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What’s Your Favorite Travel Memory?
Perhaps it was the penguin pecking at your boot during your first visit to Antarctica. Or the thrill you felt exploring legendary Pitcairn Island. Whatever your favorite Zegrahm or Eco Expeditions memory, we’d love to hear about it. Please share your story/favorite memory as a comment to this blog post.
We will pick our favorite from those submitted and the winner will receive a $100 credit to Longitude Books, a 20th Anniversary baseball hat, and the story will be published in the April e-newsletter. Deadline for entries is February 24th.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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My favorite travel memory is (was) my introduction to Peter Harrison. Or should I say, Peter, Zegrahm, and Zodiacs. I’ve been cruising for a long time, ever since I left the Navy in 1960 when I said to myself that a goal in life would be to sit in the back of the boat as it got underway, sipping a martini. (And not having to get up in the middle of the night as a watch officer). I started cruising on the big ones, Carnival, Holland America, etc, but they didn’t do it for me. Somehow I came across Zehgram Expeditions and a trip from Easter Island to Tahiti with a few days in Tahiti. Sounded reasonable to me on a the Clipper Odessey, a ship we had been on before. Little did I know that Peter was a bird maven (i.e., crazy over birds). I’m interested in a lot of things like diving, history, not birds, but I humor him any how. Easter Island was fascinating, especially the part about how the ancients would swim out to a small island nearby to get an egg to demonstrate their bravery. Peter proposed a trip to the island on a Zodiac, sounded easy to me, so I signed up. As we got near, I looked for a landing spot: None. Then I looked for a place we could pull into where I could step out into the shallow water, and walk up trail: None. I couldn’t figure out the drill, but there were people on shore already and there had to be a way. There was. The Zodiac driver and crewman picked me up and threw me on to the shore! I didn’t even have time to be scared as I flew through the air. Then up a narrow trail and into a tiny cave. I’ve traveled many times with Peter and Shirley, but it’s never been like that. (Except the time in New Guinea, but that’s an other story.)
We asked Zegrahm cofounders, Werner and Susan Zehnder, to share their favorite travel memories and this is what they said:
[Werner] I went scouting years ago in Papua New Guinea and we came to this one island where the children had never seen a white person before. They were running away from me! And there was no sense of time on the island; they didn’t have watches or clocks. There was no sense of age, even. It was just an amazing, eye-opening experience. If you’re talking about favorite wildlife experiences though, it has to be Antarctica. The wildlife is so tame that you actually have to get out of their way. The penguins just come up to you even though you’re trying to keep your distance. This continent doesn’t belong to anyone; you really do feel like a visitor there.
[Susan] I was in the Solomon Islands once and sort of became a “snorkel queen,” helping people who didn’t know how to swim well learn to snorkel. We were in very shallow but pristine water and I was able to help people who didn’t feel comfortable putting their faces in the water. They got to experience this incredible place—to see the fish and the coral and the beauty of the water. It was a very satisfying experience.
Read our interview with Susan and Werner about Zegrahm’s beginning and what might lie ahead in years to come. http://www.zeco.com/library/celebrating-twenty-years.asp
My Favorite Memory
Of course there are those polar bears,
mother and son, hamming it up in 2009
in an obscure Greenland fjord.
And the great walrus hunt in 2007 in Svalbard.
And ferocious skuas in 2006
on some far-flung British isle.
And those royal penguins on Macquarie in 2005,
the male delicately testing a walking stick,
then gently, beak to beak,
passing the taste along to his mate.
And Peter Harrison that same trip,
somewhere south of New Zealand,
looking at a giant petrel and exclaiming:
“What’s it doing here? It’s a second-year juvenile
from South Georgia.” I always, ALWAYS believe Peter.
And . . . and . . .
However, given Zegrahm’s track record so far:
“My favorite memory”?
THE BEST IS YET TO COME.
Sally M. Gall
My favorite memory:
It’s really not fair to ask me to share just one memory – so many of my favorite memories involve Zegrahm trips. But since I have to choose, I’ll go back to my very first trip with Zegrahm, a Viking Journey, 2000, on the Little Red Ship, The Explorer, and a day that provided not just one favorite memory, but two.
