05 Dec 2022

Into The Snares of the Subantarctic

Just before daybreak we awoke aboard Heritage Adventurer to glimpse at the north-eastern views of The Snares / Tini Heke.  With its rugged cliffs and low-lying, tree daisy covered hills, our appetite for exploration grew as we marvelled at the stunning backgrounds and countless sea birds soaring in all directions.

Soon after we embarked on our Zodiacs and cruised along the calm Southern Ocean towards Ho Ho Bay. As we cruised along the bay we passed colonies of aptly-named Snares Crested Penguins with their striking yellow eyebrows, dotting the rockface as we ventured further south towards Mollymawk Bay. Here many clusters of petrel rested on the water's surface, however our attention was promptly drawn back to the island where a Snares Fernbird was foraging through the soil and leaf litter.

We also spotted Snares Tomtits foraging through loose kelp while skua and terns nested on the cliff face above. Sailing north, a detour to observe Hooker's/New Zealand Sea Lions basking on the shore led us towards a tunnel and a vantage point to observe Sooty Shearwater nests and the megaherb Stilbocarpa polaris or Macquarie Island Cabbage.

Chaos ensued for the animated wildlife traversing the treacherous Penguin Slide which made for incredible viewing as large numbers of penguins navigated the 'slide' with varying degrees of success as a Hooker's/New Zealand Sea Lion swam towards the main causeway.

After returning to the luxurious surrounds of Heritage Adventurer, we sailed down past Broughton Island towards the Auckland Islands with a pod of Dusky Dolphins providing a short escort towards our next adventure.

Images on file: (c) M.Kelly, Heritage Expeditions