21 Feb 2021

Expedition Cruising The Pyramid and Castle

Today we were treated to the nature documentary come to life that is The Pyramid with a double circumnavigation aboard Spirit of Enderby of this aptly named outcrop south of Pitt Island.

Part of the Chatham Islands archipelago, the basaltic columns that form The Pyramid are nesting places for the Chatham Island Albatross, a stunning bird with an apricot coloured beak and dark grey head. This lone rock is the only place in the world this species breeds and we saw thousands of them with every ledge covered with nests. Below, the lower rock shelves were occupied by hundreds of fur seals as waves crashed into the western cliffs creating dramatic clouds of spray.

For sunset we were close to the southern tip of Pitt Island and a jagged rock formation called the Castle on account of its outline of towers and turrets. Timed perfectly to coincide with a spectacular sunset, cameras worked overtime to capture the Castle's impressive silhouette against the blaze of orange along the horizon.

When dusk arrived another spectacle took place - the return of the Sooty Shearwaters or Titi to their nests. Suddenly the evening sky was full of them as they hovered over the top of the island, ready to crash land through the canopy.

Image © K.Riedel, Heritage Expeditions