We were on a northern Scottish island – can’t remember which one. No one lived there; there was a Park Service old half sunken house, with a couple of very fetching dogs. We took off walking around the island, and I quickly fell behind (not unusual). It had been a cold day, but as I walked the sun became warmer and I shed my jacket, and then my sweatshirt. Anything more would have been indecent. It was a typical Scottish island – no trees, lots of sheep and birds, gorgeous clear skies, turquoise ocean with white capped waves. I remember feeling that I had never been so happy in my life. Later I caught up with Peter and the birders, and listened to Peter wax eloquent for a while, then started to wander back to the ship. As I walked along, other passengers passed me by, and we exchanged smiles and a few words. I was so enjoying the scenery, the sunshine, the beauty of the ocean and the day. That’s the first favorite memory.
Suddenly, I realized that it was getting darker and I hadn’t seen another person in a long time. Oh my god, I thought, did I turn over my cabin token when I left the ship? I picked up my pace. My second favorite memory was seeing the ship still there – I hadn’t been left behind!!
Not only had I properly turned over my cabin token, but, as it turned out, I was not the last person back on the ship. Peter and a few of his intrepid birders were still out doing their thing. Nadia, the cruise director, was so angry with Peter that night, but what could she do?
What a fabulous day!! Just one of many spent with my fellow Zegrahm travelers.
THE EYES OF ZEGRAHM ARE UPON YOU
My 2001 trip to Antarctica ended with a series of coincidences both mind-boggling and fortuitous. The 3-week trip had been a sensation and the 90 or so travelers were exhilarated but exhausted. We eagerly boarded the plane in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, for the first leg of our trip home.
We sat on the runway. And sat. The plane did not start.
The stewardesses met in the front of the plane and engaged in a head-shaking and hand-waving discussion. The co-pilot joined them. A half hour passed. Finally a stewardess told our tour leaders there was too much luggage in the plane. Some of it had to be stored in the baggage area. A sizeable number of passengers, somewhat surprised that weight distribution was so critical, unpacked their camera gear and turned their bags over to be put in the hold.
We sat. The plane did not take off. We sat.
After an hour and a half, during which time we kept telling ourselves, “Oh, well, it is South America, after all; time doesn’t mean the same thing here,” the plane finally revved up and took off for Chile. When the baggage appeared in Santiago, our group was missing 45 pieces. Nobody from the airline had any clue where they might be.
Back in Ushuaia, about the time we finally took off–one and a half hours after our scheduled departure—Geoff Renner, a naturalist for our tour, arrived at the airport to start his trip home. His eyes riveted on distinctive luggage tags on a small pile of bags sitting unatended on the tarmac. Geoff recognized the tags and knew those bags belonged to the Zegrahm group that supposedly left Ushuaia an hour earlier. He went to a phone and reported his sighting to Zegrahm.
Flash across South America to Rio de Janeiro. A plane landed, and a young man waited for his luggage. He’d just finished a job as zodiac driver in Antarctica, and he was now en route to Costa Rica and his next job. He noticed a large number of bags going unclaimed round and round the carousel, each with distinctive yellow luggage tags. He grabbed a phone and reported his sighting to Zegrahm’s home office.
Some Lan Chile executive must have been thunderstruck when a seemingly omnipotent Zegrahm representative phoned from Seattle to notify the airline that, though as yet unreported, two sets of bags were missing, one of which could be located in Ushuaia and the other in Rio. Moreover, both sets of bags belonged in Santiago. Lan Chile best manage to get all that luggage to Santiago before 8:30 p.m.
At precisely 8:24, every missing bag arrived in Santiago. We grabbed them and raced to our check-in for return flights home.
Major airline systems failed; communication systems broke down; but the Zegrahm international network of alert and dedicated staff prevailed. And we were going home with yet another fabulous trip memory.
