Antipodes Islands

Antipodes Islands is a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The group is uninhabited. Politically, the islands belong to New Zealand. They are about 650 kilometres (400 mi) southeast of Stewart Island. The group is made of Antipodes Island, Bollons Island, and a few smaller islands.

Henry Waterhouse, the captain of HMS Reliance, discovered them on 14th March 1800. He called them Penantipodes, at first, because he believed that they are at an antipodal position to the city of London. In reality, the antipodal position is near Cherbourg, in France.

People tried to breed cattle on the island, but this didn't work because of the harsh climate. Seals were hunted on the islands. In 1893, the ship Spirit of Dawn sank near the island, and the survivors spent three months on the island.

Today, they are one of two places on the planet were Erect-crested penguins breed, the other place are the Bounty Islands. In 2024, about 150,000 pairs of these penguins breed on the islands. There are also about 50,000 pairs of Southern rockhopper penguin breeding there. The Antipodes parakeet and the Red-crowned parakeet are endemic to these islands. Other larger animals found on the islands are the Snowy albatross, and elephant seals.

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