Photos of the Auckland Islands

Our first spot ashore on Auckland Island was to visit the site of Hardwicke at Erebus Cove. The graveyard shown has graves of both settlers who attempted to found a whaling/farming community and shipwrecked sailors.

This tree, known as the Victoria tree, was carved by a search party to let any castaways know that people had been looking for them. This search was prompted by the 'Grafton' castaways who modified their ships boat and sailed it to Invercargill after nearly 2 years on the island.

Going ashore to walk up to Lake Hinemoa I was checked out by another landing party!

Lake Hinemoa. The photo doesn't show it but there were sealions swimming in the lake.

Rockhopper penguins in Haskell Inlet. Love the tufted crests! I did a dinghy paddle past here while Jim motored the yacht outside of the kelp.

Just a bit of kelp on the anchor! When we got this lot free it created a small island for a seagull to perch on

Elenya anchored off the remains of the 'Grafton'. It was fascinating to have read what these guys went through and to acctually visit the site where they were wrecked. The site of hut they built is just inshore of the wreck

Carnley Harbour at the south of Auckland Island. Note all the sooty shearwaters in the photo.

Relaxing down below with a glass of fine wine.

White-capped molymawks nesting at South West Cape

We thought it might be late in the year for chicks but when one stood up I had the pleasant surprise of seeing a very large chick which had previously been hidden under the parent molymawk.

The birds were wheeling and flying around overhead.

Jim in Hanfield Inlet, we stayed here on the boat for a few days while we waited for the SE to go away (not that it did!). A beautiful spot with waterfalls, sealions keeping us awake at night and light-mantled sooty albatross soaring above the cliffs.