Lots of folks found Pitcairn fascinating, but nothing compares to our experience on the Rapa Nui to Papeete in 2003. Clipper Odyssey was anchored about half mile off shore, but the sea was too rough for a zodiac landing. The locals, mostly named Christian, came out in their 50 foot aluminum lighters to fetch us. Pitcairn has no harbor (no doubt one reason Fletcher Christian chose it)– only a short L shaped concrete jetty, but the waves broke very close to its end. After a wonderful day ashore, we were told the sea was rising, and we headed for the landing. A local man, perched on top of a pole at the end of the jetty helped the driver of the lighter time his attempt to get out, umnder full throttle, between the now much bigger breakers. On the second trip a huge breaker broke across the bow, washing through all the passengers, who were locked together, arms and legs, on the slippery deck, with a gunwale only some 10 inches high keeping them from sliding into the ocean. That was not, however, the main excitement, as evidenced by the radio message Mike Lessig got as he safely passed the breakers, heading toward Odyssey. “You left your walkie-talkie on shore,” he was told. “Comming back to get it?” “No thanks, you keep it!” was his answer. But as each lighter approached the Odyssey the terror multiplied. How could one stand on the slippery deck ans somehow leap to the steel platform at the opening to the portside hatch to enter the ship? The waves were some 8 feet high; Odyssey was stable. The lighter rushed passed, vertically, that platform with each wave. But Zegrahm’s wonderful Philipino Able Seaman had the answer. Two of them standing on that platform would grab one of us under the arm, lift us bodily in the air, and pitched us hrizontally into the hatch. There, three on each side, were six more Seamen. They caught each passenger in their arms, stood us upright and gave us a push toward the steward with a hot rum punch in hand. No one was hurt, but when the passengers on one lighter saw what they had to go through they began singing “Nearer My God to Thee!” After this experience, Connie and I decided we had get married, and so we did on our return to safer shores.
We were sailing in the South Pacific with Society Expeditions. I had lured my husband from the “big Ship/Caribbean” travel and we were having a wonderful time. Mike Messick invited us to a small chat with fellow travelers. He told us about a new company called “Zegrahm”. Would we like to be on the mailing list?
20 years and over 25 trips later, we still whoop and holler and say “YES!”
Is it Peter Harrison slogging through the Amazon, trying to catch a baby alligator? Is it the DC6 loosing an engine over Africa? Is it “natives” rushing us in dug-out canoes in Irian Jaya? Or lying in dried bird poop to see cave drawings in the Kimberly? Maybe tromping through South Africa to see it “My Way” or snorkling with Jack?
I sit here surrounded by my trip lists and albums. The memories swirl through my head like a pulsing rainbow of lovely memories and I can only say “Thank You” for the blessing of each and every one of you!
Boy, this is hard! Mike and Sonya stepping out of the helicopter to arrange the BBQ after the Yamal freed the Kapitan Khlebnikov from the ice in the North of Greenland, Anna Zuckerman’s on-the-deck exercize class in the Arctic, which always attracted polar bears and whales, tales of Sir Peter, Jack Grove’s booming voice. There are so many. Congratulations!
E-MAIL FROM ANTARCTICA
Hi Everyone!
Antarctica. The seventh continent. A land of rock and ice. And penguins. Always the penguins, thank goodness! We’re here on the Antarctic continental peninsula on Sunday, January 17. We were up early, dressed and off the ship at 6 a.m. We stepped out of the Zodiac and onto the continent’s Brown Bluff – named for the massive rust-colored, ice-capped mountain that towers 745 meters over the shoreline colony of Adelie and Gentoo penguins. The birds were up early too, some of them marching in file along the shore before entering the icy water en masse amid much chattering. We were chattering as well because of the cold – below freezing with added wind chill – cold hands! We were able to snap a few pictures of the rugged landscape before a fog bank enveloped the peaks. After two hours spent watching the interactions between the parent penguins and chicks and the comings and goings of the adults on their feeding missions, we reboarded the Zodiacs and, before leaving shore, were treated to Mimosas to toast our milestone landing. Then back to the ship for breakfast.
