ZECO TRAVEL TALK

Today we steamed into the beautiful harbor of Ternate. Surrounded by volcanoes, it was an impressive sight. Ternate was an important port for the early spice trade, known for its cloves and nutmeg. It was our first dry landing since we embarked in Port Moresby. We were met by a convoy of the “best transport available.” It was like a day at the races watching 21 cars try to line up in order! We departed for the Sultan’s palace under police escort. The locales excitedly waved as we drove through the streets. Once at the palace we were welcomed by the prime minister, as the Sultan was in Jakarta. We gathered in a lovely pavilion and under Venetian chandeliers we were entertained with traditional dances. The dancers and costumes were beautiful.

Complete with sirens, the convoy moved on to the public market. The variety of goods and intense colors were fantastic. We wondered through the produce, with chilies and fruits everywhere. The aisle led us to the fish market—baskets piled high with sardines, dried fish on racks and whole fish in a variety of sizes. Conrad tried to convince some of us that the snake fruit was the best…not so sure about his taste! Our next stop was the old Portuguese fort. Set up on the hillside, the fort offered spectacular views of the harbor and surrounding volcanoes. Our convoy wound its way back to the Clipper Odyssey and deposited us at the gangway. Ternate had given us a fantastic afternoon experience.

In perfect Zegrahm style, we combined four expedition days in to one. The birders left when the moon was still full and bright, in search for the red bird of paradise. Jonathan was hopeful they’d see one or two red “bops” fly overhead. It wasn’t so…they saw 6 males and many females—truly beyond expectations!

The rest of the group visited the village of Yanwapnor. Some went in search of a lost orchid, which had been rediscovered in the village, while others strolled down the well swept lanes. The pride of the villagers showed in this beautiful town. We all met at the elementary school where the children were waiting to welcome us with songs. Read more

Our entrance in to the Asmat region began slowly. The ship carefully made her way towards Flamingo Bay just as the tide was beginning to rise. The captain of the Clipper Odyssey did an amazing job crossing the mud bar in to the mouth of the river at low tide—sometimes at depths less than seven feet. All the while, making it look easy. Little did we know that time was spinning backwards and we were entering another world. Read more

G’day. I have enjoyed the extreme good fortune to live on the shores adjacent to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) for a little over 15 years. I stopped counting the number of dives I’ve made on this World Heritage listed biological marvel, when the number reached into the thousands. When you’ve been this lucky, it’s easy to forget what a privilege it is to access and utilize the individual reefs of it’s make up. So when one gets the opportunity to visit the less accessible outliers it is indeed a rare treat. Read more

Leslie Kim is a representative from Stanford Travel/Study, one of our travel partners, and kindly offered to write a blog post about our time in Santa Ana Island.

We finally awoke to sunshine and blue skies in this idyllic pearl of the Solomon Islands. As occurred in Utupua, each Zodiac that arrived at the beach landing was greeted by a fierce “welcoming committee” composed of local men dressed in warrior costumes and brandishing spears and machetes (although today’s adult warriors were not nearly as cute as the children at Utupua). A highlight of the day was certainly watching the beautifully dressed local men and women perform their traditional dances. While the people of Owa Raha are Melanesian, their dress and many of their customs and even language have Polynesian origins. Read more

As we crossed the surf line in our Zodiacs on the morning of February 10 at Tikopia, the exceptional nature of the place was immediately apparent. One of the most isolated islands on this itinerary, this Polynesian outlier in Melanesia, is the only location on this trip where the islanders have originated in Polynesia. Only a few huts were visible through the palm trees as we approached in our Zodiacs. A light rain feel during our landing on the reef flat and the clouds, which hung over the top of the mountain behind the beach, gave the island an almost ethereal quality. Read more

On our New Zealand to New Guinea expedition, our stop at Ambrym Island prepares the stage for our cultural and discovery experiences to follow in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Located in the Vanuatu Island group in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, Ambrym Island is best known as a volcanic hotbed of activity and is sometimes called the “black island” after the expansive ash plain covering the interior. Two active volcanoes, Mt. Marum and Mt. Benbow, have had eruptions serious enough to warrant the evacuation of several hundred people. Indeed it is calculated that should Benbow erupt in the coming years the entire island will be wiped out and the formation of a number of small islands is a likely outcome. Read more

Zegrahm Expeditions and Stanford Travel/Study paid their first-ever visit to Norfolk Island, Australia on February 5. The Zodiac crossing from the anchored Clipper Odyssey was very challenging both to and from the island, but the drivers, able-bodied seamen, and passengers were fully up to the task. It was an exhilarating and fascinating day.

On-shore, the highlight of the full-day excursion was the thoughtful insight into the island’s complicated history, culture, and politics provided by Lisle Snell. Read more