ZL9CI - Dxpedition to Campbell Island

"Never again" I said to Ken, ZL2HU as we departed the boat in 1996 after the ZL8RI Kermadecs Dxpedition. Fortunately, we both have short memories and the exhilaration of ZL8RI was with us. Within two weeks, I said to Ken "We have to do Campbell". "I don't even want to think about it for 3 months" he replied Three months later his reply to the same question was "When". We both agreed on January 1999 as it is summer holiday time in New Zealand. But this was not going to be a traditional summer holiday as Campbell Island is 1400 km and 52 degrees South with a sub-Antarctic climate. Getting there was going to be a problem. Getting a permit was even more difficult as Campbell Island is a nature reserve, protected and administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Making ZL9CI a successful Dxpedition was going to be a real challenge.

The first hurdle was obtaining a permit. The Kermadec DX Association was well known to the NZ DoC. We dealt with them in obtaining a permit for the Kermadecs. They had no problem with us as a group as they knew that we were only interested in Amateur Radio and our track record was impeccable. They would have been happy to allow us to stay overnight, but that would go against their written policy of "No overnight tourist visits" except for DoC personnel. They felt that because Campbell Island has a rich abundance of flora and fauna, any tourist overnight stay would impact on the island's environment. If the DoC let us stay, then they would have to allow other groups to stay and there are hundreds of organizations around the world that would love to visit Campbell Island. The DoC stipulated that we must take their representative with us to supervise our activities.

 Ken used every possible argument to persuade the DoC to give us special dispensation. We knew that no overnight stays would limit our LF activities. Numerous letters were exchanged and at the end of the day, it was take it or leave it. Activate Campbell Island with some loss of nighttime operations or don't activate it at all. We made the decision in early 1997 that we had to go, in spite of the restrictions. New Zealand has applied to the UN to give Campbell Island "World Heritage Park" status which could mean even more restrictions in the future. It is a growing trend that Governments around the world are increasingly more protective of their islands. This kind of governmental protectionism will make rare locations even more rare in the future. Our Permit was duly issued by the DoC but the overnight restrictions remained.