My new favorite penguin is the Adelie. The adults sport the classic tuxedo black and white, with a white eye ring accenting a black face. In the sun, the bird’s brilliant white chest feathers glisten like satin. We encountered our first Adelies yesterday morning as we entered the Weddell Sea after sailing through the Antarctic Sound. Our plans to disembark at Paulet Island to see a colony of Adelies had to be altered because of too much sea ice, an unusual occurrence at this time of the year. Since we couldn’t get in see the birds on land, the ship (Le Diamant) drifted a few miles away and we disembarked on a Zodiac cruise to look for penguins and other wildlife on the ice. The morning was too perfect, with bright sun and no wind. Besides a few Adelies, we saw some crab-eater seals and a fur seal (far away from its South Georgia home – it must be following me) sunning themselves on the ice. At one point, we scrambled off the Zodiac onto a snow-covered ice floe and there on the other side was an Adelie, waiting, who posed nicely for us. Another Adelie on its floe walked right up to the Zodiac as we drew alongside to photograph it. Perhaps it was curious about us, but as soon as a third Adelie popped out of the water onto a nearby floe, it was into the water in a flash and over to the other floe to be with its companion. We also saw a juvenile Emperor penguin, a rare sighting of this species in a place about 100 miles north of the most northerly Emperor penguin colony on Antarctica. Our Emperor morning left everyone giddy with excitement.
In the afternoon yesterday, we disembarked at Devil Island, located in the Weddell Sea offshore of the Antarctic peninsula, to visit a large colony of Adelies on a beach. I’ve noticed that all the types of penguins have distinctive voices, from the chirping of young King penguins, to the cranking-the-motor-but-not-quite-starting-up of the adult Kings, to the braying of the Gentoos. We’ve been hearing from the naturalists aboard ship about the lifestyles of all these birds as we visit the colonies – so much information, it’s hard to retain it all. We are now up to eight species of penguin sighted – at least it’s eight that I can think of right now. We are all starting to smell a bit like penguins too. Our cabin has a kind of fishy smell, even though we are cleaning our clothes and boots scrupulously after each landing. I thought our cabin was the only one with that aroma, but it seems that everyone is having the same “problem!”
The sun is trying to break through the heavy fog as I write this at mid-morning Sunday. Today is the coldest day we’ve had, mostly because of the wind chill. Yesterday started out cold but the air soon warmed up from the sun to become nearly tropical, with afternoon temperatures in the balmy 50s Fahrenheit. The day was so still that we were able to see perfect reflections of the icebergs in the mirror water as we slowly sailed past them. The scenic beauty of the Antarctic is beyond stunning. The Weddell Sea region where we are now has its own palette of colors. The ice is white and blue, with occasional tinges of brown and green algae growing with the summer sun on the ice that’s just beneath the sea surface. Yesterday’s sky was streaked with clouds that had a peach-pink cast; the ice and snow of distant islands also glowed the same gauzy peach. The sea here is sometimes blue, but the deep water reflects a clear, slate gray-black. At this far south (63 degrees south, 56 degrees west) we are experiencing nearly 24 hours of light. We are told that there is a brief period of darkness at about midnight, but it does not get sufficiently pitch black to be able to see many stars. We’ve not been able to stay awake until that time of the night to see for ourselves if that’s true.
We’ll have an “Expedition Afternoon” today – so we may make another landing somewhere, or maybe we’ll go on another Zodiac cruise. Weather and ice conditions will determine our activities. But there’s always something, and always the penguins.
From the seventh continent,
Love,
Leigh and Irwin
It was late Afternoon, and as usual, I was the last one in the water snorkeling offshore of Maupihaa, French Polynesia. Alfonso Lombana and Nancy Jane Earnhardt pulled up in their Zodiac, and called out to me, and asked If I wanted to see some Whales. I hopped into the Zodiac and off we went, to join an Armada Of Zodiacs following a group of HumpBack Whales. We followed the Whales so closely we could see them breaching and heard them breathing and exhaling. We were in awe of the size, power, and grace of these animals. We followed the Whales for about 15 Minutes, then, In a Moment we will all remember, 3 Whales Dove with their Tails Up as a “Three Fluke Salute” goodbye, and they were gone. Everyone in the Zodiacs let out a “Cheer”, and it was a perfect finale, and a wonderful way to end an expedition day. As we headed back to the Clipper Odyssey, the Sun was setting, and that was when I realized, how special, and unique, it was to be part of this Trip. Zegrahm Expeditions is special, because, nowhere else could you experience moments like this.
