By Bob Zuur
WWF-New Zealand Marine Advocate
This voyage has been blessed with moderate seas and winds and so we were ahead of schedule. Not many of us wanted to get home to lawns and emails before we really had to. So Rodney and Gareth took us on a detour via the Antipodes and Bounty Islands to Lyttelton.
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Bob Zuur is a marine biologist who is spending a month exploring Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic Islands to raise awareness of the area and its importance. His current work with WWF focuses on fisheries, offshore oil exploration and seabed mining, and on increasing protected areas in our marine environment. He will be documenting his travels here on 3news.co.nz.
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The Antipodes Islands are on the opposite side of the planet to London, hence their name. At a distance of 870km they are also the furthest from the South Island.
In the early 1800s, the islands had the reputation as one of the richest sealing grounds in the world. Over a two year period, nearly 200,000 seals were killed. A few years later, the seals were largely gone and the sealers moved south.
Although there was no farming as such, attempts were made to liberate livestock to supply food for shipwrecked sailors. Unlike the Auckland and Campbell Islands, the Antipodes could not support livestock. As a result, these islands are largely predator free. The only pests are mice, which despite their cute appearance are voracious predators of insects and even of chicks. It'd be great if we could get rid of them!
Landing on these islands requires a special permit and so we cruised the shoreline in the Zodiacs. "Crusing" is perhaps a euphemism, as the large swells and strong breeze sent buckets of seawater across the passengers.
A small colony of erect-crested penguins huddled together near the shore waiting for their summer feathers to be replaced by a new winter coat. Fur seal pups played in the waves. Sheer cliffs plunged a hundred metres down into deep azure blue water. Overhead, Antipodean albatrosses wheeled in the gusts. This incredible scene epitomised New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands.
As we returned to the Spirit, I glanced back at the others in the Zodiac. David, who had put our critical communications system together. Another David who helped filming the events. Gareth and Rodney, the leaders of the expedition. Sarah, a skilled science communicator. Hunter and Radar who recorded the voyage on video so that others could share our adventures. Floyd, always provided ideas, energy and enthusiasm. And Adam, who knows everything about seabirds and can drive a Zodiac in atrocious seas. I felt privileged to be part of this team.
source: newshub archive
