ZECO TRAVEL TALK

From the urban chaos of our first afternoon in the narrow alleyways of old Delhi to the serenity of our time on the sacred Brahmaputra River… from the timeless elegance of the temples at Khajuraho to gaudy roadside markets, India boasts a cultural and scenic richness second to none. No single trip to India can hope to cover the rich spread of this immense country. But in our case, it was tigers we were after!

The global plight of tigers is among the most publicized of all wildlife conservation stories, for no other animal can match this largest of cats for sheer beauty and charisma. Ironically, the day before we commenced our expedition, the sobering news broke of the latest Bengal Tiger census figures: 1,411 remaining at the end of 2007, Read more

The main goal of the trip was to present Africa in the rainy season to show that Africa isn’t just the dry dusty environment that most visitors see. Our second purpose was to show the breadth of diversity, from the dry desert landscape of Damaraland to the lush forests of the Luangwa with the waters of the Okavango in between!

Wonderful memories of our travel experience include:

That sundowner drink on our first afternoon at Serra Cafema: the black storm clouds, the beautiful rainbow and the sunlit mountains. Beautiful!!!

In the Okavango, completely surrounded by water at Vumbura, there is the special memory of the wild dogs hunting in the morning as well as the quiet passage of the mekoro through the waterways and lily pads and tiny frogs responsible for the magical musical sounds at night.

Mombo, with its abundance of game and beautiful camp setting, is always an amazing place and we were extremely privileged to see tiny leopard cubs. Lions fighting ferociously over the giraffe kill were a highlight too.

We saw cheetah at Duma Tau and a real personal highlight for me was seeing the Savuti Channel with so much water in it after being lucky enough to see it dry up in 1983. It is, of course, always so incredible to see the beautiful carmine bee-eaters catching insects alongside the vehicles as we drove through the long grass. That’s a sight you won’t see any other time of year.

Excerpts from the Welcome Home Letter written by Expedition Leader Lex Hes for our February 2008 Back to Africa program.

Just reporting in off the coast of Chile to tell you a bit about Le Diamant, since it’s our first time using the ship. Everyone—passengers, leader/lecturer team—have been loving the experience. While it’s luxurious and roomy, this ship lends itself perfectly to expedition cruising, and our West Coast of South America trip has been incredibly comfortable. Yesterday we sighted sperm whales and the captain was able to quickly slow us down to follow their direction. We were allowed to be on the bow of the ship to watch, which made us all feel like adventurers! My personal favorite spot on the ship is the fabulous observation lounge just above the bow. You can relax up there, surrounded by glass walls and ceilings, and watch everything going on in the open seas.

Le Diamant has a lovely lecture hall, the Grand Salon, and it’s perfect for our purposes—everyone can now hear the lectures and see the visuals/power point presentations, etc. by our onboard team, no matter where they sit. The other comment I have to share is about the ship staff: really professional and efficient. Two days into the trip, they threw together a last minute barbecue lunch on deck — just so we could enjoy the great weather! Tomorrow we head inland into the Andes and to Lauca National Park.

We are excited to announce that joining us on our August 2008 Line Islands: Hawaii to Tahiti cruise is Hawaii native John Earle, research associate in ichthyology at Honolulu’s Bishop Museum. A diver since boyhood, John’s fascination with and wonder at the undersea world was fueled by his discovery of seashells previously unknown to science. And, when a fish scientist friend noticed a new fish in one of John’s 14 saltwater aquariums, the field of ichthyology quickly became his new passion.

During more than 30 years of diving, John has proclaimed Christmas Island, a highlight on our voyage, “my favorite dive spot in the world.” He has been compiling a checklist of fish species there and in French Polynesia, was a featured diver on the Discovery Channel’s Pacific Abyss special last year, and is an avid underwater videographer. Joining Zegrahm cofounder and marine biologist, Jack Grove, John will accompany divers and snorkelers, following up with lectures on board—quite an exciting duo for underwater enthusiasts on this adventure. “I am particularly excited about diving the virtually unknown islands of Malden, Starbuck and Flint,” says John. “Here we are truly “off planet” and there is a chance of real scientific discovery. We may even see new species swimming by!”

