New Zealand and Australian Sub Antarctic Islands

Macquarie Island

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.

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.

Cape Petrel and Buller’s Albatross nest on the imposing cliffs. You are also likely to encounter Antarctic Terns, White-fronted Terns, Red-billed Gulls, Tomtits and Fernbirds.

On the rocky shores you will also find New Zealand fur seals as well as New Zealand (Hooker’s) sea lion.

Enderby Island

Enderby Island is part of New Zealand’s Auckland Islands archipelago.  Like Macquarie Island Enderby is another Island that had introduced species removed just much earlier; in 1994 cattle, pigs, rabbits and rats, just as with Macquarie the recovery was very noticeable.  Enderby has three endemic species the Auckland shag, Auckland teal and Auckland snipe.  Yellow-eyed penguins also nest on the island’s forests as do red-crowned parakeets.  The island is also home to ‘megaherbs’ in this case the stilbocarpa robusta.

Campbell Island

Although for 215 days of the year Campbell Island only receives one hour of sunshine per day, it should not be held against it. As the only permanently inhabited island of the Sub Antarctic region, Campbell Island has an interesting history. In 1895, the New Zealand government thought it was feasible to use the island as farmland and although it was tried and tested many farmers were unable to bear the remoteness of the island and left. The then mayor of Gisborne advertised the island as a place for whaling and for 7 years hunters came for the rare and now protected southern right whales. The only evidence now of the once farming land is the 1100 sheep which are restricted to certain areas of the island. The desolateness of the island is also proven by what the Guinness World Record’s has awarded as the “loneliest tree on earth”. But the baron land is made famous by the megaherbs that grow throughout the island during summer, which colours can be seen up to 2 kilometres from shore.

Chatham Island

The Chatham Archipelago consists of one large island and numerous smaller islands and rocky islets. Only two of the islands are inhabited. They represent New Zealand’s eastern most territory. The islands were originally settled by East Polynesians. In the 1400s the population became isolated and interestingly developed its own distinct culture. The islands were discovered by Europeans in the 1790s. Sealers and settlers followed and then in the 1830s Maoris from New Zealand invaded killing and enslaving many of the indigenous people.