28 Jan 2022

Magical Day at South West Cape, Auckland Island

This morning we woke to a fine day and chorus of bellbirds on Spirit of Enderby's anchorage between Adams and Auckland Islands.

First off the ship were 22 walkers who were Zodiac shuttled to a kelp-covered rocky platform on the northern side of Victoria Passage to spend the morning clambering up a steep hillside to view the White-capped Albatross colony.

The spectacular sight included a series of precipitous cliffs interspersed with steep hillsides covered in flowering megaherbs and dotted with albatross nests. Hundreds more albatross soared around the ridges and ravines against the stunning backdrop of Victoria Passage and the sheer volcanic buttresses at the western end of Adams Island.

The rest of us took a Zodiac cruise through Victoria Passage during the turn of the tide and out around South West Cape. Gibson's Wandering Albatross soared alongside us as we bobbed on the heavy oceanic swell, their scale and bulk like small planes.

Around the corner a cloud of White-capped Albatross soared above cliffs rising vertically from the sea for 200 metres and a waterfall dissipates into wind-driven spray.

On our way back to Spirit of Enderby we explored a huge sea cavern with four separate entrances, before retreating back to the calm waters and birdsong in the lee of Adams Island.

Image from file © T.Kraakman, Heritage Expeditions