Foveaux Strait

tony
February 6, 2016
birds / New Zealand / Subantarctic / travel

White-capped Albatross turning at the height of it's arc to glide down to a wave — White-capped Albatross turning at the height of its arc to glide down to a wave

Leaving Bluff was like finally being able to take a deep breath of fresh air on surfacing from a deep dive. The pre-Christmas and New Year rush of urgent surgery to complete and the hot weather had left me longing to be on deck with a cold wind in my face and scanning the sea for birds. Finally it was real and the transition was abrupt with a White-capped Albatross seen as we were leaving the harbour. A strongish southerly had a created a decent swell so instead of the usual route directly south past the eastern side of Stewart Island we headed west along Foveaux Strait to use the lee of the island before turning south and taking on the swell more directly. This gave us a more gentle introduction to the trip with a stable dining room for dinner of hot smoked salmon starters, Blue Cod mains and Apple Strudel dessert. After dinner we had some lovely opportunities to photograph the birds, Stewart Island and the last light of the day.

The quick turnaround was challenging for Edin who just that morning had arrived in port with her shipmates that had included an enthusiastic group of bird photographers but was now in an environment that included the same ship and crew but otherwise a crowd of strange faces. It took some adjustment for her but she managed it well and was soon sharing the knowledge she had gained in the previous trip and making new acquaintances.

Edin adjusting to a familiar environment full of strange faces

There was a continual parade of Albatross (Southern Royal, Whitecapped and Bullers), Petrels (Northern Giant and the ubiquitous Cape) and Shearwaters to practice flight shots and the occasional seal and dolphin in the water to try and track and time a surfacing shot. It seems there were not quite as many rabid bird photographers as on the previous trip but along with Edin and I, Tui De Roy, Richie Robinson and Mike Potts had the subspecies adequately represented on deck.

White-capped Albatross skimming low along the face of a wave

New Zealand Fur Seal porpoising in the wake

Too soon we had lost the light and it was time to hit our bunks with fingers crossed for a calm arrival at the Snares in the morning. The plan being to Zodiac cruise these remarkable islands that have never been invaded by pests so are effectively unchanged and as a result host countless seabirds and, most exciting of all, are home to the endemic Snares Penguin. That will be the subject of next week’s post.