Mr Morgan visited Dunedin yesterday and dropped in to see residents and staff at the Radius Fulton Care Centre, in Hillside Rd, to thank them for their earlier fundraising support.
He said he had been impressed by their fundraising efforts.
He gave a short talk on the "Million Dollar Mouse" fundraising initiative.
When Mr Morgan arrived yesterday, he was also presented with a cheque for $170, which had been raised more recently by residents.
In his talk, he emphasised the damaging environmental effects of introduced mice, including the eating of albatross chicks, on the Antipodes Islands, which are about 800km southeast of Bluff.
Mr Morgan, who led the Our Far South expedition through the subantarctic islands to the Antarctic earlier this year, joked that during the expedition he had one night been drinking some Central Otago wine and discussing with Department of Conservation staff what it would cost to eradicate mice on various islands.
After hearing it would cost $1 million to remove mice from the Antipodes Islands, he had indicated he would help.
The next day, he wondered what he had got himself into, but more than half the money had since been raised.
"We'll have that million dollars by Christmas," he said.
Centre clinical manager Doug Browning said the fundraising project had proved an enjoyable and positive experience for residents and staff.
Mr Morgan later gave a talk on environmental issues arising from the southern expedition, at Otago Boys' High School.
The $1 million is being raised in a partnership that includes the Morgan Foundation and Doc.
