Enderby Island NZ New Zealand
New Zealand

6 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Aurora Expeditions (1 Cruises)

Lindblad Expeditions (2 Cruises)

Ponant (3 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

At the northern end of the Auckland Islands, far south of New Zealand, where the roaring forties give way to the furious fifties. This small flat-topped island guards the northern entrance to the group.
By zodiac, at Sandy Bay, the only genuinely accessible beach on the island. Only permitted expedition ships call here, carrying a Department of Conservation permit.
The welcoming party is on the beach: fur seals and above all New Zealand sea lions, one of the rarest pinnipeds on earth, which pup on this sand. Add yellow-eyed penguins, southern royal albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, Auckland Island shags and endemic parakeets.
A dwarf forest of a kind found almost nowhere else: southern rata with trunks twisted by the wind, barely a few metres high, which burst into bright red flower during the austral summer. A wooden boardwalk crosses it.
Giant plants with crinkled leaves unique to the subantarctic islands, thriving on the heath beyond the forest. The contrast is startling: an open-air botanical glasshouse, watered by sea spray.
Two options depending on the voyage: a demanding several-hour circuit of the island for strong walkers, or the gentler out-and-back along the boardwalk to the northern cliffs. Either way, the weather decides.
Waterproof layers, non-negotiable: a squall can sweep the heath in ten minutes, followed by brilliant sunshine. That is the subantarctic rule. Add binoculars and waterproof protection for your camera.
Access limited to permitted expeditions, with visitor quotas. Strict biosecurity: soles scrubbed and disinfected, pockets emptied of any seed, gear inspected. A mandatory distance from sea lions, especially breeding males. Nothing is picked, nothing is taken home.
From the Enderby brothers, London whaling shipowners whose captains worked these seas in the nineteenth century. The island has its share of tragedy too: the barque Derry Castle was wrecked here in 1887.
Only a few hundred — fewer than climb the Eiffel Tower in an hour. The complete eradication of introduced rabbits and cattle has let the vegetation reclaim the island.