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Expedition Stories
Our fleet navigates the world in search of adventure. These are the stories they bring back…
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Previous Reports
3/25/2015
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National Geographic Orion
At Sea
Our day at sea began with two talks. I gave the first talk, entitled “Revolution in Song: Music & Resistance in Apartheid South Africa.” This presentation used songs to illustrate the role music played in resisting apartheid from 1948 through 1994 and beyond. Music communicated news during a time when it was very difficult for black journalists to write openly about apartheid in South Africa. It was also a way to create a feeling of solidarity and emotional bonds among South African people. Songs are a powerful way to communicate, because we can understand the sentiment even if we do not speak the language of the lyrics. Today, music continues to play an important cultural role in South Africa, as the country faces new challenges. The 46664 concerts, named after Nelson Mandela’s prison number, raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country and spread hope for treatment and cure. Following this was a talk by Chris Rainier, National Geographic photographer and Fellow, entitled “Cultures on the Edge: Documenting the 21 st Century.” This talk, with its stunning images, generated important questions and vibrant discussion. We talked especially about our role as visitors here to Southern Africa, and how we can best understand and appreciate the cultural experiences of this expedition. After a lovely lunch in the open air on the back deck, National Geographic Orion continued her sail northward towards Port Elizabeth, along the Whale Coast. As we neared Bird Island, we had a great illustration of why this stretch of sunny South African coastline is thus named. We came upon a spectacular feeding frenzy and had one of our first whale sightings of the expedition! The first animal spotted off the port side was a small baleen whale, and we all rushed out to the decks to have a look. Then National Geographic Orion nosed her way towards the real action, a great gathering of wildlife—fish, mammals, and seabirds—near to Bird Island, all of them feeding, probably on a sardine run beneath the waves. We had a fantastic gathering of species: common dolphins swam gracefully in pairs and threes, often quite close to the ship, while the smaller spinner dolphins did spectacular leaps for us. There were also a number of African penguins swimming like bullets and looking for fish. Above, Cape gannets and shearwaters flew, dipping into the waves to eat delicious seafood as well. And finally, what our naturalist David Cothran believed was a small pod of Brydes whales. These graceful creatures swam slowly in their pod, and we had great views of their spray and fins as they came up to breathe. After that fabulous display of wildlife, we returned to our comfortable lounge for two more talks. The first, “Don’t Get Buried” by David Cothran, naturalist and photo instructor, offered instruction on what may be the most useful skill to have on any expedition—organizing photos! David explained step-by-step how to keep images in good order to find them again later on, including the rationale behind iPhoto’s organizational strategy and how to manage photos by date, time, subject, and location. Everyone who attended will return home with their spectacular photos nicely arranged and ready to share with family and friends. Finally, we had the pleasure of a talk by Carl Safina, our Global Perspectives guest speaker. “The Ocean and Us” addressed the important topic of how we can improve our relationship with both nature and other human beings. As Carl so beautifully phrased it, “nature and human dignity require each other.” He gave us an inspiring hour of images and ideas, helping us to consider how, despite the challenges we face in our relationship with nature, we can each make our own contribution to, as he put it, “heal the world.” This evening as we sleep, National Geographic Orion will sail towards the Wild Coast. This part of South Africa was one of the former homelands during the apartheid regime, called the Transkei. It is home to many Xhosa people, including at one time in his youth, Nelson Mandela.
