Diary - Salter's travels

Ross Island

Ross Island is interesting. It is not very big, just 80 km across. McMurdo base is there. The most populous base in Antarctica. Up to 1,200 people. Run by the USA. Nearby, Scott base is run by the Kiwis. They also have a hut to the north of the island. There are three historic locations, restored wooden huts from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. The island also has two volcanoes. One is considered extinct while the other smoulders away, venting smoke almost continuously. The land is all snow covered with five large glaciers radiating from the centre. One side of the island is effectively connected to mainland Antarctica by a permanent ice sheet. The ocean on the other side freezes every winter but is navigable for part of the year. The world’s most southerly port, at Hut Point, is typically opened by ice breakers in the spring. From here a seasonal marked route runs 1,600 km to the South Pole. Greenpeace once had a base on Ross Island. It really is an interesting place.

Our first stop was at Cape Bird. Given all the potentially interesting locations on Ross Island, this is possibly quite low on the list. There is a small hut for scientific observations. Owned by NZ, there is no-one there at the moment. To one side, between the hut and glacier, is one of the world’s largest Adélie penguin rookeries. Except, just now, as elsewhere, the birds have all gone. Only a handful of Skuas with some late chicks, a few moulting penguins and a massive smell. The sun was out. There was not much breeze. The prurient penguin pong was prodigious and pungent.

We walked along the beach as far as we could go. Then back again, a slightly different way. There were a few seals snoozing by the waters edge. There were a lot of penguin feet. Many chicks die before reaching adulthood. Our guide assured us that only 10% survive the first year. The reality is between a third and two thirds but even so that is a lot of dead penguins. Skuas clean up the dead chicks. They are also responsible for some of the dead chicks being dead. However, Skuas appear to not like the feet. Little desiccated penguin feet are scattered all over the beach.

In the afternoon, we went to visit Shackleton’s hut. This was much more interesting and did not involve a beach of penguin bones and guano. First, we had to sail across the bay to Cape Royds. This gave us a chance for lunch and to watch some orca. We saw several pods of Ross Sea Killer Whale. They are a distinct species, endemic to the Ross Sea. None of the whales came particularly close to the ship. In fact, they all appeared to keep roughly the same distance. Near enough to be seen, far enough to deny a good photograph.

Shackleton’s hut is a designated historical monument controlled by The Antarctic Heritage Trust (New Zealand). The hut was prefabricated in Britain and taken south for the first expedition led by Shackleton. The intended location proved inaccessible, so it was erected at Cape Royds. Establishing the base was difficult. Unloading the ship, the Nimrod, took nearly three weeks. They were hampered by harsh weather, ice conditions and disagreements with the ship’s captain. 10m by 6m, the hut was home for 15 men during the winter of 1908. From here, the expedition achieved the furthest ever south (88°23′ S), the first ascent of Mount Erebus and the discovery of the location of the South Magnetic Pole

The hut was left in good condition with enough supplies for 15 men for a winter. A letter, inviting any subsequent party to use the hut, was left inside. The door was locked and the key prominently nailed to the door. More recently, the Heritage Trust have repaired and reinstated the hut so that it still looks as if Shackleton only just left. The dog kennels are outside. Food and other supplies are inside. Fortunately, the cold, dry conditions of Antarctica help preserve the hut as a museum. Access is carefully controlled and restricted. We needed to clean our boots and only four people were allowed inside at a time. In 2010, several intact cases of whiskey were discovered underneath the hut. The original distillery has now recreated the taste of Shackleton’s whiskey. You can buy a bottle, for a premium, but that does include a donation to the Heritage Trust.

We wandered around the area. There is a small hill with some nice views. A frozen lake with a few penguins sliding across it. Diane did her penguin impression. I wondered about how Shackleton’s hut got its water supply. Usually, at a small Antarctic base, the water comes from melting snow. You need a good supply of clean snow. It is cut into blocks and melted in a large pot on the stove. When we visited the hut, it was surrounded by penguins. Extremely cute but far from ideal when it comes to clean snow.

In the evening, we headed across the sound towards Cape Bernacchi. The sun only sets for about three hours at night. Late in the evening, it was low but still bright. We had some wonderful views of the mountains and could watch ice starting to form on the water. When the sea first begins to freeze over it forms little circular patches called pancake ice.

Cape Hallet

100 km or so south from Cape Adare is Cape Hallett. It is a very picturesque area dominated by the Admiralty Mountain Range. The mountains were discovered in January 1841 by Captain James Clark Ross, Royal Navy, who named them for the Lords Commissioners of the British Admiralty under whose orders he served. Back then, naming geographic features after your sponsors was a well-established and successful ploy for obtaining further sponsorship.

A large Adélie penguin colony is located on the southern side of Cape Hallett. This is where we went zodiac cruising. Conditions were perfect. Calm water, sunshine, a few icebergs with seals lazing around on them and the distinctive smell of the penguin rookery. As with the other places we have visited, most of the penguins have left now and gone to sea. Just a handful of moulting penguins and a lot of guano to show for it.

We pottered around for the best part of two hours. Looked at some penguins. Looked at some seals. Saw a leopard seal but could not get a good picture of it. Mostly because it was sound asleep and not at all interested in us. We looked at some rocks and listened to someone who knew a bit of geology. That was quite interesting. Volcanic features. We looked at some glaciers. One of the guides started talking nonsense. They do this occasionally. They assume that we, the clients, know absolutely nothing about where we are. So, sometimes, to fill the silence, they start telling us stuff as if they know what they are talking about. It is best just to let them get on with it. They never suspect that, sometimes, old people know things.

Back on the ship there was talk of a weather window. We were heading right down to the bottom of the Ross Sea. This is, traditionally, the most reliable way to get south. Shackleton, Scott and many other heroes came this way to Ross Island. Scott named it after Ross. He did not have to. Ross was dead by then and Scott’s funding came from Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society. Ross, however, was a pillar of Antarctic exploration and this sort of thing went well with the London based leather armchair explorer societies. Our issue was that Antarctic weather is changeable and occasionally ferocious. To take advantage of the weather window we needed to get on with getting to Ross Island.

The zodiacs were packed back onto the ship and we set a course south. For the whole of the next day, we made good speed. No sea ice, very few icebergs, beautiful sunshine and just a few birds following the ship. The expedition team drummed up a few talks. I got on with this blog. Diane got in some essential sleeping time. At Ross Island things were going to get very busy.

Cape Adare

We are woken every morning by an announcement on the ship PA system. Fortunately, Howard, the expedition leader, has quite a gentle voice. His wake-up call with the weather and daily program is more Radio 4 than Heidi Hi. This is a good thing because otherwise I would need to work out how to disconnect the speaker in the cabin. It can be a bit of a guess as to what time we are going to be woken. This particular morning it was before dawn.

Sunrise proved to be quite spectacular making the early start worthwhile. Tabular icebergs (the big flat ones) were floating past. Seabirds were flying around the ship. A pod of killer whales went past. It was all turning out to be an extremely exciting morning.

After breakfast and a second pod of Orca we arrived at Cape Adare. Historically this place is extraordinarily significant. It is the site of the first ever landing on mainland Antarctica. It is also the first place anyone ever spent a winter on Antarctica. Biologically it is the location of the largest Adélie penguin rookery in the world. The first big impression Cape Adare made with me was the stink. The beach has an entire geological layer of penguin guano. Relatively few birds are here at this time of year but over 200,000 breeding pairs not so long ago. Today the sun is out and the beach area is warm, soft and vibrantly pungent underfoot.

We went ashore in zodiacs to have a look at the huts. Through the Antarctic Heritage Trust the site is registered as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 159) the highest level of protection available under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty. We need to tread carefully and speak in hushed tones. In January 1895, Norwegian explorers Henrik Bull and Carsten Borchgrevink landed here. Borchgrevink claimed to be the first to step onto the Antarctic mainland. Or it might have been Leonard Kristensen, ship captain, as cited in expedition accounts. Or Alexander von Tunzelmann, a 17 yo deck hand who claimed he jumped out to steady the boat for the others. Borchgrevink came back in 1899 as leader of the Southern Cross Expedition, also known as the British Antarctic Expedition. They erected two huts in which to spend the winter. The very first winterers and the very first buildings in Antarctica. This was the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Later, Scott and Shackleton would become famous for their exploits. But nobody particularly like Borchgrevink. He was Norwegian and we would have preferred a reliable British Naval Officer. He also had an abrasive personality that appeared to upset pretty much everyone he ever dealt with. These two traits led him to becoming the first Antarctic hero that you never heard of. He received some recognition thirty years later. The Royal Geographical Society admitted “justice had not been done” to his work and awarded him the Patron’s Medal.

