Rotorua Girls' High School student Zoe Parker has returned from an expedition voyage to the subantarctic islands voyage. Zoe is pictured on the rocky shores of Auckland Island. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua Girls' High School student Zoe Parker has returned from an expedition voyage to the subantarctic islands voyage. Zoe is pictured on the rocky shores of Auckland Island. Photo / Supplied
Zoe Parker, a 16-year-old from Rotorua, joined a Blake expedition to the subantarctic islands.
She researched kelp diseases and environmental changes, reaffirming her decision to study science.
The expedition included scientists and students working on climate change projects and exploring uninhabited islands.
Zoe Parker has just had “the best two weeks of my life”.
The 16-year-old Rotorua Girls’ High School student is back from an expedition voyage to the subantarctic islands where she saw sealions and albatross for the first time, researched diseases kelp could carry and felt like she was “at the end of the world”.
Zoe was one of 10 students nationwide – and the only one from the Bay of Plenty – to join this year’s Blake expedition voyage aboard the HMNZS Canterbury.
The ship departed Bluff on March 1 and returned on March 12.
The crew of scientists, students, and teachers spent one day on Enderby Island/Ui-te-Rangiora, six days on Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku, and one day on Auckland Island/Maungahuka.
As the islands were uninhabited, Zoe said it felt like she was “at the end of the world”.
“There was just nothing that I could see out in front of me except ocean.”
Zoe said seeing sealions, albatross, and elephant seals thriving in their natural habitat was “surreal” and reflected the “true diversity in the world”.
One highlight was seeing the view from the top of a cliff face on Campbell Island.
At the bottom, she saw four 5m-long elephant seals. There was bull kelp growing on the rocks and the waves were “smashing” into the rocks.
“The scale was just so out of this world. I just felt so small.”
A sealion pictured on Auckland Island. Photo / Supplied
Zoe said she did peat coring with a scientist on Campbell Island, including a sample taken 3m deep, which recorded environmental changes from about 1500 years ago.
She researched diseases kelp could carry and the risk if it moved to Antarctica.
Zoe also looked at springtails and weevils – small insects – and megaherbs, which are large, herbaceous plants.
Zoe Parker wears a magnifying visor to observe springtails and weevils. Photo / Supplied
On their last day in Auckland Island, Zoe rode on a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) which was “tucked into the side of the ship”.
“We were in these … huge dry suits, and we had very cool helmets on and lifejackets … and we were sitting in these boats and then we got lowered off the side of the ship [into the ocean]. That was crazy.”
Wearing many layers of clothing, she felt like a “marshmallow”, she said with a laugh.
“We had so much fun and learned so much from them on days when we were just hanging out on the ship.”
An albatross pictured on Campbell Island. Photo / Supplied
Zoe said the experience had reaffirmed her decision to study science at university and gave her the “why” behind what she was learning at school now.
“It was like the best two weeks of my life.”
‘An amazing experience for all’
Blake head of programmes Alice Ward-Allen, who led the expedition, said good weather allowed them to reach Auckland and Campbell Islands.
Students worked alongside leading scientists on climate change research projects – collecting peat cores and rock samples, sampling kelp, and searching for invertebrates like weevils and springtails not researched since the 1940s, she said.
Highlights for students included “fast RHIB rides to shore” and connecting with staff of various agencies on board the ship such as the Defence Force, Department of Conservation, Ngāi Tahu, MetService, and Defence Science and Technology, Ward-Allen said.
“It’s hugely rewarding to see students' eyes light up as they realised their contributions to scientific understanding of our planet’s processes, and to hear how they planned to share their knowledge and experience with peers and in future careers.”
She said it was an “amazing experience for all”.
“It was great to have a successful trip with happy students, teachers, and scientists and a good forecast to make it happen.”
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.
