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
15 April Today (15 April) we made our last landing at the Solomon Islands before we work our way up to Papua New Guinea for our disembarkation in Rab…READ MORE
12 April Today we made our landing onto Ugi, for a morning full of birding and exploring the village. An interesting note is that we were the first e…READ MORE
6-8 April After a leisurely day at sea, we arrived in New Caledonia. With it's Melanesian traditions and French influences this small tropical islan…READ MORE