2182: Unseen Fiordland, Stewart Island and the Snares 30 January 2021

DAY 1 Saturday 30th January

After checking in to the Hilton in Queenstown, where we would spend the first night of the voyage getting to know each other, excited expeditioners from around the country met up for a welcome dinner where we met some of our expedition team for a brief introduction and welcoming speech outlaying the adventure awaiting us.

DAY 2 Sunday 31st January

After rising for an early breakfast at the Hilton in Queenstown, we joined the bus to Te Anau. Lindsay Thorpe commentated throughout the journey, and highlights included his ability to distinguish at least 4 types of cow and explaining how Siberian pine reached New Zealand. Mount Titiroa, near Lake Manapouri, was our first site of granite – a striking white igneous rock that formed (crystallised from magma) approximately 10kms below the Earth’s surface deep beneath an ancient volcano. After a quick stop in Te Anau, we pressed on to Milford with short stops at the Mirror Lakes and then Monkey Creek. The steep surrounding Darran Mountains are made of diorite, which is also an igneous rock crystallised at great depth.

At Milford, we enjoyed a cruise out to the mouth of the sound, learning that it was in fact not a sound but a fjord. The prominent U-shaped topography of the sides of the fjord were formed by repeated periods of glaciation that sculpted the surrounding diorite during the transport of ice out to the Tasman Sea. After the last glaciation (~20,000 years ago), Milford Sound would have filled with fresh water but as ice sheets melted globally, the sea flooded this lake and formed a marine fjord. Having soaked in the significance of glaciation, the next stop was a visit to the underwater observatory in Harrison Cove. It was hard to believe that we were viewing what exists 10-metres beneath the surface where the fjord reef colony developed beneath the freshwater layer comprises abundant starfish, snake stars, coral and fish. From there, the day nearly done, the team was whisked from the observatory to the Spirit of Enderby by Zodiac.

Once aboard and cabins located, there was a lifeboat drill and then an introduction to the expedition team – Aaron Russ (Expedition Leader), Katja Riedel (Assistant Expedition Leader), Julia Mishina (Cruise Director), Robert Bester (Medical Advisor), Lindsay Thorpe (Chef), Lance Canning (Chef), Courtney Rayes (Marine Biologist), Lindsay Wilson (Ecologist) and James Scott (Geologist). As we cruised out towards Anita Bay, we were joined on the bow by an inquisitive pod of dolphins. There was then a bit of bar time (without the dolphins), and then dinner (also no dolphins invited). With the promise of good weather ahead, most people settled down for the night and were rocked gently to sleep by the low swell of the Tasman Sea. The boat weighed anchor at midnight and travelled through the night to Thompson Sound, reaching it at 0700 hours.

Day 3 Monday 1st February

Dawn - the promise of good weather had not eventuated and it was drizzling. However, it’d be a rare trip without rain in Fiordland, and even then it is beautiful - the mountains were clad in a light grey mist that only accentuated our remoteness. The Spirit of Enderby moored at Blanket Bay at the intersection of Thompson and Doubtful sounds and, with breakfast done, we reconvened for a Zodiac tour along the southern shoreline of Secretary Island through the Gut Marine Reserve and out to Shelter Islands. The waves were calm, the birds calling to one another and the Southern Rata was in bloom; it wasn’t hard to imagine Captain Cook and his crew seeing the same view and remarking to another about the beauty of it (well, as much as ship hands in the 1700s ever would’ve remarked on the beauty of something to one another…).

