Page 61 - 2008 NZ Subantarctic Islands

fighting, perhaps for a harem of his own. The wound was clean

and he could certainly move about so we hope that he will have a
good recovery. The penguins on this island have such an awesome

journey to undertake at least twice daily. The cliff faces they
traverse are incredibly steep and they must get completely up

that declivity into the daisy tree forest where they have their
nests among the tree roots. It is fascinating to note that though
these nest burrow excavations can cause damage to the daisy

trees, the penguins are good stewards of their nest sites because
they move around from year to year on the island, allowing the

trees to recover. Too bad we humans can’t learn to conserve our
resources that way! If there wasn’t so much overfishing in these

waters, perhaps the Hooker sea lions and the penguins would not
be losing their young to starvation.

We went though arches & tunnels of granite carved by the
incessant action of the tides. We were alternately wet and dry

depending on the vagaries of the weather. These lonely islands in
the windswept Southern Ocean are really quite spectacular. Their

high basaltic cliff faces and the sea stacks around their peripheries
are cold and glowering. The abundant plant life, both terrestrial

and marine, softens the harshness and the wonderful animals
who call these places home prove that the islands are not hostile

to life. It is amusing to watch the penguins stand uncertainly at
the sea’s edge, seeming to summon up their courage to plunge
into the sea. They often choose to leap into the waving and

beckoning kelp leaves rather than directly into the surging waves.
Maybe the kelp cushions the fall?

All this activity occurred during our morning Zodiac exploration. In

the afternoon, we had another look at the island’s treasures! The
squally rains kept spattering us intermittently and the sea had

gotten a bit rougher at first, but then after a really slow transition,
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