This week, our best photos from the field included portraits of wildlife, from sea turtles and endemic birds in the Galapagos Islands to Australasian gannets in New Zealand to penguins in the Antarctic.
You could easily fall in love with Iceland having seen only Reykjavík and wonders of the Golden Circle. But these are truly just the tip of the iceberg.
Whether you seek the biodiverse waters of Baja California, or the majestic glaciers of Alaska, this guide will help you decide on the perfect Pacific expedition.
After breakfast, most of the guests walked off the ship at the Port of Tauranga and took a bus ride to the fascinating area of Rotorua. The drive through the outskirts of one of New Zealand’s largest provincial cities was interesting enough, but when we got to our destination – Te Puia Rotorua – a whole new adventure began. We were met by our guide and walked into the facility to view the area best known for geothermal wonders, breathtaking natural beauty, and a vibrant Māori culture. Our first stop was to observe spouting geysers, bubbling mud pools, steaming vents, boiling lakes, and colorful sinter terraces. The viewing area took us up close to the action, and the smell of sulfur was in the air. We also learned about New Zealand’s national bird, the kiwi, and conservation efforts to protect the species. We observed a couple of the quirky, flightless birds digging and foraging in their special nighttime enclosure. Then we were treated to a traditional Māori greeting and invited into a Marae for a superb cultural performance. An excellent buffet lunch at the Pātaka Kai restaurant followed. Then we enjoyed a visit to the Ahua Gallery to learn about Māori arts and crafts, including woodcarving, weaving, and stone and bone carving. It was an exciting, informative, and wonderful excursion.
What an incredible start to this southern migration aboard National Geographic Venture ! We began our day dark and early as the sun rose over the Santa Barbara Channel and Santa Rosa Island, the first stop on our journey along the Pacific Coast of the “peninsulatimate Californias.” Intrepid Torrey pine enthusiasts departed with breakfast burritos in-belly to tackle a steep ridge hike to a stunning grove of these critically endangered and rare-to-the-world conifers, while others adventured after a little bit more sleep along the beautiful back canyons and bountiful bluffs overlooking this captivating corner of Channel Islands National Park. Western meadowlarks, shrikes, and endemic island foxes greeted us trailside, while harbors seals, scoters, and loons looked on lazily from the kelp beds. We pulled anchor over lunch and sailed past Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands, learning as we went from our National Geographic Expert Jonathan Giddens. Our photography instruction was interrupted repeatedly by bow-riding pods of common and bottlenose dolphins. A sunset green flash and a delicious dinner sent us on our way to learn about the Chumash’s Rainbow Bridge from Naturalist Kimberly. Our eyes and hearts were full of memories. Next stop, we “Venture” to Ensenada—¡Vamos!
Today we visited Santa Cruz Island in the central part of the archipelago. We explored the highlands to get to know the tropical rainforest found on top of the island’s volcano. Our first stop was a farm where we learned about the practice of farming some of the most important and iconic products of the Galápagos: sugarcane, coffee, and chocolate. The small farm opened its doors to show us how they process coffee, from crop to cup. We also saw how sugarcane is transformed into sugar, molasses, and liquor. After our visit to the agricultural fields, we explored the cloud forest in an area known as Los Gemelos. Here we walked through a thick forest covered by mosses, ferns, and Scalesia, an endemic plant species. In this beautiful area, we saw various bird species and interesting geological formations. Later in the day, we visited a tortoise reserve in the agricultural fields. We had the opportunity to get a close look at the prehistoric giants. We walked through the green forest where tortoises enjoy grazing in the pastures, refreshing themselves in the mud ponds, and posing for our cameras. The last visit of the day was to the Charles Darwin Research Station and the National Park headquarters, where we learned about breeding projects and conservation efforts in the islands. It was a great first day.
The first part of any expedition to Antarctica is, of course, the infamous Drake Passage. Long known for some of the worst seas in the world, many guests wonder what it will be like when we cross it. All and all, our crossing was fairly average. There is a bright side to a windy crossing, and that is birds. This is the Southern Ocean, home to the masters of long distant flight, the albatross. By the end of breakfast, we had spotted four species. Mostly, we observed light-mantled albatrosses. One species rather rare to this area, the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross, was also spotted. This was a very special bird for a very special first day.
After an overnight transit from Brown Bluff, we awoke in Cierva Cove to cloudy but absolutely calm conditions. We were surrounded by surreal sculptures of ice, both floating and on land. Two large glaciers, Breguet and Gregory, provide the numerous icebergs, bergy bits, growlers, and brash ice that floated serenely in the cove. Morning operations had half of us on Zodiac cruises with the other half remaining on board for an excursion through the dense brash ice (which cannot be entered by Zodiacs) near the two glaciers. The roles were reversed midmorning. The most enthralling aspect of both ops was the silent majesty of ice and snow. Two small calving events of a floating iceberg were observed while we enjoyed Zodiac cruising, along with one small leopard seal, a few gentoo penguins, and an assortment of terns and petrels. But the most exciting aspect of the morning was just reinforcing and appreciating our sense of place as we cruised among icebergs in an absolutely calm Antarctic cove. Following lunch, several guests ventured into the cove with double kayaks, while the rest enjoyed the scenery (or a good book) on board. As it happened, the calm and warmish conditions that existed all morning changed to brisk and blustery winds that fueled choppy waves and an accumulation of brash ice as we got into the kayaks. An hour in a kayak under these conditions is challenging, but it is an exciting part of the Antarctic experience, one that will be remembered and relived often to family and friends. Just before cocktail hour, a pair of humpback whales surfaced within 30 yards of National Geographic Explorer . The ship stopped, and the whales peacefully dove and surfaced in front of numerous cameras for about twenty minutes. Several photos of the underside of the flukes were taken, perhaps allowing the whales to be identified. And so ended another unique day in Antarctica. More adventures tomorrow!
