New Zealand and Its Sub-Antarctic Islands

New Zealand is a land of extraordinary contrasts and wild beauty on a grand scale. Majestic snowcapped mountains, billowing geysers, chiseled fiords, sprawling verdant farmlands, and lush tropical forests weave together a tapestry of spectacular natural wonderlands.

Explore New Zealand and its remote Sub-Antarctic Islands aboard the Clipper Odyssey, one of the best expedition ships in operation today. In the Sub-Antarctic Islands, we will explore destinations that few have visited, an experience that lies at the heart of adventure travel. In the South Island we retrace the history of great explorers who first mapped the country’s rugged coastlines and encountered the Maori inhabitants. Captain James Cook made numerous voyages here in the 1770s, often spending weeks at a time in the same coves we visit, including Ship Cove in Marlborough Sound and Dusky Sound in Fiordland National Park, a World Heritage Site. We’ll explore the ultimately photogenic Milford Sound, dubbed the “eighth wonder of the world” by Rudyard Kipling, and view the legacies left by 19thcentury settlers in the towns of Christchurch—quintessentially English with its formal gardens— and Dunedin, whose Scottish ambiance reflects the heritage of its early founders.

Because of its remote isolation, New Zealand and its Sub-Antarctic Islands are home to some of the most rare and intriguing plant and animal species on the planet. Wildlife viewing along the coasts and islands of this voyage is, simply, exceptional; nature-lovers, birders, and photographers will literally have a field day. We’ll see fur seals sunning themselves on rocks, dusky dolphins leaping from the water to perform energetic acrobatics, rare penguin species such as the Fiordland crested, Snares crested, and little blue, and perhaps even catch a glimpse of the rare Hector’s dolphin. Off the coast of Kaikoura, a special excursion showcases one of the world’s most magnificent leviathans—the sperm whale—as it surfaces, spouts, and then dives for its favorite meal of squid.

The centerpiece of our journey is a magical four-day exploration of the Sub-Antarctic Islands, including the Auckland Islands, one of the five island groups forming a World Heritage Park. One of only a very few operators in the world allowed to travel to these far-flung isles, we are privileged to witness seldom-seen wildlife and enjoy precious encounters with the legendary yellow-eyed penguin, rarest in the world, as well as eastern rockhopper penguins, light-mantled sooty albatross, and southern royal albatross. We’ll visit the nesting ground of sooty shearwaters, known locally as muttonbirds, and explore elfin forest, home to an astonishing variety of endemic plants, trees, and birds.

As on all of our expeditions, an outstanding team of leaders and naturalists enhance our journey with lectures and onshore observations about this exceptional environment and its fascinating denizens. We look forward to exploring this lesser-traveled wild realm of New Zealand and sharing what promises to be an extraordinary adventure with you.

Itinerary:

Day 1 — USA
Independent evening flight from USA to Auckland.

Day 2 — Day lost crossing the International Date Line.

Day 3 — Auckland / Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
Arrive in Auckland in the morning and connect to your flight to Wellington; watch for the active volcano, Mount Ruapehu, on the North Island. In Wellington we transfer to our hotel and enjoy the afternoon at leisure. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Day 4 — Wellington / Embark Clipper Odyssey
New Zealand’s capital is located on a scenic harbor at the southern tip of the North Island. A full-day tour showcases its many artistic, cultural, and historical treasures, including the aptly named Beehive, the round and modernistic parliament building, and the old Government Building. We also visit the Otari Plant Museum and its gardens of unique New Zealand flora, and tour the excellent Te Papa National Museum, renowned for its Maori exhibits. We board the Clipper Odyssey in the late afternoon.

Day 5 — Marlborough Sounds
Early in the morning, as we enter Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park—sheltering hundreds of jewel-like emerald islands—we retrace the visits by explorers James Cook and Dumont D’Urville, both meticulous recorders of the wildlife, geology, natural history, and cultures of the areas they traveled.

For the next two days we explore the park by Zodiac or sail down inlets where pine-clad hills meet the indigo waters of nearly uninhabited bays. Forests of tall native rimu trees grace many of the islands; oystercatchers, gannets, or white-faced herons frequent the area, and we keep a special watch for the little blue penguin, the world’s smallest penguin species.