Members of the Northern Party of Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition over-wintered at Cape Adare in 1911 and 1912. They erected one hut, which has fallen into ruin today. The Norwegian built huts have fared much better. Zoologist George Murray Levick made observations of the penguins throughout the year and was horrified. He saw “depraved behaviour” including “hooligan penguins” that exhibited homosexuality, necrophilia (mating with dead females), sexual coercion and the physical abuse of chicks. Returning to Britain, his paper Sexual Habits of the Adélie Penguin was deemed too graphic for the official expedition report. His lost paper was rediscovered at the Natural History Museum and published in full in 2012. What Levick regarded as “moral failings,” modern biologists consider the result of sexual inexperience in young birds and high hormonal levels during the short, intense breeding season. Life can be hard as a teenage penguin when nobody understands you.

Diane had a quick look inside the huts. Despite their enormous historical significance, they actually look like a pair of old garden sheds. We wandered around in the penguin poo for a while. Back in the day, superior quality guano was a rich source of nitrogen for fertiliser and gunpowder. Borchgrevink the unloved, had even submitted a commercial proposal to collect the droppings.

After the breeding season comes the moulting season. A catastrophic moult is critical for survival. It replaces every single feather to ensure they remain waterproof and insulated. Typically lasts between 2 and 4 weeks. Without their waterproofing, penguins cannot enter the water to hunt. To survive, they must gorge on food before the imposed fast. This can double their body weight which makes them extra tasty to predatory killer whales and leopard seals. At this time of year, most of the birds have headed off to sea. The remaining slow moulters stand around looking shaggy and a bit despondent.

We were saved from nasal assault by the offer of a zodiac cruise. This gave us the opportunity to look at some odd shaped bits of floating ice. As icebergs melt and occasionally roll over, they can assume some strange patterns. Glacial ice typically forms in annual layers. This striation combines with patterns caused by wave action, meltwater and gas bubbles to form a remarkable range of shapes and textures. We also saw a few minke whales, a few Weddell seals and the first Emperor penguin of the trip.

Bellany Islands

Sailing south from Macquarie Island we had a couple of sea days. Nothing much happening. Nothing much to see. I spent some time on the back experimenting with camera settings. My relatively new Canon EOS R5 MkII is a lovely camera but has way too many options. It also has way too many complex and fiddly controls to manage all the complex and fiddly options. A lot of learning is needed to master the beast. I try and take this in small and manageable slices.

Antarctica is in a state of political limbo. Slices of it are claimed by various countries. Many of these claims are overlapping. Antarctica has no permanent population, no citizenship and no government. There is no Antarctic sovereignty. Personnel present in Antarctica are always nationals of some other country. In 1959 the Antarctic Treaty was ratified by most of the countries with a stake in Antarctica. Think cold war. This was primarily an arms control agreement. It designated the continent as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific research and banned military activity. To date this has worked well. There have been a few minor skirmishes but the treaty serves everybody’s interests, so far, so it prevails. I worked in Antarctica 35 years ago and was always extremely impressed by international spirit of scientific cooperation it engendered. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the robustness of the treaty is like a house of cards. To date, Antarctica has only been useful for scientific research. That is changing. When I worked down south, there were no tourists. None. A half dozen brave people in yachts would visit the very northern tip of the peninsula. Last year there were 120,000 tourists. Numbering a mere 5,000, the scientific community is in the minority these days. What is more, these tourists not rough and tough hardy types. Far from it. They are mostly of the retired demographic enjoying a comfortable lifestyle. We are spotting icebergs from the bar of the observation deck while sipping a gin and tonic and nibbling a few salted cashew nuts.

The winter is still harsh. Less than 1,000 people on the whole continent and no tourists. No doubt this will change. However, I am not suggesting that tourism will be the problem. To date, the increase in visitors appears to be benign. Antarctica is uniquely vulnerable but even so, it is a whole enormous continent. 120,000 people spread quite thinly. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) is the tourism body for self-regulation. They report to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, an annual forum for Antarctic Treaty nations to exchange information, discuss matters of common interest, and formulate measures for managing the Antarctic region. This is voluntary self-regulation. IAATO is all set up to look very official. The implication and likely ambition, is that for a tour operator to work down south they will need to be a member. Like most standards, it primarily benefits the organisations that set the standards while putting barriers in the way of aspirants. I would anticipate that getting the necessary governmental permissions to visit Antarctica is greatly facilitated by membership.

Antarctica will get into trouble at some point on the current global socio-political trajectory when technology and resource scarcity intersect. The inauguration of President Trump initiated post-truth politics. Since then, we have seen a collapse of the social growth of civilisation in favour of capitalist greed and isolationism. Events such as Brexit, the reappearance of war in Europe and Trump’s second term are points on a line that reinstates a world order based on power and nationalism. As, and when, necessary resources in Antarctica become economically viable to access, one of the superpowers will be there. No amount of waving the Antarctic Treaty documents will make any difference. While staring out of the cabin window with the gloomy thought in my head, I saw the first iceberg go past. This was much more interesting. Not far ahead was the first sea ice. A strip of loose, brash ice that had probably been floating around for a while.

Next day, we were bearing down on the Bellany Islands. A remote, uninhabited volcanic archipelago, approximately 325 km north of the Antarctic coast. Discovered in 1839, the chain, is heavily glaciated, features steep cliffs, and is rarely visited due to harsh weather and ice. We aimed for the middle of the three islands. This meant we has to cross the Antarctic circle to get there. The event was taken as an excuse for celebration. King Neptune visited the top deck. There was cheering, photographs and a toast. I avoided the nonsense and got on with trying to master the camera.

Meanwhile, as we closed in on the shelter of the islands, the wildlife began to appear. Seabirds, a few penguins standing around on ice floes and whales. A lot of whales. Mostly sperm whales, I think. Every few minutes there seemed to be another puff of water vapour from a whale blowing.

The zodiacs were put in the water and we had a short cruise between Sabrina and Buckle Islands. The wind had picked up again making the sea quite choppy. It was mere minutes before we were all soaked by salty spray. But it was worth it. There was a small group of whales feeding and we could get close to them. An intense flock of cape petrels marked the spot and every couple of minutes one or more whales would pop out of the water. Difficult to take photographs with the cold wind and the spray but an amazing privilege to watch. Back on the ship, we had a hot shower and then settled down with a glass of wine to be served an excellent meal. Such is the way of the modern Antarctic explorer.

Macquarie Island

Very remote and very interesting. Macquarie Island is a recent island. Formed less than 700,000 years ago. That is ludicrously young in geological terms. It is also very unusual because it is made of uplifted and exposed oceanic crust. Formed by the collision of two tectonic plates, the island was squeezed up from deep below the ocean like toothpaste from a tube. Geologists get extremely excited about this place. They can see rock structures here that are almost inaccessible anywhere else in the world. To me, it looked like some quite ordinary hills covered in grass. There is little that is obviously unusual to the untrained eye. I tried to spot some pillow lava but failed. This is rock formed by the rapid cooling of lava underwater. Spotting anything was quite difficult as we were carefully herded around and not even allowed to pick up a rock.

Macquarie Island is also the scene of the most incredible animal slaughters. Beginning with the sealers who “discovered” the island in 1810. They killed 120,000 fur seals in just the first 18 months. By 1820, at least a quarter of a million fur seals been taken rendering them virtually extinct. Attention then turned to elephant seals which were similarly slaughtered. By 1830 70% of the elephant seals were gone. Then it was the penguins turn. They were herded along planks and pushed into steam powered digestors. 2,000 penguins at a time producing half a litre of oil per penguin. In 1933, when nearly everything had already been killed and there was no longer a market for seal or penguin oil, the island was declared a wildlife sanctuary. Since then, seal numbers have mostly recovered and the penguins have come back.

However, this was far from the end of the slaughtering. Mice and rats had come ashore with the sealers. These were causing mass destruction with the sea birds. Cats, introduced to protect human food from the mice, were also helping themselves to the bird life. An estimated 60,000 birds per year. Rabbits, released to provide food in 1870, were running rife and destroying the local vegetation. The rabbits were reduced to about 10,000 in the early 1980s when myxomatosis was deliberately spread around. Over time they developed a resistance to the desease and by 2006 there were over 100,000 bunnies. Rats and mice feeding on young chicks, and rabbits nibbling on the grass layer, has led to soil erosion and cliff collapses, destroying seabird nests. Substantial portions of the Macquarie Island bluffs are eroding as a result. In September 2006 a large landslip at Lusitania Bay partially destroyed an important penguin breeding colony. This was attributed to a combination of heavy spring rains and severe erosion caused by rabbits.

In 2007 a program to eliminate the rats, mice and cats by poisoning was started. This cost over £12 m and involved helicopters spreading poisoned bait all over the island. It was mostly successful but unfortunately also killed large numbers of kelp gulls, giant petrels, black ducks and skuas. The program was abandoned early but followed up by hunters with dogs. By 2014 the result of the biological, chemical and ballistic warfare on the animals was declared a great success. The island was pest free. Populations of many bird species have increased and the plant life is recovering. Avian influenza, bird flu, is likely going to be the next big killer. It has not reached Macquarie Island yet but elsewhere in the sub-Antarctic regions it is becoming responsible for the deaths of large numbers of seabirds, penguins and seals.

