boarded the ship, "Spirit of Enderby" in Tauranga, New Zealand about 5 pm on
March 30th. We were about to begin an epic voyage, "The Western Pacific
Odyssey", (WPO) ending in Yokohama, Japan more than a month later. We set
off for the Hauraki Gulf, off North Island, NZ. Highlight of the next day,
was a group of Grey Ternlets, at a known rocky roost. Throughout the next
few days, we kept a constant sea watch, the highlights of which included
several species not previously recorded: Northern Royal Albatross, Buller's
Albatross and both Northern and Southern Giant Petrels. The species
composition mix changed over the course of the three days, but we also
recorded good numbers of the following: Grey-faced and White-necked,
Parkinson's Petrels, Buller's Shearwaters; and smaller numbers of Gibson's,
Wandering, and Campbell Albatrosses; and Black-winged Petrels. The highlight
of the first day was some excellent sightings of New Zealand Storm-Petrel,
while the cetacean highlight was a group of False Killer Whales!
Storm-petrels forever,
Debi Shearwater
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