SUBANTARCTIC
Seashore
The seashores of the Subantarctic can be crowded with penguins and seals in the southern summer...
Columnar basalt (Auckland Islands, New Zealand)For the page on the birds of the Subantarctic shore
Pinnipeds: Seals
(Macquarie Island)Fur-Seals
Stromness, South Georgia)A scarred male (Antarctic) Fur Seal, surrounded by female and pups.
(Auckland Islands, New Zealand)Male 'New Zealand Sea Lion' or 'Hooker's Sea Lion' fighting.
Family Phocidae: True Seals
(Auckland Islands, New Zealand)Hydrurga leptonyx, 'Leopard Seal'. When hauled out, they have a distinctive 'lumpy' shape.
(Macquarie Island, Australia)Mirounga leonina, 'Elephant Seals'.
For the page on the places to experience the Subantarctic shore
In many ways the subantarctic is underrated compared to the Antarctic. The Subantarctic has a desolate windswept lonely feel, and there is where one can get a much higher diversity of penguins and other sea birds such as albatross and petrels.
Most tourists go on one of the many ships that go to the Malvinas/Falklands and South Georgia on the usual milk run from Ushuaia in Argentina.
The Australian/New Zealand side is not as regularly visited as the South American side, due to the longer distances and inconvenience. However, there are several species, including some endemics, that can not be seen unless you visit this region. Most of the subantarctic islands accessible from the Australasian region politically belong to New Zealand: including the Snares, Auckland and Campbell. There is one island on this mainly underwater ridge that comes out from New Zealand that belongs to Australia, called Macquarie Island.