The Eighth Continent: Chapter 1
An introduction
International travel seems like a distant memory for most of us. For many the only overseas trips have been between the North and South islands, or perhaps to Stewart Island/Rakiura for the adventurous. But what if I told you that New Zealand’s realm stretches over a much vaster expanse than you might imagine? Extending far beyond New Zealand’s three largest islands, cloaked by wild oceans, lies the worlds eighth continent Zealandia. This almost entirely submerged mass of continental crust broke off from Gondwanaland some 80 million years ago and has been adrift ever since. A few resolute outposts of this eighth continent stand bravely out of one of the worlds roughest oceans, marking the edges of New Zealand’s authority.
These outposts, known collectively as New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands, have seen limited human activity since their discovery by Māori and Pākehā. This has mostly been in the form of transitory visits from sealers/whalers, more permanent attempts at settlement in the 19th century, and as a life boat for unfortunate shipwreck survivors. Although no settlement succeeded on the islands they are far from uninhabited, being home to 126 bird species, including 40 seabirds of which five breed nowhere else in the world. Alongside the birds are colonies of seals and sea lions who use the islands to breed during the summer.
This story begins in 2021, when I had a chance meeting with a girl named Annie, who in her own words is “nuts about the Subantarctic”. She convinced me to apply for a “True Young Explorer” scholarship offered by the New Zealand company Heritage Expeditions, for a berth on their expedition to the Subantarctic in January 2022. I submitted the application in December and didn’t think much more of it, I was a bit preoccupied trying to claw my up the Waitaha to Ivory Lake. To my surprise on the 5th of January when I got out of the bush I found an email saying that I was to sail on the Sprit of Enderby on the 24th of January, bound for the Subantarctic. “Shit, I better sort my life out”.
The Spirit of Enderby (aka Professor Khromov, ПРОФЕССОР КХРОМОВ) was built in the USSR in 1983 as a polar and oceanographic research vessel. She sails under a Russian flag and is owned by the Russian meteorological service and leased to Heritage Expeditions. The vessel carries 50 passengers, with an expedition staff of 10 and crew of 20 Russian sailors.
When I landed at Queenstown Airport news was spreading of an impromptu press conference being called at the Beehive. One could only guess that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had entered New Zealand, most unwelcome news. I longed to be on the ark, to sail south and away from the constant stress of the pandemic. A beat-up car cruised past the rental SUVs at the pick up bay, I knew this had to be my ride. Sitting in the drivers seat was Millie, someone I had met three years prior standing on the banks of the flood swollen Leith in Dunedin as kayakers paddled down. Here we were together again, life can be a funny thing.
Our route took us through Kingston, were we stopped to eat strawberries and lie on the beach looking out over the waters of Lake Wakatipu. The sun was hot, and the water tempted us in. This was my first experience of Millie’s ability to withstand cold temperatures. She pointed out a buoy bobbing far out in the lake and we began to swim over to it. My body started to freeze but my pride wouldn’t let me call it quits. I managed to make it there and back, but it would be an omen of things to come. There was an obligatory pie stop in Athol, and then it was on to the great city of Invercargill. Anxiety was building, I was dying to skip town before the COVID situation could get any worse. We met the other passengers that evening and were slightly surprised that there was a good mob of us ‘younger’ ones (probably a solid 30 years younger than most the other passengers). Despite my restlessness it wasn’t until the following evening, after a tiki tour of Curio Bay and RAT tests that we finally boarded the Spirit of Enderby.
The ship glided out of Bluff harbour, guided by two tugs. The excitement was palpable… first stop — The Snares / Tini Heke.
