By Jeff Hampton
While most New Zealanders long for a beach for their summer holiday, another group has headed somewhere cooler – south to the sub-Antarctic Islands.
These include the Antipodes, Auckland and Campbell Islands, but the man running the tours is worried about the future of these relatively unspoiled places.
Heading for Christmas at latitude 50, passengers board a cruise bound for the sub-Antarctic Islands, they might even see the odd iceberg.
Passenger Andris Apse has been to the islands nine times.
“I'm a landscape photographer and the first time I went down there I fell in love with it,” he says.
Heritage Expedition has been running for more than 25 years, former wildlife officer Rodney Russ started the trips after falling in love with the raw beauty of the sub-Antarctic - now he's written a book.
“Increasingly there a group of travellers, and I call them travellers rather than tourists, who are looking for a wildlife experience,” he says.
He writes of the Chathams, Antipodes, and his main love the Auckland Islands. Once a failed farming settlement it’s a sanctuary for rare birds and seals, and where the general grant sank with its legendary cargo of gold.
“You're right on the edge, right on the edge of life too because some of those species don't go any further south than these islands,” he says.
But he's worried about the future; over-fishing is hitting the wildlife and the numbers of sea lions, penguins and albatrosses are dropping.
“Some of the albatross colonies are what really is being affected and we've seen some noticeable declines in the white caps colony at south-west cape,” he says.
The area is reputed to have great reserves of oil, Mr Russ fears the effects if oil companies move in.
“The risk of course is from oil spills and I think the real risk is from a port to bring the oil ashore at one of these islands,” he says.
He is hoping his book will get others interested in conserving the special islands.
“The Ross Sea, the area I’m talking about, is the last great ocean on earth and I think we should leave one ocean alone.
It's their unspoilt nature that attracts more and more visitors to sub-Antarctic Islands every year.
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