We arrived at “Macca” early in the morning. On the isthmus right on the northern end is quite a large research base. Obviously, they wanted very little to do with a bunch of tourists. A couple of rangers came down to the shoreline to discuss the sea state with our crew. It was decided that there was too much swell for a safe landing. Meanwhile, I had been leaning over the side of the ship and was surprised at how many penguins were swimming round us. They were mostly King Penguins. Quite large birds with very striking colouring. It was almost like there was something about the ship that they found attractive.

We pressed on south to an area called Sandy Bay. Here there was less swell. The whole area was a bit more sheltered. There were some elephant seals on the shore along with many king penguins and a few royal penguins. These are smaller, yellow crested penguins endemic to the area. We had a small patch of beach to wander along and also some steps to a viewing platform. Despite the small area, we were carefully organised into groups and assigned to a guide. We spent about an hour mostly just standing around photographing the creatures. Penguins are very smelly. You don’t get this when watching a documentary. Once you are physically close to a rookery there is an extraordinarily strong and quite distinctive stench.

Along with the penguins, there were a few skuas and giant petrels on the beach. Birds, penguins, seals and tourists all squashed up next to each other. Our last stop was the viewing platform for the royal penguin rookery. I had never seen this type of penguin before. They only breed here, on Macquarie Island. A high-risk strategy. Macca is subject to frequent earthquakes. Occasionally these can be strong and may also give rise to tsunamis. Funny looking birds with bright yellow and rather dishevelled crests.

Back on the ship we moved further south to Lusitania Bay. There are many more royal penguins here but no good landing places. On the beach, a couple of the large digestors used for boiling penguins down, can be seen rusting away. We went out in the zodiacs to bounce around for a while. The wind was getting up and so was the sea. I left my main camera on the ship. This proved to be a good decision as within a few minutes we were getting soaked in the little RHIBs. A couple of orcas went past as we were heading back. The wind and spray was making visibility quite poor by then but we still managed to catch a glimpse of two black dorsal fins.

Macca done, the ship set sail due south.

Campbell Island

Campbell Island has the distinction of being the closest land to the antipodal point of the UK. The antipode of any location on the planet is the point on the globes surface diametrically opposite to it. Points that are antipodal to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Earth’s centre. In other words, we are as far away from home as it is possible to get.

Far from home and in trouble. Our cabin came up on the naughty list today, so we had to go and clean our boots. Yesterday there was a general discussion on biosecurity. The issue, the problem, is cross contamination by non-native species to the sub-Antarctic islands. Back in the day it was common to introduce new species in the hope of improving things. Pigs to help castaways, plants that might grow better, that sort of thing. There was also truly little control over the accidental introduction of foreign organisms. Rats came ashore off ships. Cats were brought to control the rats. Food stuffs contained seeds which got into the local environment and so on. Unfortunately, some of these foreigners became invasive and changed the ecological balance of a whole island. Rodents could wipe out entire bird species. The avians had never dealt with mammalian predators before and were devoid of defences. Similarly, some plant species could end up displacing local, more specialised varieties. Rabbits could munch particular and rare types of vegetation into extinction. These are all valid and real concerns. The basic approach, to ensure that no cross-contamination occurs is valid. However, there is this pendulum thing again and I do wonder if some people go a bit overboard. The end of the talk explained how we could use an opened paper clip to pick the grains of sand out from the label on our boots. We were also told about a spider. This had been spotted in a corridor. It was now safely caught, identified, boxed and packed into a freezer for return to New Zealand.

Biosecurity requires that we cannot go to the toilet when we go ashore. Because a shore trip can last three or four hours this means getting yourself into a state of dehydration before you leave the ship. Half rations on the coffee at breakfast and no orange juice. Today we went for a walk up a hill. A little over 7 km up a steady slope and then back again. The weather was wet and windy. Gusting 30 knots near the top. This would have been a steady morning stroll with a flask of tea and some biscuits to have at the summit. But no food allowed. At all. Nothing. No tea. You can take some water but if you drink it then your bladder will have to suffer the consequences until you get back to the ship. It was quite a nice walk and I mostly enjoyed it. We passed several nesting albatrosses and there were some interesting views when the clouds briefly lifted. Diane found it very challenging. You are not allowed to sit down. Not even any kneeling. A few breaks, being properly hydrated and some chocolate would have made all the difference. There was a bench at the top where we had a brief respite. The wind picked up some more and the guides appeared to get into a bit of a panic. They started clucking a lot. We all had to group together. We should stop and squat down (without sitting or kneeling) if there was a strong gust. There was quite a lot of shouting, unnecessary organising and general confusion. Fortunately, as we dropped down the hillside, the wind dropped and things calmed down a bit. There was an incident with someone trying to take a selfie with an albatross on a nest and that did, quite rightly, end in a bit of a ticking off.

Getting back to the ship was a big relief in many ways.

Enderby Island

This morning the expedition team announced and posted their first naughty list. The night before, they had been round the lockers in the mud room checking everybody’s muck boots. If they were not clean enough, you were put on the naughty list. Anyone on this wall of shame needed to go down to the mud room and scrub their boots before breakfast. Fortunately, Diane and I escaped the dawn punishment and we could have a peaceful breakfast.

Enderby Island is the most northerly of the Auckland archipelago. The island’s northernmost point is Derry Castle Reef, named after the ship which foundered there in 1887. The sole passenger and 7 of the 23 crew made it ashore at Sandy Bay. They found a castaway depot but it had been looted. After 92 days they discovered an axe head in the sand and were able to build a boat from the wreckage. With this they could reach a second depot at Port Ross. Here they survived for a couple more months before finally getting rescued.

They may have dined, at least some of the time, on rabbit. The animals had been introduced to the island 20 years earlier specifically for this purpose. It was a common practise. Elsewhere, pigs, sheep and even cattle had been left on islands for the benefit of shipwrecked sailor. The Enderby rabbits were there for 130 years by which time they could be classified as a distinct species. The rabbits were eradicated from the island in the early 1990s. A few were rescued and the breed still survives in captivity.

We also went ashore at Sandy Bay. There are a few researchers huts here and also quite a lot of sea lions. The males can be a little territorial and not so welcoming to tourists. We didn’t have any trouble but there was an interesting stand-off with one of the expedition team when another group came ashore. Elsewhere there were groups of female sea lions lying around. Also, young pups playing with each other. Like most pups, these can be quite fun to watch.

We tip-toed round the various groups of sea lions and then could follow a walkway up the hillside a short way. This gave us a nice view and also took us past a few nesting albatrosses. These were Royal Albatrosses. Big birds with a wingspan of over 3 m.

Coming back down, we needed to circumvent another large sea lion male which had set up on the path. “Don’t stop, don’t take photographs and avoid eye contact” we were instructed. Some of the expedition crew get quite domineering and like to order the rest of us around like we were school children. Occasionally this is irritating but mostly I find it faintly amusing. I ended up reflecting on the notion that for well over 200 years it had been perfectly acceptable to club to death anything that looked like a seal. Now, we were being told to not even look at them. Behavioural pendulums swinging between extremes.

Back on the beach we spotted a yellow eyed penguin. These are endangered and quite rare. I took a photograph. It is not a very good photograph but I do at least have a picture of a yellow-eyed penguin.

Snares Island

First day on a new ship is often all about finding things. We had never been on this vessel before or with this company. We knew nothing about how things were done or where they were done. The night before we had found our cabin, always a good start. Also found the restaurant so today we knew where to go for breakfast. There was a man there making omelettes. Not quite a masala omelette but pretty good and with a few chilli flakes on top I felt off to a good start. Coffee, yoghurt, fruit, toast. Grilled tomatoes and hash browns to go with the omelettes. We were going to survive. At least until lunchtime.

We were issued with muck boots. Big, warm, waterproof neoprene boots for going ashore. These are kept in a locker room on deck 3 which is called the mud room. I am not sure why. Our life jackets to use in the Zodiacs are also kept there. I thought that was going to be about our lot for the day’s excitement. On the itinerary, it was designated a sea day. Instead, mid-afternoon, we arrived at Snares Island. I thought this was a much better idea that bobbing around in the ocean. As we approached, there were many birds circling the ship. In particular, some albatrosses. I spent a while trying to photograph them. They are large but move fast. Also, the ship is moving. If you concentrate on the view finder too much you are liable to lose your balance and fall over.

