![]() So, too, our small group of 50 passengers. This is an achievement I want to see, albeit still a work in progress. Can nature ever truly be restored? Given the slaughter unleashed by the sealers and whalers of the 1800s, and the many invasive species that arrived with ill-fated farmers and even early shipwrecks (rats are, indeed, quick to desert a sinking ship) – can the damage be undone? Could the NZ Sub Antarctic islands become a template for recovery elsewhere?īy submitting your email you are agreeing to Nine Publishing's Here, scientists, conservationists and policy makers have, for decades, been seeking to answer a fundamental question. The NZ Government strictly limits visitor permits, and for good reason. But, the islands' isolation is also self-imposed. For the week we are at sea, we are entirely alone not a single vessel even glimpsed on the horizon. It's partly the inhospitable weather that keeps the NZ Sub Antarctic islands mostly off the tourist trail. ![]() Photo: Nature Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo On land, the vegetation is just as stunning, strange and unique. The islands serve as ecological "liferafts", providing critical breeding grounds and refuge for an abundance of unique wildlife, like the endangered NZ sea lion, numerous albatross and even a flightless duck, previously believed to be extinct. With no large land mass to temper winds as they howl across the chilly waters, it is here that the largest waves and strongest winds on the planet have been recorded. These tiny dots in the Southern Ocean, sometimes called the Forgotten Islands, are among the least visited places on Earth. "The Snares" are the northern most group of the wild, uninhabited Sub Antarctic Islands, that lie between New Zealand and Antarctica.
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