3/27/2015
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National Geographic Orion
Durban to Eshowe (Zululand)
We spent last night berthed in the bustling harbor of Durban, South Africa’s biggest port. This provided us with an ideal position from which to operate our day’s exploration of KwaZulu-Natal, or Zululand. Right after breakfast, we all boarded coaches to head for Eshowe, a region located in the heart of Zululand. Most of us opted for a morning visit to Fort Nongqayi to learn about the sometimes violent history of the interactions between the Zulu nation and the British colonizers. The fort was built by the British in 1844, during a lull in the Zulu Wars. There were three major wars fought here in Zululand during the 19 th century between Britain and the Zulu Kingdom. Two wars occurred before the fort was established and the final one, made famous by the Battle of Rourke’s Drift in 1879, occurred after its construction. The structure provides us with an intact representative of the typical British fortress used in colonial Africa. No fighting actually took place here in Eshowe after the fort was built, and perhaps the fort’s greatest importance was its later use as a training facility and barracks for the Zulu constabulary. The rest of us spent much of the morning exploring the Dlinza Forest (also in the Eshowe region), where we had a chance to visit a beautiful piece of the original forest of Natal. This site is a real gem, because the drive we made to reach the forest took us through almost unimaginable stretches of treeless sugar cane fields covering the surrounding hills. It’s difficult to fathom the amount of sugar that must be produced in this part of the country. Dlinza is located in the East Africa Coastal Forest zone and is a typical tropical evergreen forest that provided us with a real feel of wildness. Although Dlinza is not a true tropical rain forest, because it receives too little rain year round, walking on the well-maintained trails took us through a dense forest habitat in which we could see many similar aspects of a tropical rain forest. This included high species diversity, immense vertically straight trees producing a high canopy, and an astounding array of lianas and epiphytes. In fact, there were parts of the forest where one could not walk off the trail very far, because the space between the lowest tree branches and the ground level was filled with twisted lianas. There were many sounds in the forest from tree frogs, cicadas, and other insects, and unseen birds, which only increased our enjoyment of the nature walk. Fortunately, a few bird species were successfully observed in the dense foliage, almost all of which were new species to our keen birders. Without question, however, the best wildlife sighting must have been two shy blue duikers, tiny forest antelopes that are seldom seen in the wild under normal conditions. One of them quietly walked parallel to us on the trail for several meters and a few photographs were fortunately obtained. The highlight of the nature walk was the aerial boardwalk which gave us access to the forest canopy high above ground and chance to experience what the vervet monkeys must feel when they are up here in the highest branches. Everyone joined up for lunch in a restaurant near Fort Nongqayi, where some of us walked over to a hillside overlooking a pond that was rich with shore birds, waders, and waterfowl. Afterwards, we all drove out into the countryside to visit a small, somewhat spread out Zulu village. It was interesting to see the combination of traditional round houses interspersed with more modern-styled block houses, almost all with electricity and many with satellite dishes. We were able to sample some cow head stew and dumplings fresh out of the boiling pot before walking over to the school for a wonderful and heartfelt singing and dancing performance put on by the students. The rest of the school kids seemed to enjoy the performance as much or more than we did!
3/29/2015
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National Geographic Orion
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve
Ask any of the naturalists onboard what the highlight of this voyage must be and the answer should be obvious—our day in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve. This reserve was established in 1895, which makes it the oldest game park in Africa. It is set in the heart of Zululand and covers nearly 100,000 ha (about 250,000 acres). Actually, it is composed of two sections—the northern part is known as Hluhluwe (pronounced Shloosh-lewy) and the southern component is known as Imfolozi (pronounced just as it is spelled). The park is characterized by hilly topography and very high species diversities of both birds and mammals, as well as a wide variety of invertebrates, reptiles, and plant life. It is known worldwide for the great efforts started in the 1980s to save the white rhinoceros from extinction. This project was very successful, and in spite of some setbacks in restocking other areas due to despicable poaching, the population here is quite healthy. We got off to a very early start this morning from our hotels and lodges in St. Lucia and arrived at the park soon after sunrise for our game drives. However, just before we got off the coaches, a short distance before the main entrance, we encountered a pride of about a dozen lions right beside the road! This gave us a good indication of things to come. Within minutes of commencing our game drive, we began observing zebras, waterbucks, nyalas, kudus, impalas, wildebeest, cape buffaloes, vervet monkeys, baboons, elephants, and yes, numerous white rhinoceroses. Among the many birds sighted, the most attention-grabbing were perhaps cape turtle doves constantly cooing “drink la-ger” or “work har-der” over and over, crazy-looking tiny pin-tailed whydahs, aggressive little red-backed shrikes, ubiquitous square-tailed drongos, ostentatious trumpeter hornbills, eerie-looking white-backed vultures, a majestic brown snake eagle, and a single bizarre hammerkop. We roamed all over the huge parklands and made what must be one of the longest professional game drives (about eight hours) in park history, including another