As the morning progressed, the drizzle ceased and the clouds peeled back to reveal the stunningly steep glaciated mountain topography. We headed back to the ship in increasingly improving weather. The ship then moored at Open Cove. Lunch, then back into the Zodiacs for a cruise of the northern shore of Thompson Sound. Stops included a short trip up the Pandora River and then a wander along the beach at the river mouth. The friendly sandflies generously accompanied us on both trips.The Zodiacs then split, with one group of the expedition taking up Lindsay’s offer to “walk straight up a hill, shake out the cobwebs, and get to the top without a view but at least have the satisfaction of getting to the top” and the others instead opted for exploring around Deas Cove Hut observing stingrays in the bay, examining some of the debris from the August 2003 landslide that only just missed wiping out the hut, and feeding the sandflies. The weather was now fine and it was warm. Back on the ship, and there was a presentation at the Bar on the geology of Fiordland from James, who explained the difference between granite and diorite and that these intruded 500 million year-old marble, sandstone and mudstone. The team then headed for the restaurant for Linzy and Lance’s next feast. The ship weighed anchor early in the morning and pressed on to Dusky Sound. The sun set on nearly clear sky and mostly calm waters.

DAY 4 Tuesday 2nd February

During the night, the ship had weighed anchor and we awoke opposite Breaksea Island at the mouth of Breaksea Sound to calm waters and a pale pink sky. Breaksea Island was the first island in the world to have predators removed – by the intensive method of using baited trap lines. The ship then cruised down Acheron Passage (east side of Resolution Island), where some people learned about the rocks of this area that international geologists come to study - this being that the exposure today represent rocks that formed ~70km below the Earth’s surface.

We moored in Facile Harbour near Pigeon Island. From here, the team was split into two groups. The first had a Zodiac trip to Pigeon Island, where there was an opportunity to imagine the work undertaken by Richard Henry, the famous Kakapo conservation ranger. Remnants of his hut and punga aviary persist today. There was a walk through the bush to view the southern side of Dusky Sound. Here, the wind was whipping up white caps, and the dark clouds shrouded the mountains. Lindsay discussed the flora and fauna of the island. Richard Henry worked here for 12(!) years, largely by himself. However, being less tolerable of the sandflies and less durable to the light drizzle than Richard Henry ever was, we left after an hour or so. The second Zodiac group visited the site of the first European shipwreck in New Zealand – the Endeavour (but a different ship to Cook’s Endeavour) – and then there was a lecture on the geology exposed on a remarkably steep bluff (fyi: metamorphic gneiss intruded by granite). The groups then switched over and we returned to the ship for lunch (yum, as per usual).

Back on the Zodiacs, we were treated to impressive performances by fur seals, Mohua and Saddlebacks around Anchor Island’s Luncheon Cove – site of Captain Cook’s lunch one day (clearly he was getting bored of generating names, with further evidence being the naming of the spectacular Wet Jacket Arm because one day he went outside and got a wet jacket). Luncheon Cove is also the site of the first ship built on New Zealand (1790s). Returning to the bar, I mean boat, the team were treated to a geological quiz led by 10-year old Anneliese Russ, who was also named the best-looking geologist on the boat much to the disappointment of James the geologist. Courtney gave a lecture on the different kelps of the fjord, even showing how one of them could be cut open and used as a bag to store food. Dinner (yum, but not from the kelp), and off to bed.

DAY 5 Wednesday 3rd February

Dawn revealed Dusky Sound with heavy overcast skies but calm waters. After breakfast, the ship moved to the northern side of Anchor Island at Anchor Island Harbour. The Zodiacs were then launched and we were dropped on the northern side of Anchor Island. The team was split into those that were eager to experience the Fiordland mud by tromping across the island to Luncheon Cove, and those that didn’t and instead had a shorter walk to Lake Kirirua and back. Anchor Island is remarkable for containing roughly half the known population of Kakapo. Although none were seen, bird life was abundant, especially on the northern side of the island, with penguins, Mohua, Saddleback and shags spotted. For the group travelling across the island, Lindsay talked about the history of its formation as a bird sanctuary, demonstrated how stoat traps work, and talked about the regeneration of the vegetation as a result of the removal of deer. Anchor Island is clearly a very special place and provides a rare glimpse of what Fiordland might’ve been like had it remained predator-free. We speculated that Lake Kirirua was glacially formed, and that it has (or had) multiple drainages before stabilising at its current level.

