27 Mar 2021

Sunrise and Sunshine at the Forty-Fours and The Sisters

Guests aboard Spirit of Enderby were the first in the world to be greeted by the sun this morning as we ship cruised the Fourty-Fours islands, New Zealand's easternmost point at 43.7-degrees at 0700 hours. Birds filled the sky as the first fingers of light crept over the horizon while rafts of Buller's Albatross congregated on its surface, washing and preening themselves for the day ahead.

Consisting of one main island (complete with archway running through its centre to the other side) and four rocky outcrops, Chatham Islands' outlying Forty-Fours are an important breeding site for the Chatham Fulmar Prion, Buller's and Northern Albatross with many observed nesting across the surprisingly flat top of the main island.
After breakfast we make our way to the northernmost of the Chatham Archipelago, a clutch of three islands known as The Sisters and location of the second largest breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatross (the Forty-Fours being the largest) under brilliant Chatham sunshine.

Rarely visited, these islands form a wildlife wonderland where Buller's Albatross chicks sit atop flowerpot nests, precariously built on ledges, and call out to the endless stream of passing birds hoping for a meal. Further up Northern Royals can be seen while White-fronted Terns and hundreds of New Zealand Fur Seals have claimed the smallest island. Its inland rock pools providing the perfect creche for the younger pups to learn to swim while the older ones porpoise around its perimeter riding the surges created by the endless waves.

We enjoy a magical passage through a towering canyon and under a gravity defying arch, long ropes of kelp reaching out to our Zodiacs on either side and once we are through Buller's Albatross join our flotilla, including a young Red-billed Gull which lands on Rod's head.

Dropping off five guests at Chatham Island, we begin our 2-day sea voyage home to the Port of Lyttelton at 1800 hours and following an excellent day's expedition cruising.

Image (c) I.Wilson, Heritage Expeditions