hour for lunch at the Hilltops Restaurant in Hluhluwe. It was all very satisfying, and the time spent in the field gave us ample opportunities to observe some interesting behaviorisms among the wildlife, something that always proves worthwhile and gives more meaning to watching and photographing animals. For instance, we watched a gathering of about a half dozen white rhinos happily feeding together, knowing full well from our readings that white rhinos don’t normally gather in groups! Observing zebras clumped together clearly showed us the value of their overlapping vertical stripes in causing confusion among potential predators who may try to single out an individual in the herd. The interspecific symbiotic interaction between red-billed oxpeckers and giraffes was both fascinating and amusing at the same time. Both species seemed to really enjoy the experience. One of our game drive vehicles had the good fortune to be bluff-charged by both an elephant and a white rhinoceros, but not at the same time. This made for some exciting moments, especially as the driver threw the vehicle into fast reverse to put distance between it and the angry elephant! Toward the end of our game drives, we all passed a long grassy area that held an inordinate number of individuals and species of mammals all mixed together, including white rhinos, cape buffaloes, Burchell’s or plains zebras, warthogs, kudus, and impalas. It was a scene right out of a National Geographic documentary, which was appropriate for this group, right? To paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, who visited Africa in the early 20 th century to hunt big game, “We have just spent a day in the Pleistocene.” This is right on, because Africa still holds much of its Pleistocene megafauna, while its corresponding megafauna in the rest of the world is long gone. Let’s hope places like Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve survive forever and there will always be such wild places for wildlife to exist wildly.
4/5/2015
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National Geographic Orion
Morondava, Madagascar
After a pleasant morning spent cruising through calm seas, under blue skies, we came into an anchorage a short distance off Morondava, the capital city of the Menabe region on the west coast of Madagascar. The first thing we saw as we came in closer to shore was an unbroken, far-as-the-eye-can-see beautiful white sand beach. Immediately after lunch, we began landing on the beach near the center of the town where we were met by a group of local guys waiting with a fleet of 4X4 vehicles. They took us on a 45-minute ride out into the countryside to see a truly wondrous site, the Avenue of the Baobabs. Everyone who has studied or simply read about Madagascar has surely seen images of this place and its collection of other-worldly trees known as baobabs. These ‘bottle trees’ look like something out of another, more ancient time. One can easily imagine giant Jurassic dinosaurian sauropods slowly walking around amongst them. There are eight species of baobab trees in the world today. One species is found in Africa, another one is found in Australia, and seven are found in Madagascar. Of those that exist in Madagascar, six are endemic (the seventh species is the same one that is also found in Africa). These bizarre-looking trees are shaped like gigantic bottles, which is appropriate because they specialize in collecting and storing water for survival in dry times. They are adapted to survival in semi-dry tropical regions and can survive many months, perhaps years, without any appreciable rainfall. In fact, the local Malagasy people in the past actually cut off large pieces of bark to retrieve precious water from their pithy interiors. We could see evidence of this in the old healed scars near the bases of several giant trees. Elephants do the same thing to the African species. One giant tree now lies on the ground after having been lost in a cyclone some years ago, and the once swollen trunk is now severely shriveled as it has dried out. Our quest today was the grandest of all baobabs, Adansonia grandidieri . Specimens of this species can reach over 100 feet in height and grow to eight meters in diameter. These trees cannot compete in height with the tallest trees found in other parts of the world, but their massive trunks make them real giants within the arborescent world. Fortunately for the baobab trees, they do not produce usable wood for human needs, and in fact provide numerous other useful commodities while alive. These include medicinal leaves, pods that give edible fruits (both the fruit pulp and seeds are eaten), seed oil that is used for cooking, and strips of bark that can be fashioned into rope and thatch. Many Malagasy have taboos regarding the treatment of baobab trees and in this region, A. grandidieri is sacred and known as Renala , or Mother of the Forest. No one knows how long these trees live, but evidence indicates at least some species can reach 1,200 years in age. Sadly, there is little left of the original surrounding forest and the remaining baobabs are isolated in low-lying scrub and grasslands, and apart from the ancient giants still standing, there are no little baobab trees about to replace them when they are lost. But, there is hope for baobab trees in Madagascar. While at the avenue, we met Serge Rajaobelina, one of the leading conservationists in Madagascar, and he has started a project to germinate baobab seeds from several species and give them a protected jump start in life. Not surprisingly, they take many decades to mature, so we must begin now in nurturing future generations of these amazing trees. Many of us were able to take part in planting A. grandidieri seedlings in a specially prepared area right near the Avenue of the Baobabs. We were very excited! Upon return to the beach of Morondava, we discovered our presence had created quite a scene in town as hundreds of local people were gathered on the beach to see the big ship anchored offshore, meet the strangers, and even try to sell a few souvenirs to us at the same time. Many little girls were still wearing their fancy Easter dresses from church services attended earlier in the day.