Because of the remoteness of our Eco-Expeditions destinations, we don’t always hear from our field leaders until a trip is almost concluded. So we eagerly await news and are always excited to hear the details. Since so many Eco trips are happening at this time of year, we thought we’d share some of the enthusiasm expressed by our leaders via phone calls and quick emails to our office… Makes us all wish we were there!

BACK TO AFRICA SAFARI
from Lex Hes, Expedition Leader
“…As always, this has been a great adventure. And guess what? There was rain at Serra Cafema, Namibia, of all places! We had their entire average ANNUAL rainfall this afternoon! And with three times their average annual rainfall in the past three weeks, it has turned this area into an incredibly beautiful place, almost right before our eyes… the rolling hills are carpeted in lush, bright new green… Quite amazing!”

INDIA & THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER
from Jonathan Rossouw, Expedition Leader
“We’re on the home stretch of our trip… now over-nighting in Kolkata. With 11 tiger sightings under our belt, a pack of Asian Wild Dogs, and three… yes, THREE leopards, everyone is as happy as wild boars in a mud wallow!”

SNOW MONKEYS & CRANES
from Mark Brazil, Expedition Leader
“All is well from our spot in Tsurui. We’ve just enjoyed the best ever conditions at our monkey site; there were so many of them, and offered incredible photo opportunities… everyone was thrilled. Plus, there was fabulous deep snow and sunshine… and now it’s snowing here too – lovely!”

“…our first trip out last month was the most successful ever in terms of birds… We sited a whopping 145 species – shattering last year’s new record!”

Yesterday we woke up to sunshine and blue skies off Belize’s Half Moon Caye, but because of windy conditions and waves that would make snorkeling and diving difficult, we decided to reposition Le Levant to the other side of the island. It was well worth it as it was calm and those who wanted to go ashore could. Half Moon Caye is beautiful with white sand beaches and green palm trees…your typical paradise island! Everyone got to see dozens of frigates and red-footed boobies—this island is a National Monument and the only place in the region where they nest.

The snorkelers’ report of the day was also wonderful… They saw schools of parrotfish and barracuda, a giant sea cucumber, and a wide variety of colorful fish. A diving contingent went off to follow in Jacques Cousteau’s flippers at the famous Blue Hole… It was a great day, and so nice to be out in the sunshine. We had a leisurely evening back on board and then Captain’s Welcome Cocktails and Dinner. The food was excellent as was the service and everyone was impressed with the pastry chef – uh oh, we’re all in trouble! Honduras here we come!

March with the Penguins

We’ve just returned from what can only be described as a pilgrimage to see “chicks on feet,” the minute, most picturesque, avian youngster of all – the Emperor Penguin. Yes, it was cold. Yes, it was hard. It was also Antarctica in its purest and most elemental form. Temperatures and sea ice this year were the coldest and most extensive since records began in the early 1970s. Even for our 23,000 hp Russian icebreaker, the Kapitan Kblevnikov, getting so far south so early was a huge challenge. The ice eventually stopped us some 40 miles from the colony. During the next two days our helos flew over 2,800 miles to take everyone to the colony and back safely. Considering the distances involved it was the most ambitious and audacious expedition made in recent times to see a bird that is justly named, the “Impossible Penguin.” We spent two days at the penguin colony witnessing one of the greatest spectacles on Earth – Emperor Penguins, “Lords of the Antarctic,” in their icy and ethereal domain. We witnessed firsthand the “March of the Penguins,” the steady stream of adult Emperors making their way from the sea edge to the colony to feed their youngsters, many of whom were still on the feet of adults and provided incredible photo opportunities. Even for those of us who have been to “the deep South” before this will long be remembered as one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, of all Antarctic voyages.

Zegrahm cofounder and seabird expert, Peter Harrison, is working on his next book Seabirds: A Handbook. Peter has written and illustrated over a dozen books, of which Seabirds: An Identification Guide is considered the bible of seabird identification. Peter has shared with us several pages from his manuscript in progress. Below are links to detailed pages on the emperor penguin and the three newly designated species of rockhopper penguin (see Peter’s previous blog post on this subject).

Rockhopper Penguin PDF
Eastern Rockhopper Penguin PDF
Northern Rockhopper Penguin PDF
Emperor Penguin PDF