Waitangi, New Zealand, 11/8/2023, National Geographic Orion
Aboard the
National Geographic Orion
Australia and New Zealand
Oh, what a trip it has been. Our morning was spent enjoying the views on our first day in New Zealand! We had presentations from on-board National Geographic expert Wade Davis and lovely naturalist Kelly. We spent the chilly afternoon in Waitangi in the Bay of Islands.
After lunch and clearing customs, we went ashore to the amazing treaty grounds. We learned about New Zealand’s culture and how it became independent, and we enjoyed an amazing cultural display of song and dance. We returned to the ship for Captain’s farewell drinks. Today was a day well spent.
Born in Zimbabwe, Ross grew up between a 45000-acre Game Ranch and the small town of Victoria Falls, which is situated inside of the Victoria Falls National Park. Most of his earliest childhood memories were of the wildlife that was always on his doo...
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Today was a restful day at sea on National Geographic Orion . After an active agenda since our embarkation, most guests took advantage of a day at sea to catch up on journaling, working on photographs, artistic projects, lectures, hot tubbing, and even napping. Our open bridge policy allows everyone to see how our amazing officers and deck team navigate through the seas. Sea days are a great time to visit the bridge as well as to watch for wildlife. Today was also the day to choose our top images to submit for the slideshow, which will help us remember the highlights of our adventure. A wandering albatross, a pelagic bird with one of the widest wingspans on the planet, was seen as we began recap. It continued to fly gracefully behind National Geographic Orion as we headed to our gourmet dinner and concluded our evening.
National Geographic Orion arrived on the north side of Norfolk Island in beautiful conditions. Landing here is notoriously difficult, but today the seas were on our side. We took Zodiacs to the stunning coastline and waltzed up the concrete steps with ease. Our morning tour of the island featured historical information about the penal colony, the cemetery, slavery, and hardship. Expedition Leader Leah Eaton made special arrangements for us to have lunch ashore. We enjoyed a Norfolk Island famous fish fry at an amazing bay! They served us red emperor, locally called trumpeter fish, that had been caught that morning. It was so delicious that I’m pretty sure everyone went back for seconds. The afternoon was about exploring the vegetation and birds of the island. We went to a gorgeous, pristine botanical garden where we were treated to looks at the Norfolk Island gerygone and even a flyby of the Norfolk Island parakeet! Our next and final stop was at 100 Acres Reserve, where some of us walked the full loop down to the cliff edge to witness glorious vistas and nesting red-tailed tropicbirds. Norfolk Island is truly a special place, and we were lucky to spend the entire day there. But wait…there’s more! Today was the day of the famous National Geographic Orion Crew Show. After a beautiful Aussie barbecue, we got to see the amazing talents of our crew. What an awesome day!
