52°32′24″S 169°8′42″E
Around midmorning, Campbell Island appears as faded blue teeth on the horizon, snaring clouds and floating in and out of sight. I’ve slept late, photographed birds, and spent most of my morning on the bridge, enjoying the rhythmic sway of the ship. The island is a mirage that slowly resolves itself into the rugged island that stole my heart – gold-green tussock, stark cliffs of black, white, and ochre rock. The sky is heavy with cloud, the sun lancing through occasionally to paint the landscape with light.
I’m on the stern and the sea heaves. One second there’s nothing but sky, and the next a wall of water chases up behind us. Tiny Storm-petrels skid along the surface, completely at ease on the writhing ocean. There are birds everywhere, welcoming us as we run down the eastern coast. At the start of this journey I would have been terrified by the steeply tilting deck. Now I’m comfortable wedged against the railings, both hands on the camera to follow petrels and albatross as they skim past the ship.
The wind is high, snatching frothy white caps from the vivid water. In the distance, near Bull Rock, seabird swirl in their millions. Just out of sight without binoculars, there’s a chaos of wings in the sky. They thrive in these windy conditions, using the power of the gale to lift them effortlessly across the sea and sky. What it would be to soar so easily across the ocean, I can barely imagine.
The closer we come to Perseverance Harbour, the more Campbell Island shags appear. Flapping furiously in the gale, or ducking under the choppy sea – they’re all fat from feeding in the rich waters around the island.
Looking up Northeast Harbour, the island is a patchwork of sun and shade. Northeast Harbour was once the location of a whaling station, one of two on Campbell Island during the early 1900’s. Catches were declining, and by 1914 whaling was no longer profitable on the island. Nor were the conditions for teams living there particularly pleasant.
Campbell Island is the southernmost of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, rugged and battered by the Southern Ocean. The temperature sits at around 7°C all year – dropping to an average of 4°C in winter and 9°C in summer. The wind is a constant, and on roughly 100 days every year the wind can exceed 50 knots. Perfect for seabirds, not so much for people! Campbell Island is an Important Bird Area, because it is vital for the breeding of both seabirds and endemic land birds – the Subantarctic Snipe and Campbell Island Flightless Teal.
Sunlight breaks through heavy cloud to gild the wings of a Northern Giant Petrel, soaring around the ship. They’re ugly birds, but graceful. Do they enjoy the feeling of riding the high winds over the ocean? It’s something we may never know, but I like to think they do.