Absolutely right! What a wonderful finale.
One Favorite Memory? Forget it. For the past eleven years Zegrahm has lured me to far off waters and lands, some of which I had never heard, much less knew I wanted to visit – all seven continents, many cultures, exquisite wildlife, diving, traveling with like-minded passengers and terrific naturalists – and humor has always been a fellow passenger.
I remember the fantastic sighting for a lucky group led by Rob McCall on the tiny island of Tsoi LIk – nearly 50 megapode birds, birds so rare that Peter had traveled the world in search of them without ever seeing a single one. No time is wasted getting off a message to Seattle, “Attention Peter”.
We hear strains of Enya’s ‘Flora’s Secret’ while we stand on the sun deck of Le Ponant, watching sails magically unfurl; we are embarking at dusk for our grand adventure through the Seychelles.
I watch Jack coach the newbies in a half hour all-you-need-to-know “snorkel class” in the Galapagos, and a few days later I see my “here-to-fore afraid of sea critters“ granddaughter free diving fifteen+ feet to observe green turtles and marine iguanas.
I am terrified – I am Werner’s dive buddy in Palau – never before have I had a CEO’s life in my hands!
Mike boldly steps into on-coming Ho Chi Min traffic to demonstrate how to cross a street in Vietnam; we ride through the countryside from village to village and to the temples on 50+ borrowed rice farmers’ bikes; in Laos I pray as we shuttle in two groups on a plane with taped together seats from Luang Prabang to the Plain of Jars with Gary – the other plane is “out of commission” for the day.
Jack, chin in hand, waiting to check in at the Yap terminal, multiple Baining fire dancer masks in bubble wrap in tow, left by passengers at the Palau Pacific Resort to be transported to the states, if you please. Each mask measures about 4’ wide by 8-10’ tall.
Peter tells tall tales when we are not communing with the penguins in the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica. Shirley recounts her priceless true story of how and why she became the first woman to ski overland to the South Pole… on the anniversary of her feat. (tears in many eyes.)
Exerpts from my journal dated Monday, May 17, 1999. Satawal, Yap State, F.S.M.: “We are very excited to finally be arriving at the home island of Mau Piailug, 20th Century master of traditional navigational techniques. … I finally decide to pass on the 8:00 a.m. dive. I soon realize that no dive could share the spotlight with what we are experiencing. The children have welcomed the World Discoverer and ‘Captain Jack’ upon our arrival with a special song. …As we return to the ship for lunch our zodiac passes by the, for me, “main event” of the entire day – about 50 little boys, filling two zodiacs, singing at the top of their lungs, with Lynne at the helm; they alternate between this activity and the other attraction, taking turns snorkeling with Jack.… As the anchor is pulled up it seems as if every passenger is on deck to bid farewell to Satawal. The children are singing to us in knee deep water, and the captain makes two farewell passes, dangerously close to the reef, as the ship’s horn blasts a last goodbye – I stand next to Mike on the starboard side of the ship and there are tears in many eyes. “
Well this story is short and kind of cute, especially if you know Mike. The Clipper Odyssey is off the coast of West Papua, back then, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. We have been warned as we enter the Asmat to conserve water because the ship cannot make fresh water while we are on the shallow rivers. If everyone does his part, we should be fine.
On the second or third morning, Mike’s usually gentle and cheery wake up call sounds disaster. The water supply on board is being depleted at an alarming rate and henceforth we will be on very strict rationing. No showers! No use of cabin toilets! We will use the men’s and ladies’ toilets on deck 4 in to-be-determined groups, and of course there will be no laundry service. Stand by for further instructions.
The switchboard in the office lights up like a Baining Fire Dancer’s bonfire. Ten minutes pass. Mike comes back on: Oh, and ladies and gentlemen, I forgot to mention that today’s date is April 1st!