4/7/2015
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National Geographic Orion
Mahajanga and Ankarafantsika National Park
Our final full day of expeditions dawned with the promise of Madagascar’s most intriguing wildlife, and we were not disappointed. We had a full day excursion to appreciate this very special island and all the unique flora and fauna Madagascar has to offer. With National Geographic Orion anchored near to the port city of Mahajanga, we readied ourselves for a full day in Ankarafantsika National Park. Our day began with a morning Zodiac ride to shore, and we disembarked into a small fleet of mini-buses for the drive to the park. It was a journey of about three hours, and we were glad to stretch our legs afterwards on guided walks through the Malagasy forest. We enjoyed seeing several of Madagascar’s reptiles, including rhinocerous chameleons, skink lizards, and spiny tailed lizards (which is actually an iguana). And of course, there were plenty of native forest birds. Across the whole group, there were many special sightings of endemic species. There were several kingfishers, including a pygmy kingfisher and Malachite kingfisher. Other bird highlights included the white-headed vangashrike, crested drongo, and paradise flycatchers, which were near to their nest, although there were no eggs. Rounding out our bird list for the day was a sighting of the popular fish eagle. And, of course, there were lemurs. Just near our lunch site, as we arrived, were half a dozen Coquerel’s sifakas, a type of lemur that is not often seen. They were mostly resting and gave us an excellent photographic opportunity, as they seemed to be not at all afraid of human visitors. Some guests were fortunate enough to see three mouse lemurs, which are generally nocturnal, but who today were peeking out of the hollow of a tree, just a few feet off the ground. These three were of a recently described species of mouse lemur. It was very special to have Patricia Wright with us, whose renowned expertise of lemurs has been enlightening us for the whole voyage. Nearly fifty of her staff of eighty-five from the Centre ValBio research station in Ranomafana (which means “hot water” in Malagasy, due to nearby hot mineral springs) traveled two days—sixteen hours total—to come and greet Patricia. They received special permission to camp in the national park awaiting our arrival. Some of them had never before left Ranomafana. Because the Centre ValBio is located in the rainforest, and Ankarafantsika National Park is a dry forest, many of the species were new for Patricia’s staff as well. It was a very special day for all of them. Finally, everyone had a chance to visit the Durrell Trust captive breeding center. This important organization has been working for over twenty years to save the last species of very rare tortoises and turtles of Madagascar. Thankfully, the Durrell Trust has been successful at their work, and has already brought back one species from near extinction. And now we leave this unique island, which has been so welcoming to us for the last week, and look forward to our final stop tomorrow in Mayotte, French Comoros. Adieu, Madagascar! *Additional text contributions from Carl Safina and Patricia Wright, Global Perspectives guest speaker
4/9/2015
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National Geographic Orion
At sea between French Comoros and Dar-es-Salaam
After a delightful late evening of entertainment by the crew of National Geographic Orion , a morning at sea is most welcome, letting us gather our spirits before the heart-wrenching separation and the return to "normal" life, at least for a while, in wait for the next cruise or expedition to come back to exciting discoveries about our fellow travelers: the animals, plants and people that inhabit the same piece of rock traveling through space, going its way around the sun at close to a thousand kilometer per hour, our private star itself moving through space with our galaxy, in a very long galactic dance which tempo escapes our intuition. How little our daily lives squabbles, our lofty ideals and grand machinations seem when compared to the scale of the universe and what we have learnt in the last century. They are like the waves on the surface of the ocean our ship traverses, seemingly infinite and yet necessarily encountering the shore at some point of their travel, their weaving patterns may appear regular and predictable, and yet the seasoned navigator has learnt not to be lulled in the false security of familiarity. My mind keeps going back to the