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 that.

The next day was a full excursion day on land, at Enderby Island. I had opted for the “photographer’s walk” across the island via a boardwalk. This ended up being about 6km return (there is also a full circuit of 11km). We landed on Sandy Beach, where a welcoming committee of some 20 sea lions was ready to get a closer look or sniff. They can be quite aggressive, although it is said that "99% of their charges are mock charges." The expedition team kept them at a distance using hiking poles.

We had landed next to the scientific station; we had been forewarned to give the residing scientists their space and especially not use their picnic bench. But guess what, they had built an extra one for the tourists, which we were happy to use since you are not allowed to sit down anywhere on the island due to biosecurity regulations.

The station is next to “Penguin Alley”, a restricted area where the shy Yellow-Eyed Penguin has the right of way. Humans may only cross with a guide and when there are no penguins in sight. We had to backtrack halfway on our first attempt, and wait half an hour or so before the three penguins that came out had made up their minds whether they wanted to go to the sea today or not.

The rest of the hike was more peaceful, although we encountered a few more resting sea lions in the bushes on, or right next to, the trail. The main plateau of Enderby Island consists of scrub, bogs, grassland and plants. This is the area where you can find the two flagship species of the Sub-Antarctic Islands WHS: the megaherbs and the nesting albatrosses.

The albatrosses that nest here are the Southern Royal Albatrosses. With a wingspan of 3m, they have nothing to fear and sometimes just make their nest next to the path. This is also a fine spot to observe their partners gliding in the wind when they go between the nest and the sea: they’re gigantic but elegant.

We saw some other birds as well, even the smaller ones, not shy of people at all. But the stars along the trail are the megaherbs. I never knew I could get excited about plants! The megaherbs are plant species that, because of the remoteness of the place they exist, just overdo it: too colourful, too big. There are also no animals on the island that eat them.

The main megaherb flowering at the moment is the Ross lily. They colour the northern part of the plateau yellow due to their abundance. But the pink Campbell Island Carrot, also made a presence, and will soon take over. We also saw our first examples of "giant cauliflowers": the Macquarie Island cabbage.

At the other end of the boardwalk, we reached the coastline and its Northern Cliffs. There we found a bench to sit on, large enough for 20 people or so, which was very welcome to eat our packed lunches. We were blessed to have a sunny day, with a temperature of about 14 degrees Celsius. On this walk, we were accompanied by the birding guide and the botanical guide of the expedition team, but we could walk around at our own leisure as long as we stayed on the paths.

Not far from it, high up against the cliffs, another albatross species makes its nest. These are the Light-mantled Sooty Albatross. With their grey plumage, they are very well camouflaged against the grey rocks. We found three albatrosses nesting close to each other, each on a small heap of sand.

On the way back, we followed the same route across the island, but it was still magical. It's a landscape I had never seen before, supplemented with the Galapagos-like behavior of the few but distinct animal species. We made a short detour to Stella Hut, a wooden shack made for castaways in 1880. This was one of the so-called castaway depots that were built by the New Zealand government across the islands to provide shelter to castaways and survivors of shipwrecks (which happened frequently). There, they could find some warm clothing and food. A government steamer would sail by now and then to look for survivors.

Back at the beach, we found the biggest beachmaster among the sea lions was putting on a real show in full sight. He kept rolling himself in the sand until he was fully covered by it. From mid-November onwards, they behave this way to attract as many females as possible that are about to land to give birth and to mate just a few days afterwards.

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 swells had been high all day, so it was unclear whether we could go into the zodiacs and see the islands from up close. But fortunately, we could, although we got quite wet in the process. Only this way were we able to spot hundreds, maybe thousands of Snares Penguins across several rocks. We also saw New Zealand Fur Seal and New Zealand Sea Lion resting ashore. We even got close enough to spot some land birds. The scenery is very eroded with a lot of sea stacks and caves.