13 Oct 2019

Discovering Melanesia

Having come to the end of Heritage Expeditions hugely successful first Indonesian voyage, Spirit of Enderby waited patiently anchored in the deep water port of Madang for voyagers to join her on our 'Melanesian Discoverer' adventure.

Crew aboard the repurposed Russian research vessel and company flagship spent the morning getting her ship shape as our birders ventured into the forest spotting several species of Kingfisher and remaining voyagers paid their respects at the WWII Coastwatchers' Lighthouse memorial and visited Machine Gun Beach, the local museum, and Bilbil Village where we were welcomed with a jubilant singsing, traditional pottery lessons and skilled in the art of conch shell blowing by an 8-year-old boy from the village.

After welcoming our new voyagers aboard and settling them into ship life this afternoon, we left Madang in light winds and calm seas bound for the mouth of the mighty Sepik River.

Image (c) I.Wilson, Heritage Expeditions