first sailors that took to the waters in search of new routes in these parts of the world, what paradigm shifts they were facing, forced to replace a world-view where the local had an overriding importance and arbitrary rules often constructed on crude observations and simple belief systems shaped the perception of the universe. Wandering minds and thoughtful expressions could often be observed today, as guests and staff started exchanging email addresses to keep in touch, packing bags, returning the borrowed snorkeling or diving equipment. There was an underlying sadness to those mundane tasks, reminding everyone that the expedition is nearing its final destination. For a while, our minds were transported to different worlds by Chris Rainier on his presentation “In Search of the Sacred,” and then by Carl Safina introducing an award-winning episode from his PBS series “Saving the Ocean” about Pemba Island in Tanzania. After lunch, our taste buds were challenged by Kristy Leissle playing Dr. Chocolate, who presented us with chocolate samples including some from Madagascar. The evening opened with a slide-show presented by David Cothran, featuring all the photos contributed by the guests on the expedition. Much rejoicing was had by all, as moments of the trip were highlighted by everyone’s photos and fond fresh memories and emotions were brought to the fore. The Captain of the National Geographic Orion , Lyubomir Garciyanov, invited us all for farewell drinks and then a farewell dinner was served.
3/26/2015
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National Geographic Orion
At Sea
Sailing from Mossel Bay past Port Elizabeth to Durban on the National Geographic Orion the past two days prompts a lot of thinking about history -- global, regional and personal. Empires and individuals have sailed these waters since the indigenous people of southern Africa boarded rafts for coastline fishing. Vasco de Gama and other European explorers combed these waters, as evidenced by the wonderful exhibits at the Maritime Museum we visited in Mossel Bay two days ago. Later, spice traders, Arab commercial dhows, American and British whalers, passenger liners and warships, all passed through these channels. On one of those vessels in 1896, the British Union Castle mail steamer HMS Saxon, my grandfather Bernhard immigrated to Port Elizabeth as part of the great Russian Jewish diaspora to the Cape Colony from the pogrom-ridden Czarist Empire. Building a new life in this extraordinary country, he became the leader of the Port Elizabeth Police Band and a concert master in this coastal city. Sailing through the foggy morning waters here and looking at the misty green hills, I feel like I am joining his voyage, and all the other eons of maritime travels, with ours. At sea today, we had a fine breakfast on the outer deck, and were treated to a superb talk on the spice trade by naturalist Tom Ritchie. Using great visuals and a fine command of the subject, Tom walked us through the romance and intricacies of the trade in spices from Asia and Africa – again, through these very waters – to European markets. Later, I tried to explain some of the complexities of the struggle against apartheid and the creating of post-apartheid South Africa in a discussion on that country’s past and vibrant future. Our guests asked insightful questions which helped highlight many of the developments which have led to today’s challenges for South Africans and for their government. A Mexican-themed lunch, heavily attended, was followed in the afternoon by a very timely talk by National Geographic photographer and Fellow Chris Rainier and naturalist and photo instructor David Cothran on the art of using photos to tell stories with images. Their suggestions on software and organizational tips for producing photo books and visual presentations will be a great boon to all of us amateur photographers on board. Later in the evening, Global Perspectives guest speaker Carl Safina gave a thoughtful and moving presentation on animal behavior and human-animal relations, focusing on the historical and current relationships between humans and elephants, and the increasingly threatened status of this intelligent and social species. Everyone onboard has enjoyed the time to relax and engage with speakers during these two days at sea, as well as the marine life that we enjoyed yesterday (like this dolphin shown below). We’re all looking forward to our port call in Durban, South Africa, tomorrow and the historical and nature-themed excursions in the surrounding areas of KwaZulu Natal.
