Crocs in the Spotlight
If anything grabbed the attention of news media this year, it was
the fortunate (as it turned out) case of Tara Hawkes who was rescued
quite literally from the jaws of death by a fellow passenger and crew
member aboard Kimberley small ship, True North. Crew member,
Alan “Big Al” Sartori, looked almost embarrassed when collecting his
civilian bravery award from West Australian Governor Malcolm
McCusker back in November. Mike Fletcher received the other
award, while North Star Cruises themselves were cleared after a
WorkSafe enquiry. A non-fatal attack on a Lindblad Expeditions
passenger in PNG in November seems to have escaped media attention.
While we have crocs down here, polar bears are at least as
dangerous up north. Passengers had a more than a thrill on a recent
One Oceans voyage to Spitsbergen.
See the video: http://youtu.be/X8qdKfIy15k.
Here There be Dragons
When a 16th Century mapmaker needed to fill in some blanks, he
put this phrase on his chart and it now is cliché for “uncharted
territory”. This year NZ’s Heritage Expeditions continued their
penchant for ultra remote destinations by setting out for Heard and
McDonald Islands, deep in the South Indian Ocean. When they were
denied landing permission at the French island of Amsterdam, a
fortunate storm blew up, forcing them to take cover in a sheltered
bay. There they fortuitously spotted one of the world’s rarest birds,
the Amsterdam Albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis) Nice one!
Lots of sea days. How did they fill the time? See their hilarious
video clip: http://youtu.be/7XJYfFbMUog.
Ice Patrol
Completing the famous Northwest Passage was a ‘bucket list’ tick
for this dilettante explorer. When the heroes of exploration first
made the arduous journey across the top of frozen Canada, many
were lost forever in the ice. Now it seems the ice is lost forever. Once
only penetrable by full-blown icebreaker, global climate change has
made this voyage a doddle. Some pundits predict the great Arctic
Ocean may even be ice free in summer within my lifetime, so the
message is clear. If you want to see the Arctic in all its frosted glory,
now is the time to go. Really, now.
Meanwhile down south, they have the opposite problem. Iceberg
B-09B continues to block access to Australia’s Commonwealth Bay
making landings at the iconic Cape Denison site of Mawson’s Hut
another tricky affair. Nonetheless, Operators report bumper
bookings and there is still plenty to see on the fascinating
subantarctic islands like Macquarie and Auckland. Oceanwide
Expeditons will take choppers. Smart.
Bummers
Orion’s plans for an expanded fleet and itineraries took a dive with
the permanent withdrawal of Orion II this year because of technical
unreliability. Oceanwide too had plans in momentary disarray while
Planctius suffered from engine problems in South Georgia, stranding
passengers near the old whaling base of Grytviken.