Mike does get payback, of sorts. A 36-mile zodiac trip up river has been planned for only the fittest. It will be a first ever Zegrahm visit to the special Asmat village of the Atjamut that Mike has arranged and about which he is very excited. One of the seven zodiacs in the flotilla (Mike’s) becomes mired in the mud flats and the “sailors” must use their paddles to push their way out of their predicament. Tobias is in the lead and Mike’s zodiac is late to arrive for the sighting of the cassowary bird, the festivities and dances in the long house.
Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia. The triple combo on Le Ponant from Cairo to Nice, Le Levant from Belize to Costa Rica. Botswana with Lex Hess, the Black Sea with Lea, The SS Saratoga in Bikini with Jim Delgado. Edmundo Edwards, Easter Island, Pitcairn! Thomas & Natalia, Jeff and Allan, anywhere there are tanks, Deborah Bundy and Richard Fagen, Kevin, Greg, Kim, Jonathan, Yasar, Lynda, Scott, Lynne and Sergey, so many many others… what incredible leaders, what wonderful people! Thank you all – every trip is the trip of a lifetime and my favorite memory, until the next one, and I cannot wait to begin again on March 3, 2010.
Dear Zegrahm Founders,
My husband, Michael, and I recall the first of five trips with ZOE beginning in 1997 on the sailing ship “The Wind Song.” We met Werner and Susan Zehnder as leaders on this voyage from Fiji to Tahiti. This first trip made us want to return for future experiences with ZOE.
The lecturers, staff and leaders made us feel more like friends than customers.
While in Tonga area on May 15, Marine Biologist, Genie Clarke, gave a lecture on “Life in an Under Sea Desert.” It was fascinating, but as snorkel enthusiasts (not divers) we wondered if we were ever likely to see the Sea Desert.
On May 16, we were scheduled to dock at Neiafu, Vava’u where Werner was due to leave ship for a flight home. I’m not sure the time of day, but we observed Werner pacing on top deck. Could there be a problem? We need not ponder the question, as we heard the public address system come alive with options for we travelers to enjoy the area. We opted for a Zodiac ride to the nearby uninhabited island for swimming.
We retrieved our snorkeling gear from our beautiful cabin and shortly thereafter were enjoying ourselves.
Time sped by as we snorkeled. We’re not sure for how long we enjoyed this beautiful quiet place and beach, but realized we were experiencing “Life in an Under Sea Desert” on the untouched sand below – the calm blue waters at this unscheduled stop.
Thanks to the fine mechanics and crew were were off and away to Vava’u.
With gratitude for all our wonderful trips,
Sincerely,
Joyce Wahlig
While my wife and I have been on at least 10 trips with Zegrahms, our favorite memory is of one beginning in Amman, Jordan. The first day, besides sightseeing in this fascinating city, we floated in the Dead Sea and observed the Israeli mountains on its western shore. The next day, after a stop at a crusader castle, we visited the magnificent archeological site of Petra. Somewhat foolishly, I climbed from the Treasury to the Monastery. While this was not a problem, descending would have been impossible, had it not been that a local guide supported me. Now I carry a walking stick on all trips.
Next we visited Wadi Rum and were entertained at lunch by a troop of Arab dancers. Lawrence of Arabia gathered his forces here for his assault on Aqaba, our next stop. There we boarded a ship, sailed down the Gulf, visited St. Catherine’s Monastery, with a view of Mt. Sinai. Those who did not take that excursion snorkeled in the Red Sea with Julie Christiansen.
While transiting the Suez Canal, we heard excellent lectures about its history, then landed on the Greek part of Cyprus and visited most interesting ruins.
Beirut, Lebanon was our trip’s highlight. My wife was convinced that either the whole trip would be cancelled or at least Beirut would be dropped, because of the recent Israel—Hezbollah war. We were the only cruise ship visiting Beirut since then and probably the only one thereafter.
A day trip through the Bekka Valley to Balbaak’s magnificent Roman ruins enabled us to see many Hezbollah people in their red tee shirts. In Beirut, we saw the crater where a Lebanese President was assassinated outside a hotel that was destroyed in the explosion. His son has now been elected President. That evening I took a solitary walk along the waterfront.