3/28/2015
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National Geographic Orion
iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Game Reserve, South Africa
We arrived early this morning off the deep water harbor of Richard’s Bay, only to have to wait several hours for the required pilot to board our vessel before we could berth alongside. No matter, we still were able to go ashore right on schedule. This is one of the largest harbors in Africa and dates back to the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Nowadays, it is the main export facility for mined ores and coal, as well as products from other industries such as the smelting of aluminum, or aluminium if you prefer, and the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers. For our purposes, however, Richard’s Bay was an ideal jumping off point to explore the wonderful natural history of Zululand. These next two days would prove to be our biggest adventure yet of the voyage as we dedicated our time to experiencing the famous megafauna of wild Africa. Today, we explored the expansive iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Game Reserve. It is South Africa’s third-largest protected area and as the name implies, there are two aspects to this famous park. We took advantage of our time here to explore both of them. During the morning, half of our group went for a game drive through the surrounding rolling hills known as Eastern Shores to look for terrestrial wildlife, while the rest of us enjoyed a boat ride in the St. Lucia Estuary in search of aquatic wildlife. We switched activities in the afternoon. Eastern Shores reserve was planted with eucalyptus and pine trees for forestry products in the distant past, but those agriculture trees are gone now and the region has been protected for several decades and has a real wildness about it. It is a semi-open savanna habitat, with more heavily-forested regions in the more protected valleys and gorges. People come from all over the world to enjoy bird-watching in this park, because it has one of the highest avian species diversities on Earth. It also holds many iconic African mammalian species, including monkeys, elephants, rhinos, warthogs, zebras, many types of antelopes, and numerous predators (although lions are conspicuously lacking). And, we saw most of them during our game drives. The St. Lucia Estuary is famous not only for birds, but also for its large population of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. In fact, the population of hippos, which numbers more than 1,000 individuals, provides one of the best locales to view them anywhere in Africa. We certainly saw lots of them. We were also able to observe some interesting behaviorisms, such as feeding along the edges of the dense elephant grasses, sparring among young males, yawning threat displays, playful babies, bubble-blowing from below the surface (we couldn’t determine which end of the animals produced these bubbles), body rubbing, and general lazing about and bobbing at the surface while watching us watching them. Only one crocodile was seen, and it wanted nothing to do with the hippos, which is understandable. It is somewhat surprising to realize that these appealing, lumbering hippos are the most dangerous large animals in Africa—much more so than lions and crocodiles. All in all, we put together an impressive list of species sighted today, but we knew there would be much more in store for us tomorrow. Since this was an overnight excursion, we divided ourselves among four different hotels and lodges in the town of St. Lucia in order to guarantee an early start tomorrow morning at the magnificent Hluhluwe-Imfolozi National Park, the second half of our wildlife experience in Zululand.