There are about eighty passengers on the ship. Not very many but even so, if everyone is invited to the mud room at the same time to don boots and lifejackets, it gets a bit chaotic. Aurora could take some notes from the other expedition ships we have been on. We eventually got our boots and life jackets on but then we did not know where to go. First, we were queuing on one side of the ship, then the other, then we were waiting, then it was cancelled and ten minutes later it was back on again. We kept smiling and hoped the crew’s organisational abilities would improve once they had got over the teething problems.

The sea state was marginal. It was not particularly windy but there was a good swell running. Getting in and out of the zodiacs requires careful timing. They rise up and down well over a metre compared to the ship. The trick is to wait until the RHIB is on the top of the swell and then step purposefully across the gap. It is not as difficult as it sounds. For me the bigger problem was all the crew members grabbing at my arms and shouting advice. Somehow, we all manged to get into the boats and set off for a look round.

The smaller zodiacs could get into the lee of some islands and small inlets. So, once we were away from the Douglas Mawson, everything seemed to settle down a bit and we could get on with looking at the flora and fauna. The Snares Islands are a group of uninhabited islands lying about 200 km south of New Zealand. They are significant as a bird breeding area and have several endemic species, notably the Snares Penguin and the Snares Tomtit. The islands are heavily protected and generally it is not allowed to land on them. Having a look round in a small boat is fine.

Our trip began with a cave. This was fun and unexpected. It also brought us to a very calm little cove which was teeming with wildlife. We saw plenty of the yellow crested Snares Penguins. We also saw a tomtit which I failed to photograph. However, I was luckier with a Snares Snipe. There were quite a few fur seals lying around and a bewildering variety of sea birds. We came across a great mass of birds floating together in the sea. I can only assume that there was something plentiful and good to eat here.

We were out in the boat for well over an hour. There was far less chaos about getting back on board and then it was dinner time. In summary, a good start to the voyage.

Leaving Dunedin

Monday morning. We were ready to set sail but the ship was not ready for us. Our ship, the Douglas Mawson, had docked early in the morning and disembarked her passengers. However, there were many things to do, like cleaning the cabins, before we could be allowed on board. The company that owns the ship, Aurora, put in place a program of activities for the day to keep us distracted. This began with telling us to go away and come back to the hotel at lunchtime.

We wandered down to the Chinese Gardens. For a modest fee you can wander around this small, tranquil garden. It backs onto the railway track and is surrounded by city buildings. High walls keep most of this urban pressure out and a lovely pond area draws your attention inward. Were I stuck in Dunedin again, I don’t think I would go out of my way to visit these gardens but we had a couple of hours to kill so it was fine.

Back at the hotel we joined a group for an hour’s walking tour. This was all about the street art. Dunedin has a bit of a reputation for painted walls. There is some graffiti but most of the paintings have been commissioned by the city. Some of the pieces, up to a decade old, are getting a bit tatty around the edges now. Our guide was very enthusiastic about the plethora of murals we were shown. I didn’t share his engagement but it did pass another hour.

Next up was a bus ride. We all piled into a coach and were driven around the outskirts of Dunedin. Eventually we rocked up at the ineffably famous Baldwin Street. This road is officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s steepest residential street. 19°, 35% or 1:2.78 depending on how you like to measure these things. It is 350 m long and, apart from being steep, is very ordinary. I declined the invitation to walk to one end of it. Instead, we stayed on the coach. As did many other people. We reflected that we had paid a lot of money for the Antarctic trip of a lifetime and were being shown a steep road.

Then came the Dunedin Botanic Garden. This at least gave us the chance to use a toilet. Baldwin Street may be famous but it is not sufficiently in the limelight as to have public toilets yet. At the botanic gardens, the toilets were broken, apart from one. Queuing passed some more time and then we had a comfortable stroll around the gardens. We found a winter garden, a heated Edwardian glass house, a rose garden and a herb garden. Eventually we found ourselves sitting by a duck pond seriously wondering if we should buy some duck food. Instead, we took a slow walk back to the coach and I ended up taking photographs of flowers, again.

The coach took us to a look-out point where a bust of Admiral Bird stares vacantly southward. From here we could see our ship. It was small and distant. There was a bit more driving around to show us something or other. I managed to doze through this part. Then we were finally taken to the ship. We had to queue outside to have our photograph taken. Then came passport control followed by registration. Finally, we were welcomed on board with a small sandwich and a glass of fruit juice.

Less than an hour later, we cast off. Dunedin is at the end of a long bay. It takes an hour or so to reach the entrance of the bay and open water. On the way, we did our obligatory emergency drills. I saw a cormorant on a sign post. We waved at some girls doing some rowing. I waved at a guy on a tanker as we passed the start of the deep-water channel but he remained enigmatic. The sun began to set. The pilot disembarked. An event always worth watching. We passed out of the sheltered bay and turned south towards Antarctica.

Dunedin

Serious, heavy rain in the morning. I wondered if the flight to Dunedin would be cancelled. New Zealand aircraft are made of strong stuff though. Take-off was delayed for a few minutes but it was only a short flight and did not cause us any problems. By the time we landed the rain had stopped and there were even a few patches of sunlight. We checked in at the hotel and then wandered into town and signed up for a couple of trips.

First up in the morning was Larnach Castle. We were taken up there in a minibus. This proved to be quite an interesting drive although it would have been even better if we’d had a few more stops for photographs on the way. The mock castle sits on top of a volcanic cone. When construction was started, in 1870, the builders were clearly confident that the volcano was long dormant. They took 10m off the summit to make a level area. Nothing bad happened so they continued, over the next 17 years, to construct a large Gothic Revival mansion. In 1875, twenty tonnes of glass was imported from Venice, to enclose the exposed verandas which had proven unsuitable for Dunedin winters.

After many changes of ownership, the house is now in private hands. There are few stately home type houses in New Zealand. Since 1967, the castle has been owned by the Barker family and opened as a tourist attraction. “New Zealand’s only castle”. It is an important tourist attraction. 120,000 visitors each year. It is reputedly haunted. This brings another type of tourist and the odd TV film crew. The gardens were not an original feature of the castle but they have been developed as part of the restoration. Now they have been awarded “Garden of International Significance” status by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. Visitors can stay overnight in one of several buildings in the castle grounds. Part of the package is a visit to castle and the opportunity to eat dinner there. We didn’t stay the night but we did take tea and cake in the ballroom. Well, some of us had cake.

Next up was a wildlife cruise. A quickie cruise one on a small boat. We headed out towards the entrance of the bay. On a sandbank where a dredger was working, we spotted some sea lions. Across the other side of the bay is an albatross sanctuary. Dunedin’s Taiaroa Head is the only mainland Royal Albatross breeding colony in the world. Here the birds are protected, observed and visited by an awful lot of tourists. We saw a couple of the wardens approaching birds on the nest and spraying them with something. No idea what, but hopefully it was for the birds benefit. We also spotted a few fur seals lazing around on the rocks down by the shoreline.

Bobbing outside of the harbour entrance for a few minutes we came across a white-capped albatross floating in the ocean. He seemed happy enough. Hopefully we will see more of these in the coming days when we sail south. Just an hour in the boat and it seemed over much faster. Then we were back in Dunedin trying to find a curry house for dinner.

Next day, we went for a train ride. “Experience one of the world’s great heritage rail journeys. The Taieri Gorge train travels deep into the rugged landscapes of Central Otago, passing through tunnels and across towering viaducts carved by hand more than a century ago”. Give or take a few superlatives this is a roughly accurate description. Three hours up the gorge to the town of Pukerangi and two hours back down again. It is all quite fun and interesting. The Taieri Gorge Railway was constructed between 1879 and 1921 to link Dunedin with the Otago goldfields and agricultural regions. In 1987, the Dunedin City Council took over the line preserving it for tourism.

The train consists of five carriages and one engine. The centre carriage is a buffet car selling over-priced coffee and cakes. There is an observation platform at the back but it is only big enough for a couple of people. There are very few possibilities for taking photographs while the train is moving. None of the windows open sufficiently. This seems a shame to me. A few passengers were making videos on their cell phones through the dirty windows. I had a few attempts with my camera but taking clear pictures was quite impossible.

Part way along the gorge, the train was stopped and we all clambered out. Then we could walk across one of the viaducts. Once we were safely over and off the tracks, the train was brought across and we all climbed back on again. This was fun and nice to get some fresh air. I could also take a few photographs.

The end of the line was Pukerangi. Very little to see here. It really is all about the journey. Some people left on a bus heading further west. The engine that had pulled us up the gorge was swapped to the other end of the train ready to pull us back down. Usually, an engine pulls the rest of the train. Sometimes the engine pushes. I thought the engine might just stay at the uphill side of the train. I know very little about these things. Everything ready, we all got back on and the train set off back down.

We stopped at a couple of places on the way down. One station featured a rather unrealistic statue of a dog called Sue. I think everybody took a photograph of this. Mid-afternoon, we were back at Dunedin railway station. This is a rather magnificent building. The entrance hall is impressive as well. To the front are some lovely formal gardens so I ended the day photographing flowers again.