Our ship made two stops in Syria; one for a day’s trip to Saladin’s Castle. Thereafter, we landed at several southern Turkish ports, visited Knossos, Crete, followed by reluctantly leaving the ship at Piraeus, Athens’ port. The cruise continued to Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Venice.
Frank S. Berall
My favorite memory was wandering among the King Penguins on Gold Beach in South Georgia. The morning fog lifted to reveal a glacier descending at one end of the beach, a quarter million pairs of penguins mating, balancing eggs on their feet or stoically standing in a stream molting and dozens of huge elephant seals dozing in the sun. It was an assault to the senses; the sight was spectacular, the noise of the squawking penguins was deafening and the smell of penguin poop was eye watering.
Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands, Jan 15-Feb.4 1997.
Soon after the WORLD DISCOVERER departed from Ushuaia word spread through the passengers that a very special person traveled with us, a Mrs. Jean Macklin. She was the wife of Dr. Alexander Macklin one of the two surgeons Shackleton took on the ENDURANCE expedition of 1914. Dr. Macklin remained with 21 others on Elephant Island from where Shackleton set forth in the JAMES CAIRD to seek help from the British whaling station, Stromness, on South Georgia Island, 800 miles away.
Jean Macklin had been persuaded by a Scottish friend (who was an excellent birder) to join this trip which would stop at Elephant Island. Jean originally had no desire to see where her husband “existed” for four months, but finally acquiesced to her friend’s urging.
On a chilly but sunny morning the WORLD DISCOVERER arrived at Elephant Island. Unfortunately the sea state prevented another zodiac landing experience but Mike Messick and crew launched one zodiac and took Jean over to the rocky spit, 250 yard long and 50 yards wide, where the ENDURANCE’s survivors had pitched camp. Mike maneuvered the zodiac close to the rocks enabling Jean to touch the land of her husband’s “prison”. There wasn’t a dry eye among those watching from the rail of the WORLD DISCOVERER.
That evening at recap time Jean graciously shared with the group her feelings about her morning’s encounter with Cape Wild. She said initially she had no desire to visit Elephant Island, much less go to the Antarctic, but once she walked on the White Continent she realized it was important to her to visit the Island. She felt privileged to have touched the place here husband and 21 others survived under unimaginable conditions. She thanked her friend for insisting she join the Zegrahm trip and she thanked Zegrahm for arranging her encounter with Cape Wild, an event she would always cherish. Again, there wasn’t a dry eye among the assembled.
Jean Macklin reached the hearts of all who were aboard and her memory is our favorite Zegrahm memory.
Close your eyes and imagine being totally immersed in a kaleidoscopic world of green shades and textures: light, dark, dull, and shiny greens. 360 degrees of green! And its been that way for about 5 hours. Suddenly, without warning, a shiny black lump breaks the monotony. The shiniest black imaginable. As you approach, the shiny black lump becomes quite furry and two intelligent dark brown eyes stare intently at you! A mountain gorilla! I can still feel the catch in my throat when I saw him. Single-file, our little group of seven slowly inched by this teenager, on sentry duty for the troop just ahead, but still out-of sight. We were so close I could have patted his head! Suddenly, I bumped into the person in front of me, who had come to an abrupt stop. The gorilla had grabbed the strap of her binoculars and was holding on and she couldn’t move! Once he let go, we continued on to what I consider to be my all-time number one travel experience – spending two days with mountain gorillas!
It was 1992, and we had just completed a safari to Botswana with Eco-Expeditions. Seven of us from the safari headed from South Africa to Kigali, Rwanda. Our two guides met us at the Kigali airport and ushered us into our waiting vehicles (one driven by Charlie, who didn’t know how to use the clutch or brake, we subsequently discovered….), and off we went over curvy mountain roads, past houses precariously perched on steep hillsides, and dodging the assorted foot traffic on the road, on our way to Goma, Zaire (now the Congo). At this time, it was considered safer to see the mountain gorillas in Zaire, instead of Rwanda; Uganda wasn’t even an option. After a night in our hotel in Goma, which had been quite elegant in its day, with beautiful carved wood doors and marble floors (but now in need of just a bit of work), we eagerly jumped into our vehicles and drove past lava flows and then acres and acres of agricultural fields on our way to our home for the next several nights, a cozy and comfortable gite on the side hill of the Virunga volcanoes. To reach the gorilla’s forest home, we walked for an hour through the richly productive fields of crops. I can still here the sing-song call of “Jamba” from the local women, dressed in their colorful clothes, harvesting cabbages and tending to corn stalks ensnared by tendrils of beans. We would wave and call back “Jamba sana.”
