South Georgia Island, a place 9,423km from our motu — Written by Te Korowai o Waiheke Team Member

📸 South Georgia pintail captured by Charlie Thomas

South Georgia Island, 9423 kilometres from our motu, Waiheke Island. A world away from each other, with the white, sandy beaches of Waiheke and the snow-capped peaks of South Georgia.

In October, I spent 2 weeks far away in the south atlantic ocean as an Inspiring Explorer for the Antarctic Heritage Trust’s 2023 Expedition to Shackleton’s resting place, also home to the highest density of biomass in the world. South Georgia Island is home to king penguins, elephant seals, black-browed albatross, and quite importantly, the South Georgia pipit and pintail. Both are endemic to the cold and isolated island.

The pipit, in a world of hollering penguins and roaring seals, the gentle warble of the world’s southernmost songbird was a treat for my freezing ears. Like our skylarks, it flutters high in the sky as it sings, sometimes seen clinging to tussocks or hopping alongside icy streams. Nearby is the South Georgia pintail, with bright yellow bill and cartoonishly round head. South Georgia lacks the lush plant and invertebrate life we have here on Waiheke, so the pintail forages his feed on the scraps of king penguin bones. They dabble in the shallow water and waddle in groups amongst the four-ton elephant seals.

Seeing these two birds was one of the most memorable moments for me, as if it wasn’t for the eradication of rats from South Georgia in 2018, they would both be extinct. They are a story of hard work, determination, and hope in one of the most remote places in the world. Before 2018, different parts of the island were separated by large glaciers, which have since continued to melt away and connect places that were once separated by ice. Because of this glacial retreat, if the eradication was to be completed in present time, it is unlikely it would be successful. I am grateful to the incredible work put in by the eradication team on South Georgia for saving these two endemic species, and many more, and just in time.

After working for Te Korowai o Waiheke for the last couple of years as part of their rat eradication trials, I know how challenging it is to remove such an intelligent creature from a place where it is not meant to be. To still have the South Georgia pipit and pintail with us highlights just how important it is to create safe spaces for endemic and native wildlife to thrive. I am so grateful to have been able to spend time on South Georgia learning about its history and being able to experience the incredible wildlife so intimately. I am equally grateful to have been involved with a project that is contributing so much to the manu (birds) in my own backyard. We are already seeing the positive impacts on our wildlife thanks to the ongoing stoat eradication, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next as we move toward our goal of removing rats, too.

— Written and captured by Te Korowai o Waiheke Team Member, Charlie Thomas

📸 South Georgia pipit captured by Charlie Thomas