Campbell Island, isolated by hundreds of kilometers from its nearest neighbors, is home to a host of strange and largely endemic species as well as some of the most variable weather in New Zealand. The intrepid explorers aboard National Geographic Orion discovered this on our afternoon Zodiac cruise. We were treated to rare bursts of sunshine (Campbell sees rain all but 40 days annually), shrieking winds, storm squalls, and an enveloping calm through which the calls of albatrosses and terns could be clearly heard – all in the course of under two hours.
It is also uniquely breathtaking: a landscape of towering sea cliffs, Dr. Seussian megaherbs, and thousands upon thousands of albatrosses flecking the hillsides and lifting like snow into the wind. “Like a field of flowers” said one guest, as we watched the distant white-headed birds shift among the tussock and take flight.
As we headed slowly into Campbell’s Perseverance Harbor this evening, golden light poured across the island, illuminating the seabirds dancing among the waves. A small cadre of hoiho – the endemic New Zealand yellow-eyed penguin – rose up from the waves to “escort” us along our way, heralding further adventures to come.
