29 Dec 2024

Ensnared by the beauty of the Snares Islands

Smooth seas welcomed us to The Snares Island group, the first stop on our Beyond Fiordland and Forgotten Island of the South Pacific adventures. With such pristine islands, no landings are allowed, so we boarded our Zodiacs for a two-hour cruise along the dynamic coastline. The sights, smells and sounds of the Snares Crested Penguins tumbling and hopping from the ocean to the forest won't be forgotten. The famous ‘penguin slope’ didn’t disappoint, with hundreds of penguins slipping and sliding down the sheer granite rock face as we watched in awe on our Zodiacs. The endemic Snares Island Tomtit and Fernbird were seen by many, and New Zealand Fur Seals were aplenty, hauled out on the rocks and showing off their acrobatic skills in the water. 

After our rounds of Zodiac cruising, we returned to Heritage Adventurer. We took a ship’s cruise of the Western Chain, an impressive set of seemingly inhospitable rocky islands with fantastic seabird diversity. With the sun still blazing and calm seas, we set off further south towards Enderby Island, the next leg of our journey.

Images © R. Brown, Heritage Expeditions