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Heritage Adventurer, Birding Down Under ex Queenstown Return

Cruise Heritage Adventurer, Birding Down Under ex Queenstown Return
Cruise Line Heritage Expeditions
Ship Heritage Adventurer
Destination South Pacific & New Zealand
Brief Description 15 Night Cruise sailing from Bluff roundtrip onboard Heritage Adventurer. Hotel stay pre-cruise in Queenstown.
Type of Cruise Expedition
Departure Date 03 Dec 2024
Cruise Description 15 Night Cruise sailing from Bluff roundtrip onboard Heritage Adventurer. Hotel stay pre-cruise in Queenstown.

Listen to the names: Snares, Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland, Campbell, Macquarie and Chatham Islands. They are music to the ears of ‘Birders'. Apart from the Chathams, these islands are probably more isolated now than they were when they were discovered in the late 1700s and early 1800s and were regularly visited by sealers, whalers and government steamers searching for castaway sailors. It is relatively simple to get to the Chatham Islands, but opportunities to visit the others are rare. This expedition, one of a number operated each year by Heritage Expeditions, is the only one to include all of these islands.

The islands occupy the tempestuous latitudes of the Roaring Forties and the Furious Fifties, but they are also known as the Albatross Latitudes and with good reason. Ten of the world's albatross species breed in the region; five of them nowhere else but here! In fact, this zone where the air is never still hosts the most diverse collection of seabirds in the world. More than 40 species breed here - that is at least 11 per cent of the entire world's seabird population.

With the exception of the Chathams, the islands are all designated UNESCO World Heritage sites and are afforded the highest conservation status and protection by the Australian and New Zealand governments, so passage to their shores is not granted lightly. There are also islands that we visit within the Chatham Islands' Archipelago with similar status and protection.
This expedition has huge appeal to pelagic enthusiasts, penguin fanatics and those interested in island endemics. Though you don't have to be a keen birder to enjoy this voyage. People interested in islands and island ecology, botany, geology and an increasing number of photographers have enjoyed this trip immensely, as have those interested in the history of southern ocean discovery and exploration.

This is one of our ‘signature expeditions' which has operated annually for more than 20 years, so you will benefit from the knowledge and expertise gained over that time.
 
Sailing Dates
05 Dec 2023
03 Dec 2024
Pricing
Please enquire for pricing
Cruise Itinerary
Date Port Arrive Depart
3 Dec 2024 Queenstown, New Zealand Hotel
4 Dec 2024 Bluff, New Zealand Embark
5 Dec 2024 Snares Island, New Zealand
6 Dec 2024 Enderby Island
7 Dec 2024 At Sea    
8 Dec 2024 Macquarie Island, Sub Antarctic Island
9 Dec 2024 Macquarie Island, Sub Antarctic Island
10 Dec 2024 At Sea    
11 Dec 2024 Campbell Island, New Zealand
12 Dec 2024 At Sea    
13 Dec 2024 Antipodes Island, New Zealand
14 Dec 2024 Bounty Islands
15 Dec 2024 The Pyramid, New Zealand
16 Dec 2024 Chatham Islands
17 Dec 2024 At Sea    
18 Dec 2024 At Sea    
19 Dec 2024 Bluff, New Zealand Disembark Transfer to Invercargill or Queenstown
19 Dec 2024 Queenstown, New Zealand
All itineraries and ports of call at the discretion of the cruise line subject to local weather conditions and may change without notice.

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