The Snares Islands, Tini Heke
The northernmost of New Zealand's subantarctic islands
Information about The Snares Islands (Tini Heke)
The Snares group are the closest of New Zealand's subantarctic islands to mainland New Zealand, lying about 100 km southwest of Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Introduced land mammals were never established on the Snares, making it one of the most untouched and pristine areas in New Zealand.
Shearwaters, petrels and penguins are all abundant on The Snares. The sooty shearwater is the most numerous with a couple of million arriving in the spring for the summer breeding season.
New Zealand fur seal/kekeno breed on the exposed coasts of the Snares, while an increasing number of and New Zealand sea lion come out of the water and rest and warm up on the Snares breeding has not been recorded.
On 23 November 1791 The Snares were discovered by by two English ships independently: HMS Chatham, commanded by Lieutenant William Broughton, and HMS Discovery under Captain George Vancouver. Vancouver named 'The Snares' because he thought they were a shipping hazard.
Pictures of The Snares Islands (Tini Heke)
