger was found on the beach, a relic from the shipwreck era when these signposts pointed to castaway depots. From the beach we walked inland on a boardwalk and were blown away by the sights of Wandering Albatrosses, the bright yellow megaherb Bulbinella rossii and the well camouflaged Auckland Island Snipe. During a short rest stop at the end of the boardwalk we enjoyed views of the rugged western side of Enderby Island. Here our ways parted and while some returned to the landing site via the boardwalk, others took the 13km long hike around the eastern side of the island. Although it was strenuous we really enjoyed the exertion. The sun was out and walking through the fields of megaherbs with yellow Bulbinella rossii, purple Anisotome latifolia and yellow-green Stilbocarpa polaris was just fantastic. The area was also teaming with wildlife. Sea Lions, Fur Seals and even three Elephant Seals were spotted. Overhead Subantarctic Skuas were chasing gulls, endemic Auckland Island Shags labouredly flew past and pairs of Light-mantled Sooty Albatross showed off their beautiful synchronous courting flight. Spotting the flightless Auckland Island Teal was for some the highlight of the day. The landscape changed a lot during our walk, from megaherb fields, to coastal scenery with steep cliffs, rock pools and kelp forest to the beautiful stunted Rata forest and hebe scrub, through which we had to find our way back to the landing site. Light rain started to fall as we departed from this very special island. Back on board we excitedly exchanged tales of our adventures over drinks at the bar. Just after dinner Rodney brought a Black-bellied Storm Petrel that had landed on the ship into the dining room. To avoid any further bird strike we closed all portholes and reduced ship lights to a minimum.  Photo credit: H.Ahern Photo credit: H.Ahern Photo credit: R.Sagar Photo credit: R.Sagar Day 4 – Friday 18 December 2015 North Arm, Carnley Harbour We stayed at anchor in the calm waters of Ross Harbour for most of the night which made for lovely quiet sleeping conditions. At 3am we lifted anchor and sailed along the east coast of Auckland Island to the entrance of Carnley Harbour, arriving at around 6:30am. Rain showers over the western hills didn’t look promising for our planned landing at Southwest Cape and after breakfast Rodney and the captain decided to turn back towards the North Arm instead. After a short briefing we boarded the Zodiacs and went for a cruise. From the boats we could see the dense Rata forest along the coastline with an undergrowth of Dracophyllum. We really felt for any castaways who had had to make their way through this jungle. Sometimes megaherbs like Anisotome antipoda and Pleurophyllum criniferum were dotting the shores. Curious Sea Lions stuck their heads out of the water to watch us as we passed by and we saw endemic Auckland Island Shags perched on some of the rocks as two White-fronted Terns circled above us. Our first stop on this cruise was the ‘Erlangen clearing’. In 1939 with war imminent, the German merchant ship Erlangen sneaked out of Otago Harbour to the Auckland Islands. Here the crew laboriously cut 235 tons of Rata wood as fuel for the ship’s boilers in order to make it to Nazi-friendly South America. Today large tree stumps can be seen standing tall between Rata regrowth. From here we followed the coast, stopping at an old finger signpost which pointed to the castaway depot at Camp Cove. Figure of Eight Island which we visited next is the third biggest breeding colony for the New Zealand (Hooker) Sea Lion. Sadly we didn’t see any females or pubs, but an adult male came to check out our boats. The bird song of Bellbirds and Tuis drifted across to us from this predator free island. Next we headed to the wreck of the Grafton. In 1864 this schooner left Sydney and in a violent storm was washed ashore in Carnley Harbour. The crew of five built a small hut where they eked out an existence for 18 months before three of them sailed in the ship’s refitted dingy to Stewart Island to arrange a rescue. The remains of the Grafton and the hut can be still seen today. While the hut is now only a pile of rocks, those who have read the accounts of Musgrave and Raynal, two of the survivors, found it very moving to stand at this historic place. As soon as everybody was back aboard, the Spirit of Enderby left for Campbell Island. In the afternoon Katrina from Forest and Bird gave a talk about Sea Lion conservation. Numbers of the Hooker Sea Lions, one of the rarest sea lions in the world, have been steadily declining in recent years. Research has shown that female death was the deciding factor for population decline, not pup mortality as was originally assumed. Most likely trawl fishing for arrow squid is to blame, since Sea Lions get caught in the net and drown. Of all the Sea Lions caught in squid fishing nets, 58% are females. This problem leading the decline of the species continues to concern conservationists. Later in the afternoon Rodney gave a talk on the history, the wildlife and the fauna of Campbell Island to prepare us for the next day. He himself was involved with shearing the last sheep and re-discovering the Campbell Island Teal on Dent Island in 1975. A wonderful sunset ended this day with albatrosses sweeping over the waves in front of blood red clouds. Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions Day 5 – Saturday 19 December 2015 Northwest Bay and Perseverance Harbour, Campbell Island This morning we woke up in the calm and shelter of Perseverance Harbour which was named after the ship that was wrecked here in 1829. After a briefing and the obligatory quarantine vacuum cleaning we had two options: The energetic and fit hikers went with Rodney and Chris to Northwest Bay while the more leisurely group took a Zodiac cruise stopping at all the historic sites in the upper part of Perseverance Harbour. First we cruised past the old buildings of the Met-Station that was built here in 1957 and vacated in 1995. Ticking off a Campbell Island Teal on the way we went to Tucker Cove where an Elephant Seal was snoozing in the tall grass. We got out of the boats to have a good look at him, but were chased by a quite territorial Sea Lion. After explaining that they never bite when you just ignore them, the Sea Lion proved Mitch wrong and nipped him in the backside! No blood was drawn and we all had a good laugh. Just around the corner we went ashore again to look at the site of the old homestead. Here the old stove can still be seen sitting rusting out in the open amongst grass and Bulbinella rossii. Back in the Zodiacs we cruised around to Camp Cove where the ‘world loneliest tree’ grows. This Sitka Spruce tree which was probably planted by Lord Ranfurly at the beginning of the 20^th century, became the donor of several Met service Christmas trees. We passed Venus Cove where the French Transit of Venus Expedition set up camp in 1874. During the whole morning we were followed around by Sea Lions, some of them feisty and aggressive, some playful and curious. Along the shoreline we spotted endemic Campbell Island Shags and Black-backed Gulls, some of them sitting on their nests. After a sandwich lunch on board we set out again. This time we landed at the old boat ramp of the Met Station, nearly running over an Auckland Island Teal which paddled around the wharf. In brilliant sunshine we walked up the boardwalk which took us through Dracophyllum scrub dotted with yellow Bulbinella rossii, past nesting Southern Royal Albatrosses to a viewing platform at an altitude of 190m. From here we could watch the magnificent albatross in flight and a group of four adolescent birds that started gamming. They pointed their beaks to the sky and ecstatically flapped their wings. This was obviously the albatross equivalent of a disco where young birds were flirting with each other trying to find a partner. Another 500m of boardwalk brought us to a saddle from where we could look to the eastern side of Campbell Island. Rugged Dent Island was sitting in the glistening ocean while Southern Royal Albatrosses wheeled overhead. It was breath-taking! Nobody really wanted to say good-bye and walk back to the landing site, but we had to. So how did the hikers get on? The group of 15 who set off to Northwest Bay were promised a day of megaherbs, albatrosses and exploration as reward for their efforts, climbing at least twice to 200m altitude. The poled route took them around several coves with resident Sea Lions, thorough tall Dracophyllum and onto ‘the tops’ with tussock and fields of megaherbs. The view into Northwest Bay, along the rugged coastline and outlying islands, including Dent Island, was truly magnificent and a feast for the photographers. Dropping down the ridgeline into in a deep ravine combined with some short lasting hail-showers made for pretty messy walking, but nobody minded. During the lunch stop at Capstan Cove there were Sea Lions, Elephant Seals and even a Leopard Seal for entertainment. A sojourn led them to a small field hut at Northwest Bay. While traversing the tussock slopes many snipes were spotted and a good part of the afternoon was spent lying in the tussock grass observing Southern Royal Albatrosses as they swooped just meters overhead or reinforced their pair bonding by bill clapping. After the descent to the coast the hikers waited to be picked up by Zodiac. Some were quite tired and looking forward to a shower and to sit down and relax. The chefs had again prepared a fantastic meal which was devoured gratefully. After that it was bedtime and in our dreams we would glide through the sky like an albatross.  Photo credit: H.Ahern Photo credit: K.Rees Photo credit: R.Sagar Photo credit: R.Sagar Day 6 - Sunday 20 December 2015 Mt Honey and Perseverance Harbour, Campbell Island and at sea towards Bluff For a few the wakeup call this morning was at 5:30am. The goal was to climb Mt Honey which at 569m is the highest point of Campbell Island. It was an overcast day but not very windy, so very good conditions for walking. The climbers first followed a trail through the scrub then ascended the tussock slopes. Here the Pleurophyllum speciosum was already in bloom. Weevils were climbing Bulbinella rossii and Auckland Island Snipe scuttled away when a heavy footstep disturbed them. There were great views on the way up, but the summit was cloaked in clouds. Nevertheless attaining the summit was a great achievement for those who mustered the