18 Apr 2017

Final Blog of the South West Pacific Odyssey

16-17-18 April

This will be the final blog before we disembark in Rabaul tomorrow. Some passengers will stay on for Papua New Guinea Explorer and others return back home with lots of new memories and photographs. Memories that were created during this epic adventure that started in Tauranga, with a stop in New Caledonia all the way through the Solomon Islands and ends tomorrow in Papua New Guinea.

At first I want to thank all the staff and crew for making this trip an unforgettable one. Without them it wouldn’t have been possible to create all these new and wonderful experiences. Then there was the group of passengers which was a perfect blend of keen birders and enthusiastic generalists. Although the Western Pacific Odyssey has a strong birding element, there were also a great deal of activities that at the very least I won’t forget for a long, long time. In Ugi, where we were the first ever tourists to step on the island, the amazing snorkel experience in Barora Fa, the ancient traditional Sing Sing Tok Tok in Santa Ana island, being one metre away from a Kagu in Riviere Bleu National Park and seeing whales, dolphins and even sharks during our many sea days. But I will remember most of all the birds that were seen on this trip and the dedication put into this, only a small number of species were put into the blogs, otherwise it would just be an endless list.  All this added up to a unique expedition! Thank you everybody and until next time!

Chris Verstappen, Heritage Expeditions intern