02 Jan 2024

An epic adventure on Enderby Island

We awoke to find Heritage Adventurer in the sheltered water of Port Ross as we headed for today's destination, Enderby Island. Our Expedition Leader Cheli had explained our three options for adventuring; a full-day hike around the Island, a full-day ashore at the Northern Cliffs and along the boardwalk that bisects the Island from Sandy Bay, or a morning Zodiac cruise with the afternoon ashore. There were no bad options.

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and collected packed lunches before getting started. The long walkers departed and were the first to see the New Zealand/Hooker's Sea Lion colony on Sandy Bay beach with beachmasters, harems and pups. They continued around the coast to find the amazing wildlife and the wild places on offer. After lunch, they came to the boardwalk to meet the all-day boardwalkers who had taken the option to spend the full day in the vicinity of the beach and walking through the superb Megaherb plateau full of Bulbinella Rossii, Anisotome Latifolia, Gentians and so much more. Nesting Southern Royal Albatross provided company arriving at the Northern Cliffs as we witnessed soaring Light-mantled Sooty Albatross.

The Zodiac cruisers had the morning along the basaltic columns of the shoreline finding Yellow-eyed Penguins, Auckland Island Shags, and flightless Teal. Some made the slightly splashy crossing to Rose Island and spotted a New Zealand Falcon and Rockhopper Penguin. After lunch on board Heritage Adventurer, they headed ashore to join the other groups.The afternoon sunshine along the central boardwalk and Sandy Bay beach provided spectacular wildlife no matter which direction you turned.

It was an amazing day on Enderby Island, as we all chose our favourite way to explore this isolated paradise in the Auckland Islands.

Images © F. Wardle