In the afternoon, it was back onto the Zodiacs for a visit to Astronomer Point. This small patch of bush was cleared of forest in the 1700s so that astronomical measurements could be made to enable characterisation of latitude. We then dashed across the sound to Indian Island, where a small family of Maori met with Captain Cook. The term “Indian” was given to the Maori by Cook. This enchanting area had two small harbours, with the Maori living in Indian Cove. This visit was followed by a bit of bird spotting (penguin, tern, gull) and then a short look at the vast volumes of water pounding over a waterfall emanating into Cascade Cove. After this it was back to the ship, which was moored in Pickersgill Harbour.

There was a short pre-cap of the Snares flora, fauna and rocks in the bar by James. In honour of Hugh and Dale’s 20 years of marriage, John Adam wrote a poem titled “Journey to the Snares”. Spirit of Enderby weighed anchor after dinner and we headed down the coast as the sun set over Dusky Sound and the remote western coast of Fiordland.

DAY 6 Thursday 4th February

First light found us at sea, cruising through a moderate swell in the Southern Ocean. Some hardy people ventured outside before breakfast to observe the birdlife (albatross, petrel. prion), while others preferred the view from the comfort of the Bridge. The Snares / Tini Heke (the official name) is a lonely island dominated by granite, with a steep western side and a gentle eastern side. Due to the SW swell and the SE wind, we chose to Zodiac cruise the foreboding NW coastline of North East Island. Birds landed next to the Zodiacs, skimmed overhead, or just paid us no attention. Albatross circled the granite cliffs and up close it was evident that the cliffs were highly fractured and clearly collapse every now and then. Back on board, Captain Pruss then took us for a tour around the east side of the island, past Penguin Slope, Station Cove and to Broughton Island. The vegetation of The Snares / Tini Heke changes dramatically from Hebe and tussock at the forest margins adjacent to the sea almost immediately giving way to a canopy of pale green Olearia where the peat has developed.

Despite the occurrence of Southern Rata on Stewart Island to the north and the Auckland Islands to the south, there is no sign of this species on The Snares / Tini Heke. During the last glacial maximum, when the seas were about 80-metres lower than today due to ice caps and glaciers holding large volumes of water, North East and Broughton islands were probably linked as part of a larger island.

Lunch was had cruising back towards Stewart Island. Lindsay’s lecture on his work on the restoration of Fiordland ecosystems was very interesting – so much, that the questions he was asked lasted almost the length of his 45-minute talk! Katja spoke about how the albatross can fly using air currents. It was then dinner, and the Spirit of Enderby pulled into and moored at Paterson Inlet sometime during the night.

DAY 7 Friday 5th February

Dawn found us in clear weather in Paterson Inlet. After breakfast, the Zodiacs were launched to Ulva Island. Two of the groups had a guided bird tour by either Ulva or Leah, and the third group walked around the island making their own observations on plants, birds and rocks. The birdlife was stunning (Saddleback, Mohua, Kakariki, Rifleman, Weka to name a few), a fact that was emphasised when we walked on the comparatively barren Stewart Island in the afternoon. The complex vegetation under the main canopy on Ulva Island shows what the NZ native bush could look like if there were no deer. Sobering thoughts, really. It was back to the boat for lunch, and then back onto the Zodiacs to Kaipipi Bay for a wander through the native bush and back to Oban for a few hours. By this time, the Spirit of Enderby had moved to Halfmoon Bay. Having walked the streets of Oban before convening at the pub, we were taken back to the ship for a beautiful photo-summary of the trip by Steve, followed by a delicious five course meal by Linzy and Lance, and then more food and celebration in the bar.

We retired to our rooms fed, watered, and very satisfied with the trip, with only the passage across Foveaux Strait that night to take place before people spread their wings and headed back to their home seas.