Antarctica and the Sub-Antarctic Islands
In January 2025, I went on an extraordinary expedition from the southern tip of New Zealand to the Ross Sea, Antarctica, via many of the amazing sub-Antarctic islands. Heading south from Bluff, we stopped at Stewart Island, including the beautiful Ulva Island that is predator free, the Snares where we were delighted to see the Snares Crested Penguins, and Australia's predator and pest-free Macquarie Island with its massive colonies of King Penguins and Royal Penguins along with plenty of elephant seals. We did a Zodiac cruise in and out of the sea-ice near Coulman Island spotting our only Sea Leopard before arriving at Cape Adare, Antarctica to see the enormous colony of Adélie penguins. We were delighted to spot some Emperor penguins returning early from their feeding at sea.
We were able to visit the four of the seven remaining explorer's huts built in the Heroic Age - those of Borchgrevink at Cape Adare; Scott at Cape Evans, Shackleton at Cape Royds and Scott's hut at Hut Point, all on Ross Island. These have been lovingly restored and conserved by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust.
Heading north after our time in and around Ross Island and the Scott Ice shelf, we stopped at Franklin Island and had a long time watching the Adelie penguins and the Weddall seals. We passed by Coulman Island again and the Possession Islands, then headed to do a zodiac tour around the Balleny Islands. Apparently these islands have had only 50 landings. We didn't land, but did spot some Chinstrap Penguins among the Adélie's.
Further north we reached Campbell Island and saw beautiful albatross nesting and soaring on the hills, all well as the huge colony of breeding southern Albatross. We finished with the stunning Endeby Island along with Aukland Island before returning to Bluff.
I had created a notebook with research notes and little sketches of all the penguins and other sea birds we were likely to see, along with the seals, sealions, whales, dolphins and so on. While on the ship, I created a larger sketchbook, working from my own photos to capture the wonderful wildlife, rock formations and plants that we saw throughout the trip. I've shared some of these along the way on instagram (Janeblundellart) but will create a series of galleries here to showcase these natural treasures as I complete them.
Antarctica is vast. At 13.66 million square km is 1.8 times the size of Australia and mostly a precious pristine continent with abundant wildlife that survives the most bitterly cold conditions. The ice on Antarctica is often kilometres thick and so heavy it actually forces the continent lower into the water. In winter, the sea freezes around the continent so the ice area grows from about 3 million square km to to approximately 19 million square kilometres. The fresh water trapped in and around Antarctica makes up approximately 70% of the earth's fresh water. We don't want that to melt! If all the ice melted, sea levels would rise by 60 metres. Only about 2% of the continent is permanently ice free.
The circumpolar currents that wrap around the earth in the Southern Oceans are essential for keeping Antarctica cold and driving the currents and climates of the rest of the world. The algae that grows under the massive ice sheets feeds the krill, and the fish and much of the marine life.
We were able to visit the four of the seven remaining explorer's huts built in the Heroic Age - those of Borchgrevink at Cape Adare; Scott at Cape Evans, Shackleton at Cape Royds and Scott's hut at Hut Point, all on Ross Island. These have been lovingly restored and conserved by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust.
Heading north after our time in and around Ross Island and the Scott Ice shelf, we stopped at Franklin Island and had a long time watching the Adelie penguins and the Weddall seals. We passed by Coulman Island again and the Possession Islands, then headed to do a zodiac tour around the Balleny Islands. Apparently these islands have had only 50 landings. We didn't land, but did spot some Chinstrap Penguins among the Adélie's.
Further north we reached Campbell Island and saw beautiful albatross nesting and soaring on the hills, all well as the huge colony of breeding southern Albatross. We finished with the stunning Endeby Island along with Aukland Island before returning to Bluff.
I had created a notebook with research notes and little sketches of all the penguins and other sea birds we were likely to see, along with the seals, sealions, whales, dolphins and so on. While on the ship, I created a larger sketchbook, working from my own photos to capture the wonderful wildlife, rock formations and plants that we saw throughout the trip. I've shared some of these along the way on instagram (Janeblundellart) but will create a series of galleries here to showcase these natural treasures as I complete them.
Antarctica is vast. At 13.66 million square km is 1.8 times the size of Australia and mostly a precious pristine continent with abundant wildlife that survives the most bitterly cold conditions. The ice on Antarctica is often kilometres thick and so heavy it actually forces the continent lower into the water. In winter, the sea freezes around the continent so the ice area grows from about 3 million square km to to approximately 19 million square kilometres. The fresh water trapped in and around Antarctica makes up approximately 70% of the earth's fresh water. We don't want that to melt! If all the ice melted, sea levels would rise by 60 metres. Only about 2% of the continent is permanently ice free.
The circumpolar currents that wrap around the earth in the Southern Oceans are essential for keeping Antarctica cold and driving the currents and climates of the rest of the world. The algae that grows under the massive ice sheets feeds the krill, and the fish and much of the marine life.
Leaf from Queenstown, Rata flower and Tai from Ulva
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Map of Stewart Island showing Ulva Island below.
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Landscape sketched from the ship. Ulva Island.
Sealion. On the beach in Ulva.
Map of the Snares.
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The Snares - part of a rock tunnel and fur seal.
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The first Iceberg we came across, and the last sunset for two weeks
Some of the animal studies from Antarctica and the Sub-Antarctic Islands.
Adelie penguins on an iceberg, Antarctica.
Rocks at the Snares.
Adélie penguin, Antarctica.
Scott's Hut, Antarctica. Begun on location and added to on the ship.
The Nimrod, Shackleton's hut, Ross Island Antarctica. Sketched on location, detail added on the ship.