Expectations of Chatham Island

 

Shags

I must confess that I did not know what to expect of Chatham Island.  It was just such fun to fly away from locked-in Aotearoa-New Zealand that I did not do the usual research. 

I suppose if I had thought about it, I would have expected abundant bird life.  Well, there were lots of shags on the cliffs, and it was fun watching them take off.  Clumsy creatures, they take nail-biting seconds of mad flapping before they drift off across the sea.

And there were black swans on the lagoon, which are apparently a pest.  Seagulls, of course.

And, of course, I expected to be fascinated by the history of the Moriori and their unusual waka (watercraft). 

This is a life-size statue of the last full-blooded Moriori, Tommy Solomon.  Though we were assured that he was actually quite a bit wider than this.  The sculptor was tactful.  I loved his face, and aura of kindness.  I met his son, a long time ago in Wellington, and gained the same impression then.  The son was not fat!  Well, not that I noticed.

Truly astounding is the geology.  I certainly hadn't expected that our exploration would involve a lot of opening of farm gates, persuading sheep to get out of the way, and walks through paddocks, but it was worth it to see the rock formations.

Chatham Island is an almost submerged volcano that ceased activity a very long time ago.  Fossils found in the schist of neighboring Pitt Island have been dated as one hundred million years old.  Unusually for New Zealand, there are no earthquakes, as the archipelago is part of the continental crust.  Mesozoic?  I am no geologist, but found it fascinating.

We had a look at the coastal plants by accident.  Driving along a deserted road, we suddenly spied a notice that pointed us to a swamp aster trek.  So we piled out, and walked.  The scrub was only waist-high, and walking on peat is easy, rather like walking on rubber, but we didn't notice anything particular.  At the end there was a very good story board, pointing out the view of the sea, which we were looking at anyway, but also describing the plant life we hadn't noticed.

So walking back was a revelation, as our eyes were opened.  And this was original vegetation, just as the first Moriori found it.

 

Rushes, ferns, reeds, Dracophyllum, and, of course, swamp asters.  No wonder they couldn't build mighty canoes!

Like all Polynesians, the Moriori tried to introduce the useful plants of home.  They managed with the ti'i tree (cabbage tree species), and karaka, perhaps -- though it might have been already there.  I couldn't work out if harakeke, flax (Phormium tenax) had been introduced, or was established, perhaps from seeds floated from New Zealand. Certainly a useful plant.

Apart from sheep and great hospitality to visitors from New Zealand, the islands are famous for fish.  Blue cod and crayfish (a kind of lobster) are perhaps the best in the world.  Interestingly, we were able to watch crayfish cages (pots) being offloaded from one of the boats, as it was the end of the season.

The sea was a lot rougher than it looks.   This is where sub-tropical currents collide with sub-Antarctic waters, which also means that it is perhaps the richest fishery in the world.  A tough trade for the local fishermen, but profitable.

Want to know more about these amazing and unusual islands?  Start with Te Ara.