Habitats - The Southern Ocean

Come on a journey across the vast Southern Ocean

The jouney home - Campbell Island

New Zealand's magnificent subantarctic islands. Wildflowers galore and albatross everywhere!

Leaving the ice behind, we have about three days at sea, filling our lungs with fresh air and watching the myriad of sea birds flying above the ocean.

Campbell Island (map) is one of the cornerstones of New Zealand’s Subantarctic World Heritage Site – a place recognised internationally by UNESCO as having outstanding natural ecosystems and species.

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A royal albatross

As with every other stop - we are mindful of possible weeds and spreading disease - so we wash our boots in the bleach baths on the deck before and after going ashore. The New Zealand Department of Conservation is well recognised as a leader in pest eradication, and constantly works on the removal of pest species from these magnificent islands. Rats have been successfully eradicated from this island.

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Sheltered from the wild weather, Perseverance Harbour has been a stopping point for Antarctic explorers for hundreds of years. These days this lonely outpost has only occasional visitors, researchers and weather observers.	These two slides were taken 30 minutes apart. Looking towards the southwest, the weather moves quickly in these parts! Campbell Island has wind gusts of 63km (35 knots) about 280 days per year. Wind gusts in excess of 96km/hr occur on at least 100 days per year.
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The vegetation reflects the islands harsh climate. The forest is dwarf and very dense. The soils are peaty, acidic and waterlogged and support an array of large leafed plants known as "megaherbs". All three species of Pleurophyllum daisies may be seen standing out amidst the tussock and alpine like vegetation.	The magnificent flowers of the daisy, Pleurophyllum speciosum.	We huddle behind the tussock and wait for the action to come to us! We must stay at least 25 metres from the albatrosses so we will not disturb them.
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High on a ridge a royal albatross flies past me. With a wing span of around 3 metres, these huge birds are awesome to watch in the air! Despite being so large, they have amazing control over the movement of their wings. When they begin braking you can hear the wind rushing over their wings as they "curve" them in preparation for landing.	We are amazed by just how big the foot prints of the royal albatrosses are.	Thousands of New Zealand albatrosses are being accidentally caught and killed on longline fish hooks. We learn how new fishing practices, different baiting methods and technological solutions are needed to reduce the toll.

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Find out about:
	Macquarie Island - scientists and sealers
	Sea Ice and bergs - What is the difference?
	Cape Adare - an historic hut on a windswept shoal and one or two penguins!
	Possession Islands - covered with Adelie penguins
	The journey home - Campbell and Auckland Islands


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