A landing on Maud Island allows for close-up observation of native frogs and the very rare giant weta (insect), takahe (flightless bird), and New Zealand pigeons.

At Ship Cove we go ashore where Captain Cook landed several times in the 1770s. Our naturalist leads a walk through the rain forest to a waterfall, and introduces botanical species unique to New Zealand, such as the tree fern. Only a nautical mile away, on Motuara Island, Captain Cook claimed all the visible shores of New Zealand for England. At the end of our stay, we cruise Queen Charlotte Sound to enter the narrow Tory Channel. Remnants of New Zealand’s last whaling station, abandoned in 1964, stand forlornly on the shore.

Day 6 — Kaikoura
Maori legends say that from this location a powerful god fished the North Island from the sea. Just off the coastal town of Kaikoura are some of the richest nutrient-filled waters of New Zealand. Here the continental shelf is close to shore, and a cold southerly current mingles with a warm northerly one, creating a rich upwelling ideal for the growth of plankton. Marine mammals congregate year-round to feed here and in the morning we go ashore to board local whale-watching vessels operated by the Ngai Tahu, a Maori tribe with traditional rights to both land and sea. From their launches, we are very likely to see sperm whales which can reach 70 feet in length. Migratory pods of orca are occasionally spotted in the area, and schools of dusky dolphin reside here. If we are lucky, we may see the rare Hector’s dolphin, unique to New Zealand. We spend the afternoon exploring the town and surrounding areas of Kaikoura.

Day 7 — Christchurch
Known as “The Garden City” for its expansive parks and public gardens, Christchurch is graced with natural beauty, cultural pursuits, and rich history, and laced with a fair share of 21st-century cosmopolitan style.

We tour the city and its surroundings, from its towering cathedral to the elegant botanical gardens, from the Canterbury Museum with its exhibits on Antarctic exploration to the Neo-Gothic Arts Centre, a focal point for local artists. The International Antarctic Center spotlights the history of discovery, the continent’s profuse wildlife, and the research currently being conducted at the Antarctic scientific bases. We also have an opportunity to visit the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve and its successful kiwi-breeding program. We sail this evening for Dunedin, New Zealand’s oldest city.

Day 8 — Dunedin
Dunedin’s 19th-century gold-mining heritage is evident in the elegant Edwardian and Victorian stone buildings and monuments gracing the city streets. In the morning we enjoy a walking tour of the charming city center, anchored by the imposing Gothic St. Paul’s Cathedral, called the Octagon. Take time to visit the galleries and shops as well as to explore the Otago Settlers Museum.

After lunch on board, our ornithologist accompanies us up the Otago Peninsula to visit the world-famous northern royal albatross colony atop Taiaroa Head, located on the grounds of historic Fort Taiaroa. The northern royal albatross, one of the world’s largest seabirds, breeds here.

Day 9 — At Sea
Join our naturalists on deck for incredible opportunities to view and photograph royal, shy, and Buller’s albatross, plus a host of southern ocean petrels, as we sail to Campbell Island. Our lecture series focuses on the Sub-Antarctic Islands, next on our itinerary.

Day 10 — Campbell Island
We anchor off Campbell Island this morning, near the small New Zealand meteorological station in Perseverance Harbor. Birders and photographers will be thrilled by the close encounters with southern royal and light-mantled sooty albatross, and we watch for the endemic Campbell Island cormorants, Hooker's sea lions, and elephant seals. A wonderful landscape of tussock headlands and surf-washed isolated beaches forms the backdrop for our explorations.

Day 11 — Enderby, Auckland Islands
Regarded as the most diverse of all wildlife havens fringing the great Antarctic continent, the Auckland Islands boast everything from penguins and albatross to parakeets and tomtits. The islands are a nature reserve and one of the five island groups forming New Zealand’s Sub-Antarctic World Heritage Park. Our visit allows ample time to experience the diversity and contrast of both scenery and wildlife. Portions of the islands are composed of rugged and wave-battered basalt cliffs, while others are woven with serene, fiord-like inlets and bays. Our nature walks wind through dense chaparral shrubs and rata forests to visit nesting royal albatross. Stationed on a beach teeming with Hooker’s sea lions, we view eastern rockhopper penguins on the shore. We also await yellow-eyed penguins, one of the rarest penguins in the world, as they return to their nesting sites. We explore the elfin forest of twisted trunks, searching for melodious bellbirds, diminutive tomtits, and colorful red-crowned parakeets. Other endemic birds include the Auckland Island shag, banded dotterel, and flightless teal.

