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New Zealand and Australian Sub Antarctic Islands

EXPEDITION CRUISES

New Zealand and Australian Sub Antarctic Islands

The sub-Antarctic is an area located immediately north of the Antarctic region, roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands in the southern parts of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, especially those situated north of the Antarctic Convergence.

There are about 20 archipelagos of sub-Antarctic Islands some like Tristan da Cunha, Crozet, Gough, Kerguelen and Amsterdam are infrequently visited, or solely explored by ships and traveller’s wanting to tick off rarely and perhaps site-specific wildlife; like the Eaton’s pintail on Crozet (which also has over 2 million pairs of macaroni and 700,000 pairs of king penguins penguins). Many Antarctic cruises visit the Falkland Islands（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/falkland-islands/） and South Georgia（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/south-georgia-cruises/）, here we take a closer look at Macquarie Island , Australia’s only sub Antarctica Island, and New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic Islands of: The Snares , Auckland and Campbell.

Despite the Islands being thousands of kilometres apart they have one very common aspect; they are home to incredible populations of seabirds, seals and plant life which is often unique to the Island or group of Islands.

Highlights

A Selection of ships

HIGHLIGHTS

Macquarie Island

GALAPAGOS OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN - HERITAGE ADVENTURER（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/portfolio_page/galapagos-of-the-southern-ocean-12-days/）

Macquarie Island is Australia’s only sub-Antarctic Island, despite being closer to New Zealand. It was claimed for Australia in 1810 and named after the NSW Governor Lachlan Macquarie, then was later transferred to the Colony of Tasmania. Fortunately for Australia, a request to transfer the island to New Zealand in 1890 was declined or we’d have lost this amazing Island. All that said, Australia and New Zealand worked closely on a pest eradication programme that successfully rid the island of rabbit and rodents.

In some ways Macquarie Island is like the Sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia; being home to millions of birds, fur and elephant seals. Several species are shared, like the wandering albatross and king penguins. Others are endemic to this small island such as Royal penguins and Macquarie shags.

King, gentoo, rockhopper and Royal Penguins can all be found on Macquarie Island. There are several species of petrel, shearwater and prions also nesting on the island, several of which have only recently returned to the island as a result of the pest eradication programme.

Rabbits were introduced to the island as a food source in the 1870’s – not long after rats and mice also colonised the island. In 2000, the feral cats that had also made the island home were eradicated, but this resulted in the rabbit and rodent numbers increasing significantly. The damage caused to the vegetation because of this led to land-slips, and rats preyed on the eggs and chicks of many burrowing bird species. After extensive lobbying, in 2010, the Australian government agreed to fund a $24.6 million eradication programme of the rabbits and rodents. By late 2011, it was announced that the island was free of rabbits and rodents.

Four species of seals make Macquarie their home, including 20-30,000 Southern Elephant seals, the largest of all seal species. Males tip the scales at 4,000kg, 20-30,000!

The seal industry, just like on South Georgia, almost wiped out the seal populations here – with over 200,000 seals being taken. Slowly, seal numbers have increased, and now several hundred Antarctic Fur, Sub-Antarctic Fur and Long-nosed seals can bee seen here. Occasionally Hooker’s Sea Lion will also be observed on Macquarie. They breed on the Auckland Island group but head to Macquarie to feed in the rich waters that surround the island.

Wandering, grey-headed, black-browed and light-mantled albatross breed on Macquarie Island. In the waters around the island, there is the chance to see several other species including white -capped, Chatham’s, Royal, and Salvin’s Albatross.

BIRDING DOWN UNDER - HERITAGE ADVENTURER（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/portfolio_page/birding-down-under-17-days/）

The Snares

Introduced land mammals were never established on the Snares, making it one of the most untouched and pristine areas in New Zealand. The Sooty Shearwater is the most populous bird on the Snares with over 2 million birds breeding here.

Snares Crested Penguins are endemic to the Islands with about 25,000 pairs.