Page 46 - 2008 NZ Subantarctic Islands

Is this still not enough to delight the most overwhelmed

environmentalist? Well, we got one more wonderful treat as we
walked through the magnificent landscape—the antics of the New

Zealand pipit! This little wisp of a bird, so saucy and curious,
popped up and down in the megaherbs while we smiled and

laughed and tried to get photos of him. He’s not so colorful as the
plants around him, but he is so hyperactive that he’s in constant

motion—flapping his wings, stomping his tiny feet, jumping in
place, darting hither and yon, that you cannot miss him. He also is
a success story of the island because he is a ground-nester and

could not survive the assaults of the rats before they were
eradicated. Now he has come back to his home and is living well

and even merrily where Nature intended him to be!

Departing on the Zodiacs to return to the Odyssey was bitter-
sweet: the visit to this wonderful island was thoroughly enjoyable

but it was hard to tear ourselves away from the experience
knowing that it was truly a once-in-lifetime privilege. However,
the Expedition Leader had another special experience in store for

us in the afternoon; a Zodiac trip around the coast of Campbell

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