Day 12 — Snares Islands
With fur seals and crested penguins lining the kelp-covered shores and Buller’s albatross soaring overhead, we board Zodiacs and cruise around the Snares Islands. A nature reserve of international importance, the islands are home to several endemic bird species such as the Snares tomtit, Snares fern bird, and the Snares crested penguin.

Day 13 — Stewart & Ulva Islands
Ancient Maori legends named Stewart Island “Rakiura,” (land of the glowing sky). This peaceful island of only 480 inhabitants is ringed with golden beaches backed by dunes and thick forests which shelter an abundance of birds. We anchor near Halfmoon Bay for an exploration of Oban, New Zealand’s southernmost township, and New Zealand’s chief source of crayfish and blue cod. We also visit Ulva Island, a bird sanctuary and forest of rata trees, ferns, and broadleaf. One of the highlights of our visit is the chance to spot kaka, a threatened native parrot, and we search for tui, bellbirds, little blue penguins, red-crowned parakeets, and saddlebacks.

Later in the evening we experience the amazing sight of thousands of returning mutton birds—sooty shearwater young—which cover the skies like a black cloud of mist as they return to the shores after their daily feeding at sea. Also known as titi, sooty shearwaters served as a traditional subsistence food of the Maoris for centuries.

Day 14 — Dusky and Doubtful Sounds, Fiordland National Park
Fiordland World Heritage Park is renowned for its spectacular and pristine fiords full of wildlife. These narrow, twisting, mountain-lined channels, christened by Captain James Cook as “sounds,” are one of the world’s most spectacular destinations. Carved by glaciers over the last two million years, most of the fiords can be reached only by an expedition ship such as ours. We cruise Dusky and Doubtful Sounds, launching our Zodiacs to explore remote coves where Captain Cook anchored his ship, the Resolution, in 1773 while he mapped, named, and described the fiords.

From our Zodiacs we explore rain forests luxuriant with tree ferns and canopied by moss-covered trees. Bellbirds, tuis, fantails, and the kereru, a large native wood pigeon, reside here. We also keep our binoculars trained on the rocky coves to hopefully spot Fiordland crested penguins, another of the world’s rarest penguin species. On deck, search with our naturalist for bottlenose dolphins, fur seals, and little blue penguins.

Day 15 — Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park / Disembark Clipper Odyssey
Rudyard Kipling described Milford Sound as the “eighth wonder of the world.” We cruise past Milford’s sheer cliff faces, which rise thousands of feet from the water’s edge, as we witness dramatic Bowen and Stirling Falls and the stunning mile-high Mitre Peak. We disembark the Clipper Odyssey and drive to Homer Tunnel to look for rock wrens amid the alpine flora. The nearly 3⁄4-mile long tunnel was completed in 1953, nearly 20 years after it was started, making Milford Sound finally accessible by road. We also walk through a primeval Fiordland beech forest and cross foot bridges over the Cleddau River and a spectacular series of waterfalls. We drive to the lovely lakeside town of Te Anau for lunch before continuing to Queenstown, a beautiful little city built on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by a majestic mountain range known as The Remarkables. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Queenstown.

Day 16 — Queenstown / Auckland / USA
Group transfer to the airport for your independent flights to Auckland and home.

What's Included:

• Accommodations in hotels and on board Clipper Odyssey as outlined in the itinerary
• All onboard meals
• All group meals on land
• Group transfers
• Services of the expedition staff, including lectures, briefings, slide/film shows
• All group activities and excursions
• Landing and port fees
• All gratuities.

What's Not Included:

• All air transportation
• Excess baggage charges
• Airport arrival and departure taxes
• Transfers for independent arrivals and departures; passport and/or visa fees
• Travel insurance
• Items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar charges, alcoholic beverages, e-mail/fax/telephone charges
• Scuba diving fees and equipment where required

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