Mount Cook

We started the day by visiting Middle-earth again. Known locally as the Clay Cliffs, these badland-style, steep, narrow cliffs were used as general background in the LOTR films. They were also used in the live action remake of Mulan – but I have never watched that. We had twenty minutes of dirt track before arriving at a farmhouse and an honesty box. $10 per vehicle. They appeared to be doing a brisk business. The cliffs were created by the erosion of gravel and silt. They are steep, layered and intricately grooved. Fun to explore and gave us some nice views of the surrounding countryside.

Back to main road, we continued our day trip to have a look at Mount Cook. At 3,724 m, Mount Cook is New Zealand’s highest mountain. There is a tourist centre at the head of the valley underneath the mountain. Everywhere to stay was booked up a long time ago. It was very busy. Coaches, cars and motorhomes parked in every possible space. We enjoyed the drive up there. Nice views of the mountains and Lake Pukaki.

Next day, we said goodbye to Twizel and set off for the coast. Ended up being quite a long day and we ended up at a very quiet campsite on the coast near the Rangitata River. This was one of those gems of a campsite that you can stumble on occasionally. Almost deserted, no sandflies, good facilities, friendly warden and very cheap. We had a walk down to the beach. Nothing too special about that but I did enjoy photographing some Goldfinches. According to Google these are European birds that have been introduced to New Zealand.

With just a few days left before we needed to return the motorhome, we pushed on to try and complete our circuit of South Island. We headed towards Christchurch for a short way before turning off north and over Authur’s Pass. This is a very scenic road over the mountains towards the west coast. We dropped down into the lush rainforests of the west. Turning right before the coast brought us past Lake Brunner and eventually to the lovely town of Reefton. The motor camp there was very nice. Good, clean toilets. Always a good indicator. We had a short walk through the town and along the river.

Last leg of our trip was back to Christchurch. The route brought us past Springs Junction. Previously, this was where we had first discovered annoyance that are sandflies. Lovely place apart from that. We kept moving. Back down to the lowlands of the east and the beautiful, clean, turquoise rivers. Rolling farmland and green fields. One last night at a larger, more commercial campsite and then we were handing the vehicle back. I mentioned that the house battery was not charging when the engine was running. The girl doing the checks assured me that it was not supposed to. We left it at that. They were happy we had not damaged the vehicle. We were happy to get our deposit back. From there it was just a short ride to the airport hotel.

Oamaru

It rained for two days. We drove a loop inland in the hope of seeing something interesting. Mostly we saw damp fields and rain clouds. We passed through Roxburgh and Alexandra then headed for the east coast. A hydro-electric scheme held our attention briefly and I photographed another flower.

Heading north from Dunedin the weather started to show the first hints of clearing up. We stopped by a flooded lake for lunch and watched some rather soggy looking black swans. These birds are native to Australia but were introduced to several other countries by the Victorians for their decorative value. Then they escaped and went off to do their own thing.

Just up the road we arrived at the boldly named Shag Point. We drove down the narrow road in the hope of finding shags but instead we stumbled across a colony of fur seals. They were laying around, basking on the rocks. Not basking in the sun, it was cold and windy, just basking. They seemed very comfortable though. New Zealand fur seal is actually a type of eared seal, or sea lion. Characterized by their pointed noses, long whiskers, and external ear flaps. Quite commonly found wherever there is a rocky coast in New Zealand. There was a nice set up with a viewing platform on the end of a rocky ridge. We could watch the seals from here without disturbing them.

This section of coast was proving fruitful for things to see. A little further north we came across the Moeraki Boulders. Large, roughly spherical boulders up to 2 m across scattered around the beach. Clearly popular with tourists who like to stand on top of them and take a selfie. The boulders, grey-coloured septarian concretions, consist of mud, fine silt and clay, cemented by calcite. They grow over millions of years deep in the mud under the sea. The bulk of a boulder is riddled with large cracks, septaria, that radiate outward from a hollow core lined with scalenohedral calcite crystals. Some of the rocks have cracked open revealing a complex and interesting interior.

In the evening, at Oamaru, we went looking for little blue penguins. Also known as fairy penguins. They are a marine neritic species that dives for food throughout the day and returns to burrows on the shore at dusk. Just after nightfall, the penguins at Oamaru pop out of the sea and head home – they live in burrows but also under people houses and in the bushes of gardens. Little Blue Penguins are the smallest of all penguins. They live around various locations in Australia and New Zealand where the suffer from the usual problems of predation, hunting and loss of habitat. Little penguins on Middle Island off Warrnambool, Victoria suffered terrible predation from foxes and were almost wiped out. They are now protected by Maremma sheepdogs and are recovering well. We spotted a few penguins. They were hard to see in the dark and the use of lights or flashguns is discouraged.

In the morning, we went to see the Elephant Rocks. These are a collection of large, weathered limestone rocks that ostensibly look like a herd of elephants. What I found most amazing was the number of people that came to look at them. Coach loads of people. The site was used in the film version of the Chronicles of Narnia. Even so, not genuinely very interesting.

We came across another wine growing area and this time decided to stop and try some. Sitting in a very nice garden which backed onto a field full of vines, we were served a flight of different wines. New Zealand whites are largely Sauvignon and smell of passionfruit. This is what makes it so popular. Easy drinking, dry, crisp, and very fruity. The Chardonnays can be a bit more interesting. Usually, some oak going on and notes of vanilla. Pinot Gris is possibly the most interesting with quince type flavours. All of this, I find moderately interesting but not exciting. I am very happy drinking New Zealand wine but have yet to find a wine with the “wow” factor. It is a matter of personal taste. For me, big, bold reds every time. The tasting did include a red, a Pinot Noir which also did nothing for me. Please do not be annoyed with me New Zealand, I have never been impressed by Burgundies either. We bought a bottle of white wine to have with dinner.

We continued inland which took us past some very impressive reservoirs. More hydro-electric power. There appears to be a lot of this in New Zealand. In the evening, we camped close to the curiously named Twizel, pop. 1800. The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme. These days tourists number three times as many residents in the summer. The name comes from the nearby Twizel River, in turn named for Twizel Bridge in Northumberland by John Turnbull Thomson, Chief Surveyor of Otago in the mid-19th century. The area has one of the world’s cleanest, driest, and darkest skies. Twizel is well known to astronomers.

Milford Sound

Turning inland from the west coast took us over a mountain pass and towards the delicately named Wanaka. We paused on the way up to take photographs of flowers. I am not normally a photographing flowers sort of guy but the lupins here were spectacular. And purple. Mostly purple. Eventually, we managed to tear ourselves away from the blooming blossoms to only stop again at the top of the pass. Ours was just one van of many churning tourist vehicles constantly arriving and leaving the car park. With patience, we secured a parking place and took a short walk to maximise the viewing potential. It was lovely and quite spectacular. Terrific views across the lake to Wanaka. Not ideal for photographs. Partly because of the haze and partly because of the distracting abundance of Asian types taking selfies. I had to angle the camera quite carefully to make it look like we were there all alone.

Down the pass and along the picturesque Wanaka lake. We found the area was very crowded. Holiday central for New Zealand. Took us several attempts to find campsite with a spare pitch. Next day we made our escape and went deeper into the hills. We passed through Queenstown which appeared to be a very happening place. Then all the way along Lake Wakatipu to the end of the road town at Glenorchy. There was no room at the Inn, so we pushed on further up the valley. A small road gave way to a dirt track and eventually we arrived at a little DOC campsite. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is the government agency charged with conserving New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage. This means that they run campsites, maintain tracks and many, many other things. The campsites are generally basic and fairly remote. Nice places to stay in the wilderness. We booked and paid online then helped ourselves to a flat parking place.

From here we had a lovely walk up to Lake Sylvan. I was particularly impressed by the forest. Later, I discovered that the forest on the other side of the river, which looked just the same, was used as Lothlórien in the film version of Lord of the Rings. The “Golden Wood” is an ethereal Elven realm and home to Galadriel. The film was shot entirely in New Zealand. There is a thriving, if a little specialised, tourist business in showing people the various locations.

The hobbits never had problems with sandflies. Not that I ever noticed. We noticed them the next morning, however. The little savages were up about an hour before I was. By the time I got out of bed there were at least eight bites. All swelling and itchy. My loathing for sandflies runs deep. We had an abbreviated breakfast, applied ointment and set off back down the valley. An hour or so later, we took second breakfast by the banks of Lake Wakatipu.

Driving towards Te Anau, we were stopped by a man with a high visibility vest and a stop sign. Not just us, everyone was stopped and moved over to the side of a road. Several motorbikes came past and then an official car informing us of a cycle race. Fifteen minutes later the cyclists arrived. Like most road races, it was very exciting but for less than a minute. Then they were gone. No idea what the race was but it seemed quite professional. We brewed a cup of tea while all the parked cars attempted to get down the now open road at the same time. Then we continued to Te Anau.