4/2/2015
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National Geographic Orion
At Sea Between Mozambique and Madagascar
Traveling east, as all jet-set travelers know, has the unfortunate side-effect of shortening the duration of the day. However, traveling on a ship has the huge advantage that this change is barely perceptible, except on days where the arbitrary division of our planet into time-zones brutally reminds us that clocks are important to synchronize not only life on board, but also our interactions with our brethren landlubbers. Last night was amputated of a whole hour so we would wake up this morning with Malagasy time on our clocks. We cannot see the island of Madagascar yet, we will not get there before tomorrow morning, and yet it has entered our lives. Yesterday ended with the viewing of the movie "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar" featuring Dr. Patricia Wright, and some of our dreams were populated by lemurs while the ship rocked us to sleep. The movement of the ship, however, reminded us often that we are on the open sea. As has been the case most mornings since the beginning of the voyage, the sunrise regaled us with a spectacular display, lighting the underside of the clouds scattered all the way in the distance with the radiant promise of a gorgeous day. For the past 24 hours, we have been officially in tropical waters, having passed the Tropic of Capricorn on our way to Bazaruto last night. Our heading to Toliara is east-south-east, so we are flirting with the tropic, getting closer to it without passing it. The air is warm and moist, the waters of the Mozambique Channel a deep blue. Thanks to modern charts, radar, GPS, and sextant, we did not have to worry about getting shipwrecked on this crossing, but a lot of mariners in times of galleons and caravels weren't so fortunate. The main maritime route to bring spices and gold from the Indian subcontinent followed the Mozambique current from north to south, and right in the middle of the deep channel, deadly dangers lurked: Europa Island rises from the sea floor to above the surface. Even more treacherous is Bassas do India, a seamount rising to just under the surface. Sailors that have been there reported that they could stand on top of the reef with water up to their knees at low tide. Many ships in the old days met their demise on these reefs, and the area has many shipwrecks scattered on the bottom. We passed Europa Island, a French territory, in the early part of the afternoon. We were too far from it to even catch a glimpse of the island, and anyway too engrossed in the talks that occupied us for most of the day: Carl Safina regaled us with a talk about turtles, Chris Rainier about light at the edge of the world, then together with David Cothran presented a photo workshop, Dr. Adel Korkor informed us about Ebola on the other side of the continent, and Dr. Patricia Wright gave the second part of the presentation of the history of Madagascar.
4/6/2015
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National Geographic Orion
Chesterfield Island, Madagascar
After the other-worldly experience at the Avenue of the Baobabs on April 5, National Geographic Orion sailed on through the night towards northwestern Madagascar, for another rendezvous with the island’s lemurs. The seas were lovely and calm, and all aboard enjoyed dinner under the stars. During the morning of April 6 at sea, noted Malagasy conservationist Serge Rajaobelina gave an inspirational presentation on his work to empower local communities in Madagascar to value and enhance natural conservation. Working with the private sector and emphasizing land rights and land tenure, community involvement and decision making, he introduced a win-win model. These conservation activities have led to greater employment within communities, greater markets for agricultural products and in general greater ownership of national conservation efforts. Following that, cultural specialist Kristy Leissle gave a mouthwatering talk on the links between the modern boutique chocolate industry and Madagascar’s cocoa industry. Drawing on her years of research into the industry and culture of chocolate production in Africa, she enlightened the guests on the economic and health benefits of fine chocolate. The assembled crowd left eager for a hands-on tasting in a few days’ time. Later in the afternoon, National Geographic Orion made an unscheduled tropical stop at small sandy Chesterfield Island, about 30 miles offshore of Madagascar. An adventurous Zodiac landing in an active surf line was followed by a lovely couple of hours on this lone island, covered with wheeling flocks of terns and surrounded by pleasant snorkeling zones. Back at sea en route to Mahajanga, Madagascar, the guests heard a second scientific lecture by Global Perspectives Speaker Dr. Patricia Wright, delving into the origins, species differentiation, and lifestyles of the 100+ varieties of lemurs in Madagascar. Her presentation included her usual excellent visuals and whetted the travelers’ appetites for tomorrow’s land excursion in the forested northwestern region of the island. The evening ended with another fine dinner in the best French style, followed by a Madagascar chocolate flourless torte.
