The most southerly of the five New Zealand Subantarctic Islands, the Campbell Island group is volcanic in origin and also has glacial landforms, such as moraines. In the 19th century, it was exploited for sealing and whaling, and a sheep farm was established. All these activities and associated humans have since gone, and rats were eradicated in 2001. Ecologically, Campbell stands out as the most important breeding area of the Southern Royal Albatross and the reintroduced flightless Campbell Island Teal.

Perseverance Harbour zodiac cruise

Clouds gathered around Campbell's hilltops when our ship arrived in the early morning. We were scheduled to take a zodiac cruise in Perseverance Harbour, but it looked like it would be a wet one. So far, we have been very lucky with the weather on this trip, with sun and calm circumstances at the main stops such as Enderby Island and Macquarie Island. At Campbell, we were going to experience what the weather is usually like on the islands: foggy, windy, wet.

We started the Zodiac cruise in light rain, but we still enjoyed it enough to look out for the Campbell Island specials. First, we dropped by a group of sea lions hanging out together. A bit further down the coast, we saw a large male trying to push a female into a rock so she could not escape him to mate.

Along the shore, we saw a few Campbell shags and some interesting megaherbs. This natural harbour is also home to an odd tourist …

The volcanic Auckland Islands lie close to each other, separated by narrow channels, and the coastline is rugged, with numerous deep inlets. Traces of Polynesian settlement, possibly dating to the 13th century, have been found here. There are current research efforts, including with drones using LIDAR, to uncover more evidence of this. The Europeans later used some of the islands as a base for whaling and sealing, and altered the ecosystem via the introduction of invasive species. A massive eradication project is ongoing.

We had a rough night and morning getting there from The Snares, as there was a wind of up to 70 km/h. I slid from one side of the bed to the other all night long, but fortunately did not get seasick. The Aucklands are a much larger island group than The Snares. We first went into Carnley Harbour – but the weather was rough here too. The expedition team killed the time with some presentations, including one by albatross researchers, which we then dropped off on lonely Adam’s Island. The ship then sailed back to the Northern part of the islands, where we first set foot on the Subs on the main Auckland Island. The soil is very peaty, so we were happy with the gumboots provided. This island is covered in trees, mostly one species (Southern Rata). It has seen some unsuccessful attempts at human habitation, notably at Hardwicke settlement. We visited the small cemetery, which is a grim reminder of …

The New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands (shortened to NZSAI by scientists, or The Subs by its admirers) are a seldom-visited collection of five island groups lying between New Zealand’s South Island and Antarctica. Their climate is mild and wet: you will find no permanent snow, and icebergs are only encountered floating by once every few years. What they do have is an exceptional diversity and abundance of birds, high levels of endemism due to their isolated locations, ‘megaherbs’ and rich flora in general, and also outstanding marine fauna species.

The only way to visit them is on an expedition cruise. Two larger companies offer one or two sailings yearly. I went with Heritage Expeditions on their “Galapagos of the Southern Ocean” cruise in November 2025. We visited 3 out of the 5 included island groups: The Snares, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Islands.

The Snares

Although closest to the New Zealand mainland, the Snares have the highest conservation status (unaltered by man or invasive species) and landings are forbidden. Key natural features include extensive forests (its landmass is actually a geological extension of the South Island’s Alps, and the flora resembles what the mainland looked like before human settlement) and significant seabird breeding populations.

We approached the islands around lunchtime on our first day of cruising. I had spent some hours in the morning with the birding crew, and managed to get pictures of the most common seabirds that hang around here such as the Pintado Petrel and the first albatrosses. The …