Our visits with two gorilla families were magical! On the first day, I watched a female feeding on a vine of tiny white flowers. Each tug of the vine released a shower of twirling little flowers that landed all over her very long, shiny black hair like snowflakes floating down on a winter day. Suddenly, she paused, looked disturbed, and slapped one shoulder with her alternate hand. She grabbed at something with her thumb and forefinger and held her clasped fingers in front of her face. Slowly opening the fingers, she stared intently at them, first perplexed and then annoyed; then she quickly slapped her shoulder again! Darn bug, where was it? Such a truly human gesture! She repeated this process about 4 times before she finally got the little critter! She looked at me, and I looked into her eyes – and I experienced a feeling of actually connecting with a very intelligent being! I’ll never forget it.
One of the most mellow silverback males you could ever imagine decided to quietly take possession of a very long walking stick used by one of the members of our group (but put aside while we lingered in a clearing with a gorilla family). When it was time to retrieve the stick, we found the silverback totally stretched out on his stomach, taking a rest right next to the stick! Previously cautioned about not messing with a silverback, we let the guide reach for the stick. The huge silverback never stirred from his prone position, except to shoot out one hand and hold the stick down – “its mine — not yours.” The guide let go and pulled his hand away. The gorilla then slowly released the stick and pulled his hand back. After a couple of minutes, the guide again reached for the stick and the gorilla, again, never moved except to reach out one hand and hold the stick! We were all smiling and trying not to laugh out loud! This little game repeated about five times before the guide got tired and made a fuss. The silverback just grunted and rolled away! Walking stick retrieved!
But the play episodes of the gorilla “kids” were the best of all. Two youngsters (one slightly bigger than the other) were playing a very rough and tumble game of tag, which included head bashing into trees…ouch! As I was filming this rambunctious game with a hard-to-miss, bright yellow camcorder, what do I suddenly see through the viewfinder but the older one run towards me and swat the end of my camera rather hard! He then scampered away, stopped, turned and looked at me as if to say, “tag, you’re it!” Cheeky little devil! Another time, Shirley and I were sitting next to each other at the edge of a clearing, both videotaping a different family group of youngsters. One slowly wandered towards us and before we realized what was happening, we were both flat on our backs, cameras rolling, with the youngster resting his two front arms on my legs (he was heavy!) while looking at his reflection in Shirley’s camera lens. What to do with footage of out-of-focus black hair, a rather large nose and a camera iris trying to autofocus! While we just lay there quietly laughing and wondering what to do next, we could here the camera clicks from everyone else as they took pictures of two sets of hiking boots and a furry black lump looking at a camera!
A bit later, as I sat on a stump changing lenses on my 35mm camera, the youngest gorilla approached me. I sat absolutely still, silently cursing because I had just put on the wrong lens for a close-up! The next thing I know, the little one is playing with the laces of my boots. Then it started to stroke my lower pant leg, several times stopping to smell its fingers. I guess, after kneeling on the ground for extended periods, as well as just having its sibling leaning on my legs, my jeans had picked up the appropriate gorilla smell, because it now started petting my knee! The baby looked up at me, and reached out, and was just starting to climb into my lap, when the guard shooed him away. I was mildly annoyed and so disappointed, because I would love to have hugged that innocent little baby – however, I also knew it was something I could never actually do. But for a fleeting second, the feeling that this intelligent creature wanted to reach out to me was overwhelmingly touching!
In all my years of traveling with Zegrahm, meeting wonderful people from unique cultures around the world, as well as having experiences ranging from downright scary to funny and inspiring, these two days with the mountain gorillas were THE most memorable of all!