Sub-Antarctic Islands of New Zealand
The New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands consist of five island groups (Snares, Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland and Campbell islands) in the Southern Ocean, southeast of New Zealand.
These remote, isolated and seldom-visited isles can be numbered among the last unspoilt environments on earth.
These islands, lying between the Antarctic and subtropical convergences and the seas, have a high level of productivity, biodiversity, wildlife densities and endemism among birds, plants and invertebrates. They are particularly notable for the large number and variety of pelagic seabirds and penguins that nest there. There are 126 bird species in total, including 40 seabirds of which five breed nowhere else in the world.
There are 'megaherbs', large-leafed herbaceous plants that flower during the brief sub-Antarctic summer, producing a profusion of colours. Fourteen species of the great albatross come ashore to breed, as do many different species of petrels, prions and shearwaters.
Eight species of penguins, three of which are endemic, breed on these islands too, and the world's rarest sea lion makes its home in the Auckland and Campbell islands. These remote, isolated and seldom-visited isles can be numbered among the last unspoilt environments on earth.
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