Subantarctic

The Subantarctic Islands are tiny havens for some of the most abundant and unique wildlife on the planet. They lie in the cool temperate or Subantarctic Zone to the south and east of New Zealand in the great southern ocean that encircles Antarctica. This is a windswept and at times forbidding swath of sea, surprising in its fecundity.

The Subantarctic Islands are composed of six groups: the Bounty Islands, the Antipodes, the Snares, the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island and Macquarie Island. Flora and fauna are densely concentrated in the Subantarctic Islands: the number of indigenous plants and seabirds found in the Subantarctic Islands is far greater than that found on similar groups in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

It is little wonder that these islands of the Subantarctic are all Nature Reserves and World Heritage sites. As such, the New Zealand and Australian Governments that administer them afford the Subantarctic Islands the highest protection. …