Auckland Islands: Albatrosses at Sea
And here comes the final post from the nearly a monthlong adventure to East Antarctica. Giant albatrosses in flight! It takes a day and a half to sail from Auckland Islands to Stewart Island and New Zealand. This is prime albatross watching stretch of ocean in the world as you can possibly spot here 10 of the 22 albatross species in flight (6 species actually nest on Auckland Islands). The ship kept rocking in some serious waves, but the sun was shining and albatrosses were everywhere – Southern Royal and Wandering (both the largest albatrosses in the world), Black-browed, Campbell, White-capped, Salvin’s, Grey Headed, Buller’s, and the graceful Light-mantled Sooty albatrosses! Absolutely surreal experience watching these massive birds fly, sometimes different species together, following the ship and gliding side by side.