Another serious tourist location. We walked along by the lake. Here you can have a flight in a float plane or a helicopter. You can go on a boat trip to a cave with glow worms and you can catch the water taxi to walk a footpath on the far side. We spotted a Tui – a medium sized nectar eating bird that is endemic to New Zealand. There were also some ducks and a few geese.

Milford Sound is justifiably famous for its sandflies. At the northern end of the Fjordland area, it is also the starting point for many walks and trips. The campsite there is expensive and also booked solid for the entire summer season. This was my excuse for not having to experience the sandflies. Instead, we did a day trip from Te Anau. The drive there is excellent. Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, forests and rivers. We stopped several times for short walks and just to take in the view. The road leaves Lake Te Anau and then climbs steadily up a long, broad valley. At the top is a single lane tunnel through the mountain barrier. This brings you out at a spectacular location near the base of a massive rock amphitheatre. From here the road drops steeply down to the port at Milford Sound.

The forests all along this road look very impressive. But they have problems. The native species are fighting for survival from predation by introduced rats, stoats and possums. The many endemic bird species appear to be especially vulnerable. Bats, frogs, lizards and giant land snails are also being driven to extinction. To counter this, the DOC have introduced their National Predator Control Programme. Poisoning and widescale trapping are being used to control the new predators. You can see evidence of this everywhere.

The next day we were heading south from Rivendell along the river Anduin. We skirted Fangorn Forest, didn’t see any hobbits but we did make a brief visit to a bird sanctuary. There were disappointingly few birds here but we did see some rare and endangered takahē. A flightless bird with striking blue-green plumage. Once thought to be extinct, the species was rediscovered in 1948 and is now the subject of New Zealand’s longest-running endangered species recovery programme. Next stop was the Clifden Caves. We had hopes of glow worms. When we got to the cave it seemed like more of a serious caving trip than we were prepared for. I went in a little way and stopped at the part where I was going to need to crawl through the mud.

In the morning, we stumbled across a wetland area which provided a nice walk. I also spotted a Silvereye, recognisable by their distinctive ring of white feathers around the eye and olive-green plumage.

The weather was getting worse. For two days it had been getting wetter and colder. As we arrived at the coast, later in the day, the rain really got started. We stood around for a while looking at some damp gulls and a cormorant. Then we headed off to try and find somewhere to camp.

West Coast

It was raining. We were at a quirky but pleasant campsite in the Nelson Lake national park. Particularly pleasant was the complete lack of sandflies and mosquitoes. Bliss. We stayed another day reasoning that driving in the rain was not ideal from a sight seeing perspective. Gave me a day to catch up the blog, answer emails and all that sort of housekeeping stuff.

Next day it was still drizzling but we set off anyhow. Ended up at the coast near Westport. In the morning, we headed out to Cape Foulwind. True to the principles of nominative determinism, there was a stiff, rain laden and slightly unpleasant breeze. Captain Cook named the point after his ship, the Endeavour, was blown quite a distance offshore from here. Undeterred, we followed signs to the Cape Foulwind Seal Colony and found a load of wet rocks. Looking more closely from the viewing platform we could see that some of the rocks were New Zealand Fur Seals. And they had pups. Fur seals were hunted to near extinction by the end of the 19^th century. Although protected now, they are still shot and occasionally culled, by fishermen. Possibly because they do not like the competition for a diminishing resource. I was happy watching the young pups. Some of them were only a few days old. There is a walkway along the cliffside high above the waves. This is a great way to stop people disturbing the seals while simultaneously affording a magnificent view. Bring your binoculars.

Further south we came across the West Coast Treetops in the Mahinapua Scenic Reserve. This is a high-level walkway in the forest. We were actually just looking for a cup of coffee but this seemed like a fun thing to do. Also, there was a café. The walkway is 20m above the ground, so you get a good chance to peer down into the forest. There is also a tower, 47m, by which stage you are looking out over the forest. All quite fun and gave me a chance to photograph some ferns.

New Zealand is stuffed with ferns. The climate here is ideal, if you are a fern. The country’s long geographical isolation has allowed for the evolution of unique species, with 40% of the 200+ fern species found nowhere else. Tree ferns are endemic and in places create a complete forest on their own. I find ferns lovely to contemplate. Something about the geometric properties is remarkably satisfying. Fractal recursive self-symmetry is all about how the shapes repeat at different scales and play tricks with your eyes. It is also mathematical and practical. As the frond unfurls, it forms a widening spiral that approximates the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8…). The ratio between consecutive segments of the spiral often nears 1.618, known as the aesthetically perfect Golden Ratio. This allows the plant to pack the maximum number of fronds into a tight coil while ensuring each has optimal access to light and space once opened. Snapping out of my recursive ruminations, we had a coffee and got back on the road.

Franz Josef and Fox Glacier are where many people come to access the glaciers. Depending on personal preference, you can walk, climb, cycle and fly up in a helicopter. The weather was not great but even so the place was absolutely heaving with people. We are part of a great cloud of white motorhomes that circulates New Zealand every summer. Here was one of the big focal points, a concentration of vans, trucks, cars and people. We just kept going.

Several hours later, we eventually found a campsite with some space. We were getting into the popular tourist areas, so it might be time to start booking ahead.

Christchurch

It was late when we got to Christchurch. An evening flight plus a two-hour time difference meant it was gone midnight when we landed. We stayed at the airport hotel. A soulless Novotel, ideal for this sort of thing and literally a two-minute walk from the terminal. In the morning, we stayed in bed as long as possible. Made breakfast with minutes to spare and just caught last orders for omelettes.

A short taxi ride into Christchurch brought us to our apartment for the next week. A compact but quite sufficient sixth floor flat. Diane was delighted to find a washing machine and I was happy with the kitchen. Sometimes when an oven is specified, what you actually find is just a microwave oven. Even I cannot make good roast potatoes by microwave and we had the New Year to celebrate.

We spent the next few days looking around Christchurch. It is pleasant, clean, modern and not too crowded. Close to the flat was a park with a large botanical garden. We were very impressed with this and spent many hours wandering around. A large area of different plants and trees. All neat and tidy and labelled. There were numerous ponds, an area that felt like a jungle and a rose garden that Diane particularly enjoyed. The town centre was less captivating but still very clean and tidy. Tram lines ran all round the main shopping centre. The trams evoked an earlier age which lent a comfortable tourist vibe to the place.

New Years eve there was a free music event in the park. We considered this but eventually concluded it was aimed at a much younger audience. Instead, we retired to our comfortable abode, cooked a great meal, with roast potatoes, and, when the time came, watched fireworks from the balcony.

We like cable cars. Christchurch has a little gondola system about 15 minutes drive towards the coast. We hopped on a tourist coach to get there and were pleasantly surprised by the views. There was not really much to do at the top of the hill except take in the scenery and have a coffee. We wandered round the viewing platform. Found a short path to another viewpoint. Came back and ended up in the café – so we had a coffee.

Next day we set off to explore New Zealand properly. We collected a motorhome from Britz NZ. I had booked this via the internet months ago. At the time, I was not sure which company to use so I followed some recommendations. Turns out the company behind Britz, called Tourism Holdings Ltd, is the same company behind Maui, Apollo, Britz, Cheapa Campa, Mighty and Hippie Campers. I think this list covers most of the hire companies in NZ. Anyhow, we got a Ford van with a four-berth body. Not very big. Not very well equipped. The beds are fine for two people. The bathroom is usable. There is a fridge, a gas hob and an oven (for roast potatoes). I think the batteries would struggle to do more than one night of wild camping. There is no generator. Not even an inverter, so it is 12v only once you unplug from the mains. No complaints however, it is fine for our purposes. NZ appears to be an easy place for motorhomes. There are campsites everywhere.

We stocked up at the local supermarket then parked up at the local campsite. By the following day everything was sorted, packed into the motorhome and ready to go. We had bought far too much food. We always do. Hopefully, we can use it up over the next four weeks. The weather was hot and sunny. We were cheerful and optimistic. The only plan we had was to drive round South Island. We set off in an anti-clockwise direction.

Kaikoura is the place to go whale watching. However, as we discovered, you really need to book this in advance and be set up to stay there for a couple of days. We noted this as a future possibility and drove inland to make a loop around Nelson Lakes National Park. At Maruia Springs we stopped at a very basic campsite. By basic, I mean it had no facilities at all other than a box to put money in. It was cool up in the hills which I enjoyed. We had a short walk and found a scientific experiment. This was a short, low wall. It extends much further into the ground. It is designed to measure tectonic plate movement and sits right across an important fault line. So far, nothing has happened. I think, one day, there will be an earthquake and then the wall will crack and the two parts will be offset from each other.

