High seas and rare Snipes

In this weeks Reader Postcard K.M. Baynes (of Waimate) hits the high seas to experience the unique birdlife of Campbell Island:

"The fact that our cabins had no locks was probably an indicator that this was going to be a cruise based on trust and friendliness.

Leaving Bluff, we were straight into heavy seas.

Seasickness hit within two hours of sailing and continued for the next 36 hours.

New Year celebrations by staff and crew included one lone pyjama-clad passenger.

Our initial destination of Campbell Island was changed because of the conditions and we proceeded to the Auckland Islands.

Anchored in the calm water of Carnley Harbour, southern Auckland Islands, passengers emerged from cabins.

Zodiacs ferried us to shore and we walked to the remnants of World War 2 lookout huts.

That evening a delayed New Year dinner was enjoyed by all.

Overnight we sailed towards Enderby Island.

Weather conditions prevented us landing on Enderby, but we cruised the bays of Port Ross, Auckland Islands.

Headstones in the Erebus Cove graveyard recording deaths from starvation underlined the harsh environment.

Enderby, when conditions allowed us to land, was all I imagined it would be.

We were limited to the Department of Conservation-provided boardwalk because of time constraints but were still rewarded with images of sooty albatross soaring above the cliffs, endemic shags nesting, pipits running between our feet, and flowering megaherbs like anisotome and bulbinella.

Time spent watching the chaos of sealion breeding and calving contrasted with the sedate yellow-eyed penguins' quiet ambling in the sand dunes.

From here we sailed to Campbell Island in much calmer seas than our first attempt.

Because of our rescheduling, we were there for only one day.

It was hard to imagine farming having taken place here.

We walked to an old weather station where one of the passengers lived in 1947.

It must have been a poignant moment for him to see the ruins.

In the afternoon we walked to the top of the island on a Doc boardwalk.

Impressive numbers of albatross were nesting, while younger groups greeted each other.

The nesting birds close to the boardwalk appeared unconcerned by our presence.

One of the passengers sighted and photographed a snipe, an exciting find.

These birds are thought to have been driven to the offshore island Jacquemart by predators and it is only since eradication of rats that they are re-establishing.

At our next destination, the Snares, we were limited to watching thousands of diving petrels from the ship as sea conditions were too rough for the zodiacs.

On our trip we were privileged to have with us Rod Norris, Andris Apse and Martin Cawthorn, who provided us with stimulating talks on their areas of expertise.

Each individual on the trip, whatever their particular field of interest, whether botany, photography or wildlife, I am sure came away with a feeling of deep satisfaction from a trip full of adventure."

• Mrs Baynes lives in Waimate.