Source: NZ Department of Conservation
12 March 2026 – Blake Hornblow
During my first night on Auckland Island, I wake to the sound of my tent fly trying to take flight, 50 knot winds battering it in relentless gusts. As the flapping subsides, I hear a loud cry somewhere in the dark outside the tent—a female sea lion calling for her pup. Still half-asleep, I reach for my headtorch—only for my hand to plunge straight into a pool of water surrounding my sleeping mat.
Naturally. It appears that some of the 40 mm of rain overnight has decided to drain directly into my tent.
In that moment I realise one thing: Auckland Island doesn’t do gentle introductions.
As I emerge from the tent and stand amongst the wind beaten rātā trees I think to our mission here for the next six weeks. I have been dreaming of working on this island for years, driven by the chance to contribute to the Maukahuka Auckland Island Restoration programme — an ambitious effort to remove feral pigs, feral cats, and mice from this wild subantarctic island, so that the multitude of endemic flora and fauna can once again thrive. Now I’m finally here.
While here, our team of four will be living some 500 km south of New Zealand’s mainland at a remote field base called Camp Cove, tucked into the bottom of Auckland Island. Camp Cove has hosted people before: first, on 7 February 1905, it was here that the castaways of the Anjou found shelter after their ship struck rocks on the western cliffs two days before.
When we first arrived on the SV Evohe we worked not far from where the Anjou wrecked at Bristow Point on the western cliffs. The scale of these cliffs is immense. While looking at them I found it hard to imagine, not only surviving a shipwreck here but also the challenge that lies ahead to remove feral pigs, feral cats and mice that hunt for seabirds and megaherbs there. These cliffs hold some spectacular seabird species and some of the only albatross that still manage to breed on the main Auckland Island. Predation from feral pigs is a major problem so most of the remaining nests are now on steep, inaccessible ledges. White-capped mollymawk / Toroa and Light-mantled sooty albatross / Toroa pango still breed in a colony at South-west Cape.
I had the privilege of mapping the extent of the colony using a drone. Flying from nearby cliffs it was breathtaking to see the island alive with such impressive birds. Once the island is pest-free we hope to see a return of these birds to other parts of the island.
The team saw a few lone Gibson’s Albatross sitting on failed nests, tucked among the tall, wind-swept tussocks. Nearby, the ground was torn up by feral pig rooting. Here on Auckland Island, feral pigs and feral cats make it almost impossible for these birds to successfully breed. These albatrosses are made for the open ocean — they spend most of the year gliding over the Southern Ocean, sometimes circling the globe — but they still need a safe refuge to return to when it’s time to nest. This subantarctic island, just a speck in the South Pacific, could once again become that haven for them and so many other species.
For those of us without a three-metre wingspan, getting to the Auckland Islands isn’t quite so simple. With no airport within hundreds of kilometres, our only option was the sea — a 48-hour voyage from Bluff aboard the 25-metre sailing yacht Evohe. She and her crew know these waters better than most, having ferried conservationists south for nearly three decades. Rolling over five-metre waves for two days gives you plenty of time to appreciate just how remote this place is, and just how determined you must be to reach it.
Now the boat has left us, and my flooded tent is a stark reminder of how far I am from home. I start to ferry my damp sleeping bag into the shelter of our base tent and reflect how Maukahuka is more than just a project — it’s a world-first effort by DOC and Ngāi Tahu to remove feral pigs, feral cats, and mice from Auckland Island and restore the mana of this subantarctic World Heritage site. By returning 46,000 ha of wilderness to its natural state, we’re safeguarding habitat for more than 500 native species. One of Earth’s last truly wild places. Maybe that’s worth a flooded tent or two.
What species would you love to see return to Auckland Island once it’s pest-free? To hear more from the field follow DOC’s Conservation Blog over the next six weeks. To learn more about the programme or to be part of this incredible endeavour follow the link below to donate.