After the excitement of the wall, we settled into the van and then discovered the sand flies. These are nasty little bastards. They have nothing to do with sand. Small, black and numerous. The females like to feed on blood so that they can lay more eggs. Our van has mosquito screens on all the vents and windows but these are not particularly effective against the small sand flies. They bite. Not like mosquitos that stick you with a sharp mouthpart, but by sawing at your skin until the blood flows. Then they give you a good dose of anti-coagulants and drink the blood. This is messy and painful. There will be bleeding and soreness. Swelling and discomfort that can last for days. Diane seemed particularly vulnerable and started swelling up all over the place.

By morning, we were quite clear that we wanted to avoid sandflies. We pressed on north and found a lovely campsite by a river. We asked and were told that there were only a few sandflies around. This proved to be mostly true, although there were still more than I would have liked. Instead, in the morning, we got attacked by bumble bees. Maybe not actually attacked but an awful lot of great big bees decided that they really, really liked hovering around our van. I quite like bees but even so, that many little buzzers was a bit disconcerting. Fortunately, our mesh was quite adequate to keep bees out so we only had to deal with the persistent humming and strange presence of a swarm of bees.

Northeast took us through the vineyards of Marlborough. This is where 75% of New Zealand’s wine is made. Rich green rows of vines lined the road for mile after mile. It is an impressive sight.

Further on we came to the port of Picton where the ferry to North Island leaves from. Moving on, we followed the coast road to Nelson and then right up to the north. Here the road makes a dramatic detour up into the mountains. A lookout close to the highest point gave us some splendid views.

We dropped back down to the coast and eventually arrived at the interestingly named Farewell Spit. A spit of land, predominantly a sandbank and the most northerly part of South Island. For some reason, some whales have a problem with this spit and end up stranded on it. Keeps happening. Often, they can get themselves back into the ocean. Sometimes they need help and occasionally they die there. A few days earlier some fifteen pilot whales had been stranded. A couple of them died and the carcasses were still on the mud flats. This was all a bit sad.

That evening, on a very small campsite, we got attacked by mosquitoes. It was our own fault. Having asserted that there were no sandflies around, we relaxed and left the van door open. An hour later, just after dusk, the van filled up with mosquitoes while we were busy watching a film on my laptop. Never even noticed the little buggers sneaking in. We had a fly swatter and it did the job. The downside was all the blood and mosquito splats on the wall.

Lone Pine

The world’s oldest and largest koala sanctuary is the Lone Pine Sanctuary just outside of Brisbane. Bruce, Anita, Diane and I went there for the day. They advertise 100 koalas and 75 native Australian species. In many ways this makes it a zoo as much as a sanctuary. I find zoos tricky. There is a role in conservation and animal study. There is also the issue of caged wild animals and people paying money to see them. This is exactly what we did. I hoped our entry fee went more towards animal welfare rather than profits.

In the cages, near the entrance, were birds. This wasn’t overly exciting but not far from there was a Tasmanian Devil. A carnivorous marsupial that used to be all over Australia but is now confined to the island of Tasmania. The devil’s large head and neck give it one the strongest bites for a predatory land mammal. It hunts prey and scavenges on carrion. Devils are endangered. They have suffered from hunting, poisoning and habitat loss. They are particularly vulnerable to being killed on roads and, recently, have been ravaged by devil facial tumour disease – a type of infectious cancer. Since 2013, Tasmanian devils are being sent to zoos around the world as part of the Australian government’s Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. The devil is an iconic symbol of Tasmania and many organisations, groups and products associated with the state use the animal in their logos. It is seen as an important attractor of tourists to Tasmania.

One bird that did attract my interest was a large wedge tailed eagle. A rather magnificent bird that was a permanent resident. Apparently its wings were damaged when it was young and it has been here ever since.

There were a lot of koalas. Several enclosures dotted around the place each holding up to ten koalas. They were sleeping in trees. The “trees” are generally made of dead wood. Each tree has a container for fresh branches of eucalyptus. Koala food for the few hours they are awake.

Running around all over the place were water dragons. Semi-aquatic lizards native to eastern Australia and commonly found near water. They grow up to 60 cm and, in the wild, are very shy. However, the dragons running around the zoo had clearly become habituated to humans and seemed quite unconcerned. I quite liked that they were sitting beside the animal cages and occasionally on top of them. Like they owned the place.

We watched the turtles for a while. They floated in the water and pulled faces at us. Then we walked up to an open area on top of a hill where visitors were encouraged to feed kangaroos. For a fee, you could buy some food and then attempt to get an emu or kangaroo to eat it. There were so many people trying to do this that I think the poor animals had eaten more than enough. They showed little interest in being fed and seemed more inclined to sleep. In places, there was the slightly odd scene of kangaroos lying on the ground, trying to get some sleep and mostly ignoring the people trying to coerce them with food while taking selfies. The emu was wide awake, ogling the circling feeders with a manic intensity. There was just the one of these big birds. Second in size only to African ostriches. It moved around on powerful, three toed legs, keeping its distance from the outstretched arms.

Moving on, we found some freshwater crocodiles. These were even less active. In several minutes of watching, I never even saw an eyelid flicker. Fast asleep.

The dingoes were awake and being fussed by a small group with a guide. The dingo is a feral dog, meaning it descended from domesticated ancestors. However, it was never very welln domesticated. Dingoes and indigenous Australians lived beside each other in a mutually beneficial way but without any high degree of dependency. In this sense, the role of a dingo is somewhere between a wolf and a domestic dog. The particular dingoes that we were looking at seemed to behave just like domestic dogs complete with belly rubs. They are occasionally adopted but in general do not make good pets because they still have a lot of wild instincts.

Moving on to another section we spotted an echidnas. Vaguely reminiscent of a porcupine but smaller. They are monotremes, a unique group of mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Young echidnas are called puggles and suckle in their mother’s pouch until they develop spines. This echidna was running up and down by the fence. Up and down rather manically, obsessively and without obvious purpose. We saw this sort of behaviour in several of the caged animals. The Tasmanian devil had been frantically chasing round a circuit jumping on and off a log. Later we saw a platypus swimming constantly in a small circle. Stereotypic behaviours are a key symptom of a psychological condition sometimes referred to as zoochosis. These are abnormal, repetitive, and functionless actions rarely, if ever, seen in wild animals. It is a form of psychosis that is a clear sign of a very unhappy animal.

A quenda is a subspecies of the southern brown bandicoot native to southwestern Australia. They look a like large rats and have been called pig-rats. In fact, they are marsupials. Male bandicoots have bifurcated penises and the females raise their young in pouches. They are mainly nocturnal and forage for underground fungi, insects, and roots by digging small holes.

Nearby was a pademelon. Another small marsupial belonging to the macropod family, which also includes kangaroos and wallabies. I thought it looked cuter than a wallaby and had lovely red fur.

The largest herbivorous burrowing mammal in the world, typically weighing around 32 kg and growing up to 1 metre in length, is the northern hairy-nosed wombat. It is also one of the rarest land mammals in the world. Critically endangered with a population of just a few hundred. Once considered extinct, a handful were discovered in the Epping Forest National Park in the 1930s.

Right next to this was another rare animal, the unlikely sounding tree-kangaroo. I have no idea whether they can actually hop along branches. More likely they climb in safe and considered fashion. Originating in the northern forests they are solitary animals. This one was thoroughly engrossed in eating leaves.

As we were heading back to the carpark, we came across the feeding of the rainbow lorikeets. A great flock of them was flying in circles focused on a group of tourists armed with bowls of lorikeet food on sticks. This was obviously a daily occurrence; the birds knew where and when to come. The very brightly coloured parrots made an impressive sight and a nice way to end our day at the Lone Pine Sanctuary.

As ever, the zoo left me with mixed feelings. It was great to see some rare animals that I almost certainly would not see otherwise. It was also nice to see animals being saved in various ways. Less nice were the animals that clearly do not like being caged. There is also the general issue of animals being commoditised, turned into objects that can be viewed and poked at for a price.

The following day we were saying goodbye to Bruce and Anita and flying to New Zealand.

Brisbane

It was evening when we emerged at Brisbane airport. The air was warm but noticeably less humid than Cairns. Felt fresher and easier to breath. We hopped on the shuttle bus to the appropriately named Bargain Car Rentals. Here we collected a well-used bargain Kia Sportage and headed up the road to find the wonderful Bruce and Anita. We met these two on an Hx cruise over a year ago when we all got on very well. We were planning on travelling together later in the year and somehow this ended up with us inviting ourselves for Christmas. I hoped this was going to work out. Christmas can be a difficult time when travelling. Many places shut down for a few days so it is easy to get a bit stranded. Also, in some countries, the days just before and just after xmas are manic with everyone trying to get somewhere else. Flight, train and other tickets rocket up in price. Stations, airports and ferry terminals are packed. I needn’t have worried. Bruce and Anita welcomed us warmly and before long we were sat around the kitchen table chatting like old friends.

