NEW ZEALAND'S SUB-ANTARCTIC ISLES - Megaherbs Adventure - Redfern Adventures

NEW ZEALAND’S
   SUB-ANTARCTIC ISLES
              Megaherbs Adventure

                                       Unique Polar Wildlife
New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands are home to a completely unique range of sub-polar animals and plants.

In addition to unique species of albatross, penguin and seal found only in New Zealand’s sector of the Antarctic,
these islands are home to the MEGAHERBS!

No other group of sub-polar islands (neither in the Arctic or Antarctic) have anything comparable to the
megaherbs. In stark contrast to the diminutive plant life across the rest of the Sub-Antarctic (e.g. South
Georgia’s tussock grass or Svalbard’s tunda), New Zealand’s Sub-Antarctic Islands have giant, colourful flowers
(with scapes up to 1.5 m long!) that bloom together and en-masse!

               Join this expedition to see New Zealand’s unique albatrosses, penguins, seals
                           timed at the peak flowering period of the megaherbs!

Mass Flowering!
The megaherbs evolved in response to the unique climate, soil and the lack of herbivores on New Zealand’s
Sub-Antarctic islands. These plants are an example of island gigantism, similar to the Galapagos tortoises that
evolved under similar isolated conditions and due to the absence of carnivores.

After visiting these islands, the great botanist Joseph Hooker (Charles Darwin’s close friend) described the
mass flowering of the megaherbs as “a floral display second to none outside the tropics”.

We will visit at exactly the peak time of the megaherbs’ mass flowering. Many of the megaherbs have huge
leaves that function like greenhouses to trap warmth from sunlight. Key species include:
 Bulbinella rossii (Ross Lily): this clump-forming plant has strap-like and succulent leaves, growing to 60 cm
 with bright yellow flowering spikes are carried on stems up to 90 cm high.
 Anisotome latifolia (Campbell Island Carrot): bears pink flowers in huge clusters which can reach 75 cm
 across, on stems up to 1.5 m.
 Pleurophyllum speciosum (Campbell Island Daisy): forms an enormous rosette, up to 1.2 m across, of huge,
 broad pleated leaves. It bears pinkish-purple to pale lilac flowers with maroon centres, held on flower stems
 up to 60 cm tall.
 Pleurophyllum hookeri and Pleurophyllum criniferum (two giant button daisies): these plants reach 90 cm
 in height and with broad leaves. The flowers of P. hookeri are crimson whilst those of P. criniferum are black.
 Damnamenia vernicosa (Black-eyed Daisy): bears white flowers that are 5 cm tall.
 Stilbocarpa polaris (Island Cabbage): grows in clumps to 90 cm tall with fluted, rhubarb-like leaves and lime
 green flower clusters up to 60 cm wide.

Sea Birds and Marine Mammals!
This voyage to New Zealand’s Sub-Antarctic Islands is as much about animals as it is plants. We will see a wide
range of sea birds and marine mammals, many of which occur nowhere else on Earth.

Among the many highlights are New Zealand fur seals, New Zealand sea lions and Southern elephant seals. At
least ten species of whales and dolphins are also known from the waters of these islands, including a population
of over 2,000 southern right whales.

New Zealand’s Sub-Antarctic Islands are home to rookeries of yellow-eyed penguins, southern rockhopper
penguins and the erect-crested penguin, as well as the wandering albatross, the light-mantled sooty albatross, the
Antipodean albatross, the southern royal albatross, the light-mantled albatross and the white-capped albatross, as
well as the black-browed mollymawk, the grey-headed mollymawk, the brown skua and the northern giant petrel.

Across the Auckland Islands we are likely to see many of the one million pairs of sooty shearwaters that live there,
as well as the red-fronted and yellow-crowned parakeet, the New Zealand falcon, bellbirds, pipits and an endemic
subspecies of tomtit. Other endemic birds include the Auckland shag, the Auckland teal, the Auckland rail and
the Auckland snipe.