energy and they could claim to have climbed the highest peak on the island. While the climbers were on their mission others had another chance to walk up the boardwalk to watch albatrosses or join a Zodiac cruise in Perseverance Harbour. At noon everybody was back on board and as soon as lunch was finished the captain lifted the anchor and we steamed with full speed northwards towards Bluff. We were running from a north-westerly storm that was forecast to arrive the following day so the more miles we could cover today the shorter would be our misery tomorrow. On our way we passed Bull Rock at the northern tip of Campbell Island where thousands of Campbell Island and Grey-headed Albatrosses are nesting. With sadness we saw the cliffs of Campbell Island disappear in the distance, it had been such a special time. We also realised how lucky we had been with the weather. On Campbell Island it rains on average 300 days a year and we had managed two sunny days! In the afternoon Chris told us about his remote upbringing at George River on the west coast of New Zealand between Milford Sound and Haast. His family lives two days walk from the nearest road, grows their own vegetables and fish and hunt for food. Driftwood is used for heating and solar panels provide power. Money to buy things that can’t be sourced from the land comes through selling landscape paintings by Chris’ father, Possum rugs, made by his mum and greenstone carvings. It is a lifestyle that many desire, but only a few dare to live. Rodney then took us on a journey through Chukotka in the north east of Russia. Over the last two years he and three others have driven their snowmobiles hundreds of kilometres through the remotest areas of Chukotka, staying with reindeer herders and friendly locals. He has been interrogated by police, slept out in a blizzard after he lost his tent, eaten Polar Bear meat and experienced boundless hospitality and friendship. He hopes to continue this adventure again in the coming years. Since sea conditions were still very calm we had an enjoyable an uneventful dinner which was followed by that Kiwi favourite dessert, Pavlova. Photo credit: R.Sagar Photo credit: R.Sagar Day 7 – Monday 21 December 2015 At Sea enroute to Bluff Today there was a lot of movement outside in the ocean and very little movement inside the ship as the expected storm hit us in the morning. The pitching and rolling of the ship steadily increased between 7 and 8am making for quite challenging conditions at the breakfast buffet, but the ever hardworking staff were on hand to bring plates and cups to the tables. Having successfully mastered breakfast, many retired to their cabins to read a good book or doze away the sea-sickness. The outside decks were closed, but whoever felt fit enough could stagger up to the bridge and watch the waves crashing over the hull of the ship. It is amazing how much power is in these waves. Sometimes they made the whole ship shudder under the impact. At the lunchtime the dining room was only half full as many opted to forgo another fight with the food. Others who managed to wobble into the dining room enjoyed chicken curry and blueberry muffins. We take our hats off to chefs Robin and Andy who manage to cook under these extremely challenging conditions. Luckily by the time Graceie asked everybody to come to the bar to settle their ship accounts in the afternoon the wind had eased off a bit. Rodney gave us information about the disembarkation next day and thanked the whole team. It was interesting to hear from the Enderby Trust Scholarship recipients what they considered to be the highlights of the trip. They ranged from lying in the tussock while watching the albatross, experiencing the megaherb fields, walking to Northwest Bay and finally visiting their study object, to the biggest birthday cake ever. Everybody agreed that it was a fantastic trip and that we were extremely lucky with the weather. The slide show that Rachel put together reflected this and happily we relived these moments of our voyage. We got together for the last time over dinner and enjoyed another fantastic meal of lamb or salmon that Robin and Andy had prepared for us. There was not much more to do than pack, exchange contact details and ride out the last bit of the storm before going to bed.   Day 8 – Tuesday 22 December 2015 Port of Bluff We had reached the final day of our expedition. The pilot came aboard at 7am and soon after we were alongside the same pier in Bluff that we had left eight days ago. But in these eight days we had visited incredible places, watched animals so close we would have never believed, learned a lot and made new friends. We shared unique moments, we talked and laughed together. The memories of this trip will last a lifetime. After one last look at the Spirit of Enderby, the ship that had taken us and delivered us safely back from such a wonderful voyage, we said good bye to Rodney and his team and boarded the bus back to Invercargill and our regular lives. “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”   (T.S. Eliot) Thank you all for such a wonderful voyage, for your company and enthusiasm. We hope to see you again in the future, wherever that might be! Trip Log Compiled by: Katja Riedel