Farquhar Atoll & At Sea
The Farquhar Atoll is one of those magical places that deserves as much time as possible, so even after exploring it for a full day yesterday, we have taken an extra morning to delve further into its treasures.
The Farquhar group has two major islands, and eight smaller islets - one of which we decided to land in this morning. As we crossed the shallow reef into the inner lagoon of the atoll, we spotted a dark cloud. Drawing closer, we realized that this “cloud” was actually a flock of birds, some of the many terns who nest there: black naped terns, lesser crested tens, and common noddys dominated the group, flapping through the sky with their tell-tale jerky motions as though their wings were attached to an invisible puppet master. The Brown or Common Noddy lives mainly on predator-free islands, where birds are able to breed on the ground, laying an egg directly onto rock ledges without building a nest. The adult birds feed in flocks like we saw this morning, picking small fish or squid from near the surface of the water.
We had one of those mornings you could only have in the tropics, soaking in some of the fantastic birding and beach combing, before returning to the landing beach where the waters of the lagoon awaited us: some of us snorkeled around the coral heads, while others simply enjoyed sitting on the water’s edge staring out across the vast lagoon.
An afternoon at sea allowed us to catch up on naptime, download our pictures, or take in the lectures that had to be re-scheduled during the days previous due to exciting events outside: but really what can you do when pilot whales or dolphins visit the ship? However, always on an expedition and in search of new places, we stopped briefly at the island of St. Pierre for reconnaissance. We gazed out upon trees toppled sideways, and coral reefs reduced to rubble, recently ravaged by cyclones. How fortunate we were to have enjoyed the pristine beauty of the Farquhar Atoll.
The Farquhar Atoll is one of those magical places that deserves as much time as possible, so even after exploring it for a full day yesterday, we have taken an extra morning to delve further into its treasures.
The Farquhar group has two major islands, and eight smaller islets - one of which we decided to land in this morning. As we crossed the shallow reef into the inner lagoon of the atoll, we spotted a dark cloud. Drawing closer, we realized that this “cloud” was actually a flock of birds, some of the many terns who nest there: black naped terns, lesser crested tens, and common noddys dominated the group, flapping through the sky with their tell-tale jerky motions as though their wings were attached to an invisible puppet master. The Brown or Common Noddy lives mainly on predator-free islands, where birds are able to breed on the ground, laying an egg directly onto rock ledges without building a nest. The adult birds feed in flocks like we saw this morning, picking small fish or squid from near the surface of the water.
We had one of those mornings you could only have in the tropics, soaking in some of the fantastic birding and beach combing, before returning to the landing beach where the waters of the lagoon awaited us: some of us snorkeled around the coral heads, while others simply enjoyed sitting on the water’s edge staring out across the vast lagoon.
An afternoon at sea allowed us to catch up on naptime, download our pictures, or take in the lectures that had to be re-scheduled during the days previous due to exciting events outside: but really what can you do when pilot whales or dolphins visit the ship? However, always on an expedition and in search of new places, we stopped briefly at the island of St. Pierre for reconnaissance. We gazed out upon trees toppled sideways, and coral reefs reduced to rubble, recently ravaged by cyclones. How fortunate we were to have enjoyed the pristine beauty of the Farquhar Atoll.