On Campbell Island, we may encounter the endemic Campbell teal, the Campbell snipe, the sooty shearwater, the
grey petrel, the white-chinned petrel, the endemic Campbell Island shag, the grey duck, the southern skua, the
southern black-backed gull, the red-billed gull, the Antarctic tern, the song thrush, the common blackbird, the
Dunnock (hedge sparrow), the New Zealand pipit, the white-eye, the lesser redpoll, the chaffinch, and the starling.

THE PLAN
Very few visitors get to explore New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands each year.
The Redfern Team has planned and prepared this expedition for four years. We have chartered a specialist
expedition yacht which a highly experienced skipper and crew and secured an expert guide to make this
voyage possible. As with other polar expeditions which we organise, our use of a small expedition ship will
allow an up close and personal experience exploring these incredible places. The charter yacht we have secured
for this voyage is a “working vessel” usually used for research expeditions. While perfectly comfortable and
specifically designed for polar research voyages, she is not as luxurious as large cruise ships, but the ideal
ship for this trip. By using her, we can go where the big cruise ships cannot visit, we will have flexibility in
our itinerary to adapt our plan depending upon weather conditions, group interests and wildlife movements!
Please email the Redfern Team for a detailed overview.

    COST: NZ $9,450 (New Zealand dollars) per person = approx US $6,200, GB £4,750 or EUR 5,550.
    START POINT: Bluff, New Zealand
    END POINT: Bluff, New Zealand
    GROUP SIZE: 6-10
    DATES: Monday, November 23rd, 2020 to Saturday December 5th, 2020 (13 days / 12 nights)
    Note: These dates are the peak flowering time of the megaherbs (and ideal for the sea birds and marine
    mammals).
    Starting on a Monday and ending on a Saturday also means participants can fly to New Zealand during the
    starting weekend, and fly home during the ending weekend (so only 10 week days are required).
             Email sales@redfernnaturalhistory.com for more information and to make bookings.

                                                  SIMPLIFIED VOYAGE ITINERARY

                                         Start / End:
                                            Bluff

                                              Auckland
                                                Islands
                                                                                                Campbell
                                                                                                Islands

THE MEGAHERBS

PHOTOS FROM NZ SUB-ANTARCTIC ISLANDS

ITINERARY
GETTING THERE AND AWAY:
Our start point / end point is the settlement of Bluff in the south of New Zealand’s South Island. Bluff is located
near Invercargill and Dunedin (which can be easily reached by flights from Auckland).

ITINERARY SUMMARY
It is impossible to prepare a daily itinerary for polar expeditions due to the fluid nature of charter trips. The
expedition will have a clear set of defined objectives and target locations to visit for each location, which will
be accomplished as efficiently as possible depending upon weather contrainsts and wildlife movements. As a
group, we will continually discuss the itinerary throughout the trip, and adjust the plan to fit our collective
interests, priorities and what we succeed on observing (or wish to focus on further). Our extremely experienced
crew and guide will be always at our disposal to offer advice. That said, we will work with the following plan
with the primary goals of (a) experiencing the megaherb 2020 en-masse flowering event and (b) the key sea
bird and marine mammal sites.
  November 23rd and November 24th: we depart Bluff and sail towards the Auckland Islands (approx 1.5
   days of sailiing).
  November 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th: we explore the Auckland Islands to see megaherbs, seals, penguins,
   albatross colonies and whales. We spend a full day on Enderby Island and explore Port Ross and the
   old settlement. We journey down the east coast of the Islands, visiting a spectacular cave, a lake, several
   waterfall inlets, and the spectacular Carnley Harbour. We explore key albatross colonies and penguin sites
   (especially the yellow-eyed penuin).
  November 29th: We sail from the Auckland Islands to Campbell Island.
  November 30th to December 3rd: we explore Perseverance Harbour, explore fjords, have the option of
   many walks and hikes of varying length, can explore the old whaling station and cauldrons, lots of key
   wildlife sites, and the stunning landscapes of the Northwest Bay.
  December 4th and 5th: we sail back to Bluff on New Zealand, aiming to arrive mid-afternoon on the 5th.

THE MEGAHERBS