SYNOPSIS
My visit to the auckland islands
One of the most fascinating nonfiction books that I have read about the southern ocean was Island of the Lost by Joan Druett, which documented the incredible tale of survival of the crew of the Grafton, which shipwrecked on the Auckland Islands in 1864. Ultimately, it was this book that inspired me to find my way to the Auckland Islands on board the expedition boat Heritage Adventurer with Heritage Expeditions. After departing from Bluff, New Zealand, on December 19th, 2022, we spent twelve days traveling through the subantarctic, making stops at The Snares, Campbell Island, the Auckland Islands, and Macquarie Island, described as its own chapter of the apart project.
The passengers on board were a mix of retired adventurers, photographers, scientists, bird watchers, and a few students. Some had joined to see very specific things (rare species of birds, for example), while others were happy to experience the islands and the Southern Ocean more passively. The expedition team members that organized and supervised our journey were incredible, consisting of a diverse mix of experts on everything that we would encounter on our route, including whales and sea birds, oceanography, geology, marine biology, and even the history of human interaction and conservation on the islands. Each day we were at sea, they held lectures to teach us about these topics so that we could better appreciate what we were seeing when we were on shore or on the water. The expedition team members were also our guides and resources at each stop, piloting the zodiacs that brought us to shore at each island, and pointing out wildlife and points of interest as we explored.
Heritage Adventurer
Millie, expedition team diver & marine biologist
Exploring The Snares by zodiac
Cheli, expedition leader & Captain Hans
The Auckland Islands were our last stop before heading back to New Zealand. As the islands are quite large and the number of people visiting each area is strictly controlled to minimize the human footprint, it was up to our expedition leader, Cheli Larsen, to decide exactly where we would go ashore and for how long. After we anchored in Carnley Harbour, it became clear to me that the majority of the passengers were interested in seeing the bird life on the islands, which was not my reason for coming. I pulled Cheli aside, and explained to her that my entire reason for coming on the trip was to see the wreck of the Grafton and have a look at where its crew survived while they lived on the island awaiting rescue. She listened to my request, thought for a moment, and then told me to hold back as the other passengers left in the zodiacs to see the island wildlife. After everyone else had disembarked, she invited me into another zodiac along with Norm (a member of the expedition team specializing in the history of human interaction in the islands), and a member of the New Zealand Department of Conservation, who was on board to survey the landing sites at each island and keep track of how many people went ashore. The four of us cruised through Carnley Harbor under stormy skies spitting with rain for about 30 or 40 minutes before we turned north and came ashore at the wreckage of the Grafton. This tour, described more fully below, was the highlight of the entire trip for me, and I can’t express enough my gratitude to Cheli for organizing this secret excursion on the side just for me. With so many people to organize and care for, it was truly above and beyond that she was willing to make that happen.