In this Expedition Spotlight, Expedition Leader Dan Olsen reveals what makes Karukinka Natural Park so special and how we're helping to protect this awe-inspiring region.
Beginning in 2025, the National Geographic Orion will return to the ancient Mediterranean. Here's 5 reasons to explore this storied region in premier comfort.
Jessica Gee of The Bucket List Family shares what it’s like to travel the world with her husband and three children and how to find “joy in the journey.”
Continuing with mythical and epic places, we made it to the end of our trip with a few days to explore glorious Staten Island. Made famous by its treacherous waters, furious winds, hundreds of wrecks during the 1800’s, and the famous Jules Verne novel, ‘The Lighthouse at the End of the World’, it is by nature one of the wildest places in the world. We experienced that with changes in weather that went from 50 knot winds with heavy sleet, to a sunny calm day minutes afterwards.
Nothing like the first day of an expedition! Today aboard National Geographic Explorer we explored Cape Town, an excellent way to start a trip. Guests were treated to scenic views of Table Mountain, tours of the botanical garden, and even a wine tasting tour, while our staff divers documented seven gill sharks. Shortly after lunch we cast off heading eastward down the coast. Petrels, shearwaters, and cape gannets were seen in large numbers as we rounded the Cape.
It was a great day. Isabela is one of the jewels of the Galapagos. It has so many things to see and today was no exception. In the morning we landed at Urbina Bay where we had our first encounters with the giants of the Galapagos Islands, the giant tortoises. These incredible reptiles were walking on the very same path we were on, and we saw them up close. After our hike, we enjoyed some leisure time at the beach. In the afternoon, we went snorkeling and swam with Galapagos penguins and so many turtles. On our return, it was funny to find a Galapagos sea lion lying on one of our Zodiacs.
Every day in Mexico’s Gulf of California is great, but today was especially special. It started with a green flash and a magnificent sunrise at Punta Colorada (located on the eastern side of San José Island) with its colorful sandstone cliffs catching the early morning light. Hikers explored the arroyo in the morning, and snorkelers admired the healthy coral reefs, home to great schools of blue and gold snappers, Mexican goatfish, and many more. But it was a lucky encounter with killer whales that really made our day, and everyone admired the oceans’ top predators from their Zodiacs. What a special treat! Afterwards, we made the first Lindblad visit to a recently formed, new feeding colony of Guadalupe fur seals at Las Ánimas Island, rounding up an amazing day exploring the beautiful Sea of Cortez.
We woke up as we were threading through the atoll surrounding Taha’a and Ra’iatea and then we started our day with a visit to a vanilla plantation. Taha’a is famous for the vanilla it produces. Next, we got to snorkel in the beautiful blue water off a private motu (island formed from built up coral debris). After a lovely lunch, we went to a sacred complex called Marae Taputapuatea. This area is recognized by UNESCO for its important cultural heritage. This place is considered one of the central starting points for Polynesian explorers and has much religious significance. After the cultural excursion, we went off on a hike and went birding. Upon returning to the ship, we had cocktail hour and a lovely dinner. To top it off, the crew put on a fantastic show for us after our meal.