4/8/2015
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National Geographic Orion
Mayotte, French Comoros
As the epic and original adventure up the eastern coast of Africa draws to an end, the guests aboard the National Geographic Orion prepared for their last landing. Mayotte is an overseas region of France. The area is comprised of a few small islands, and though technically Mayotte is within the Comoro Islands, they politically remain part of France. The bustling morning offered many options; a city tour, snorkeling, diving, and a short hike. As all participants readied themselves for these various opportunities, the stunning beauty of Mayotte awaited just off the ship’s side. The divers left quickly, steaming out towards a beautiful reef which was once an old river bed. This area has been protected as a nature reserve for 15 years, a fact that was made evident by the active coral reef. The water was turquoise blue and visibility was spectacular. With a temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit, wetsuits were almost superfluous. The bottom of the ocean was carpeted by granular white sand, the kind that easily rubs between your fingers. Divers spotted unicorn fish, boxfish and giant clams, a variety of coral species, the giant barrel sponge, and many small reef fish. Snorkelers enjoyed an overhead view of the very same dive spot, which seems to be a popular destination of the island (for a good reason). As hikers and city tour guests landed on Mayotte’s port they were greeted by a lively group of musicians and dancers. Past the entertainment was a spice market, offering fresh cinnamon and vanilla from the region. The hikers set off on an exciting tour of the land, enjoying the tropical climate and strong sun. Incredible wildlife made itself evident, including fruit bats; even sea turtles were spotted from land. City tour guests embarked on an informative trip around the island, learning about the way of life on a French island surrounded by the Indian Ocean. Once back aboard the ship, the journey to Dar es Salaam began with all sun kissed guests in tow. For the evening meal the crew prepared a fabulous outdoor buffet of local African barbeque items which ended the night, and the fantastic journey everyone had, on a delicious and well-themed note.
10/24/2015
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National Geographic Explorer
Castro, Achao, Dalcahue, Chiloe National Park, Chiloe Island, Chile
We sailed into the narrow waterways leading up to the city of Castro, situated on the east shores of the Island of Chiloe. It had been a quiet night, just what the doctor had ordered, and allowed us to get a good night’s rest. The day was fresh and overcast and shortly after breakfast we board the buses that will take us to the different destinations for the day. Today there are three choices: a short cultural tour, a longer cultural tour, and a visit to a national park. All three tours include a visit to at least one of the remarkable churches that can be seen on the island. They were constructed by the Jesuit and Franciscan orders dating back to the 1730s. What is remarkable about them is that they are entirely made of wood and put together with no use of nails or bolts. They were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. We are in awe at the beauty of these buildings and taken aback by their simplicity. There is also a visit to the small town of Achao, on a nearby island of the same name, which requires a short trip on a ferry to reach. Once in the town we walk the streets and visit one of the local markets. Many of the houses are clad in shingles of the most varied designs but all made from the wood of the Patagonian cypress. The wood from these long-lived trees is very resistant to water and was also used widely by the native tribes from this region for the construction of their boats. The next stop on the way is Dalcahue, where we have the opportunity of visiting a large craft market and also small eating houses where it is possible to sample some of the local foods. The craft fare is mostly comprised of woollen products of all types, made from homespun and dyed wool. The visit to Castro includes an opportunity to see the Palofitos , as the houses built on stilts are known here. This form of construction mostly made of wood, is a neat way in which the fishing communities could get around the large tides in this region. Many of the houses are painted in bright blues, yellows, and reds. The last option involved a visit to the Chiloe National Park and included a pleasant walk through an elfin forest along the Pacific coastline. The plants were of great interest as well as the numerous birds seen along the way, particularly noteworthy were good looks at the slender-billed parakeet. At teatime the ship is anchored off the coast of Achao Island, and after boarding the Zodiacs we head for a visit to “Tato’s Farm.” Tato is our oceanographer, and he has kindly invited us to his homestead. We walk along the extensive tidal area filled with Hudsonian godwits, whimbrels, gulls, chimango caracaras, and other birds feeding on the rich food sources to be had in the mud flats sighted on our way to the farm. We are greeted with a glass of wine or other refreshments as the asadores put the final touches to the barbecued lambs prepared for us. Soon enough we are heartily tucking into this Patagonian delicacy accompanied by one of the 200 varieties of potato grown on the island. The setting is idyllic, the house situated on a small hill surrounded by apple trees and in the nearby fields some ponies quietly grazing. Throughout the day we have passed many oyster farms as well as salmon and trout farms. These farms are particularly controversial as they have caused extensive damage to the waters and seabed in these areas. Once back on board we get ready for the Captain’s welcome cocktails and dinner, it is an opportunity to meet most of the ship’s officers. The ship slowly heads east to cover the short distance to tomorrow’s destination. It has been a great start to the first day of our expedition.
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