Cruise: The Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand and Australia

‘Unique’ is an overused word these days, but it can be rightly applied to these remarkable islands that lie between the Subtropical and Antarctic Ocean Convergences south of New Zealand. Each island group has its own character and its own avifauna—an incredible and under-appreciated diversity of life within a small area, akin to the more famous Galapagos Islands but dominated by seabirds.

Breeding species include three endemic crested penguins, nine endemic albatross taxa, six endemic shags, and even parakeets and pipits. The subtropical Chatham Islands have Shore Plovers, Northern Buller’s Albatrosses, and two endemic shags; the stark Bounty Islands hold almost all the world’s Salvin’s Albatrosses; the Antipodes have their endemic parakeet and Antipodes [Wandering] Albatross, plus Erect-crested Penguins; Campbell is home of the Southern Royal Albatross; Macquarie has millions of Royal Penguins, thousands of Southern Elephant Seals and King Penguins; Enderby Island in the Auckland group is a pristine jewel of restored island biodiversity; and the Snares have millions of Sooty Shearwaters plus Snares Crested Penguins.

The relatively short at-sea transits between islands are never dull, with up to ten albatross species accompanying the boat as well as good numbers of many other tubenoses.