Next day, we went for a walk in the forest behind their house. Out on the edge of Brisbane suburbia, their large single story house backs onto an enormous, wooded nature reserve. This gave me a chance to photograph some Australian fauna. Tectonically, Australia has been isolated from the rest of the world for a long time. Over 30 million years. This means that many species of flora and fauna have evolved quite separately and independently of what was happening elsewhere. 80% of animal species are endemic to Australia. These include marsupials, egg laying mammals, flightless birds and many poisonous snakes and spiders. First thing we saw was wallabies. Smaller versions of kangaroos, they are quite common in this area. Not very shy. It is possible to get close to them. Before long we had seen over a dozen. Mostly just sitting, looking at us.

We also saw a Kookaburra. Technically a type of kingfisher, although it is quite large. You will have heard the song of a Kookaburra. The distinctive laughing kookaburra’s call resembles human laughter. It is widely used in films, television shows and video games. Often this is regardless of the production being in African, Asian, or South American jungles. I was reminded of a song about a kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree that we used sing around campfires.

We walked up to the koala sanctuary. Unfortunately, it was closed. We could see the animals through the wire cages. Come back another day. On the way back we saw a magpie and a good-sized lizard.

Christmas day we went with Bruce and Anita to their daughter’s house. Here was a great gathering of the Fursey clan. Daughters, sons, granddaughters, grandsons, other friends and many relatives. Anita’s sister, Boo, gave us some presents and card which was genuinely nice. It was a bit odd being in the middle of someone else’s Christmas celebrations but we enjoyed the experience and managed to eat too much. A highlight of the day was being introduced to Stanley the spiny leaf insect.

Back at the koala sanctuary, next morning, we finally got face to face with the bears. They are not bears. A big sign announces this as you walk in. They are koalas. No connection to bears at all.

Koalas have two thumbs to help them hang about in the eucalyptus trees. Eucalyptus leaves are all that they eat. Since these are poisonous to most other animals, the koala has a secure ecological niche where it can reign unchallenged. The downside is that eucalyptus leaves are low in food value, so the koalas have little energy and typically sleep for 20 hours a day. Later, we visited a look-out with a café and a view over Brisbane.

In the evening, we went hunting possum. Bruce sees many of these in the trees after nightfall. Their eyes glow in torchlight, making them easy to spot. We didn’t see any. The possums discovered we were coming and hid. So, it seemed. We saw a few more wallabies. They are not good with the light. They tend to freeze. Motionless they can easily get run over by a car or be shot by a hunter. Cane toads were everywhere. Also known as giant neotropical toads, these were introduced to Australia from South America. The plan was to control the cane beetle that was damaging sugar cane plantations. It was a bad plan. The cane fields provided insufficient shelter for the toads during the day. Worse, the beetles live at the tops of sugar cane—and cane toads are not good climbers. Now, cane toads are everywhere and a bit of a pest. Their tadpoles are poisonous to most animals. The skin of the adult toad is toxic. Parotoid glands behind the eyes secrete bufotoxin when the toad is threatened. This contains a class A psychedelic along with a cocktail of other, more deadly, substances. Licking is not recommended. Finally, we saw spiders. Great big ones. There was a lone huntsman spider. Also, several orb-weavers busy constructing magnificent webs right across the footpath. By morning they would be ready to ensnare unwary walkers.

Cairns

Le Soleal docked at Cairns around 7am. We had breakfast before disembarking. Breakfast was fairly good. Not masala omelette good, but it covered the basics and the orange juice was fresh. Tim and Loraine met us off the ship. Loraine is Diane’s cousin. We had all met 20 years before in Rotherham. It was lovely to see them again. They live a few minutes from the harbour and had invited us to stay for a few days.

Cairns is hot and humid. Surrounded by rainforest. Parrots and cockatoos fly around the city and the immense fruit bats swarm in the evening. Even at night the temperature is unrelenting. Tim and Lorraine live in a lovely flat near the centre of the city. They have a massive balcony with a terrific view. They also have a comfortable guest room with wonderful air conditioning. We spent most of the day chatting and catching up. In the evening, we went out for an Italian. It was my birthday. Lorraine presented me with a birthday card. This was not just the only physical card I got on this birthday but also the first one I had received for several years. Thank you Tim and Lorraine.

Next day, Diane and I went out for a walk along the sea front. Cairns is a bit of a tourist town. The esplanade is a wooden walkway on the sea edge. From the northern end of the city it runs south for about 3km. The far end is parkland and playgrounds. Further towards the city you pass numerous open-air restaurants, bars and shop. We stopped at cheerful coffee shop with a guitarist serenading customer. It was a pleasant way to spend a little time. Before long the heat was starting to get to us and we beat a retreat to the air conditioned flat.

On our last day there we all went for a drive to the south. Babinda Boulders is a natural swimming area surrounded by boulders in the dense rainforest. Several families were there complete with towels, sun cream and picnics. We took a stroll along the path leading downstream and into a steep gorge. Here the gentle river turns into a powerful torrent winding its way through deeply carved rocks. Many signs warn against trying to swim here. It is, apparently, usually fatal. We carefully avoided certain death by staying on the path. Here we could enjoy the dense, rich rain forest. A few birds were flying around. I completely failed to photograph any of these. Instead, we headed back to the town of Babinda. There, in the bakery, I had an excellent capuchino with a fresh, hot and very tasty mushroom and spinach slice.

Next stop was the sugar terminal. Sugar is the main crop in this area. We had driven through many hectares of it. At harvest time, which we had just missed, the cane is cropped by machine. In India, it was all done by hand. The whole family comes out and works long, hard hours. Here a specialised machine, similar to a combine harvester, cuts the stalks at the base, strips leaves, chops the cane into billets and loads them for transport. It ejects the waste back as fertilizer. This is all a drastic improvement of efficiency over manual methods. A narrow-gauge railway system, called the “cane train” moves the billets down to the processing plant. Each small locomotive pulls a long train of open box cars holding sugar cane. Eventually, the sugar, ready for export, arrives at the sugar terminal; a deep-water dock where large ships can be bulk loaded.

Not far from here is Etty Bay Beach. A lovely stretch of sand with a safe swimming area. Large floats support heavy chain netting which reaches right down to the seafloor. At this time of year this is mostly to keep stinging jelly fish away. A lifeguard sat at a desk under a gazebo keeps a watchful eye on things. We had a potter along the beach. Tim, Lorraine and Diane risked paddling in the shallows. As we got back to the car we spotted a cassowary. A flightless bird similar to an emu but smaller. Cassowaries are very wary of humans, but if provoked, they are capable of inflicting serious, even fatal, injuries. They are known to attack both dogs and people. The cassowary has often been labelled “the world’s most dangerous bird” although the statistics do not bear this out. This cassowary was busy raiding some sandwiches that had been left on a table. I grabbed a photograph while it was distracted.

That was it for Cairns. Lovely place and we were well looked after but way too hot and humid for me. Tim and Lorraine took us to the airport in the morning. We said our goodbyes and promised to not leave it another 20 years before we met again. A couple of hours later we were flying south to Brisbane.

Cape York

We arrived back at Thursday Island at about lunchtime. We were in Australia but not officially. First came passport control. The border control people came onboard and everyone took turns going to visit them. A woman in uniform squinted at me, squinted at my passport, nodded her head and I was done. Officially in Australia.

This all took time so it was not until after 3 pm that we could get off the ship. Getting off the ship was all but pointless but we did it anyhow. A short zodiac ride to the pier. A walk along the seafront. There was not much to see and nowhere to go. The highlight of the day was Diane sitting on a statue of a turtle.

In the evening, we sailed to Cape York. This is the most northerly tip of mainland Australia. Apparently, there is a sign to mark the fact. It was only a few hours to get there. We passed one of the other Ponant ships heading in the other direction. We were going to need to be up before 6 am yet again. Diane and I had just settled down for an early night when they dropped anchor. Our cabin is close to sea level at the front of the boat. It sounds and feels, like the anchor drops past our porthole and that the chain locker is under our bed. Bit of a jolt when you are just dropping off to sleep.

At 6 am it was still dark and raining. The sea looked to be running quite high as well. I got up anyhow. Diane had not slept well and was feeling particularly unimpressed. We had breakfast. The landing was delayed. Then it was on again. I joined a shore party in a zodiac. The rain had abated and the swell seemed far less in the cold, hard light of day. It was only a short walk from the landing site to northern point. Quite a few people had already arrived there and were queuing to be photographed with the sign. I managed to grab a photograph between people. Just then Diane bobbed past on a zodiac. She had opted out of the landing and went for a fly-by in a boat instead.

Heading back to the landing site I could see that it was no longer the landing site. They had decided it was too rocky there on a rising tide. Instead, we needed to walk over the top of the hill to a beach. Apparently, there is a saltwater crocodile called Gary that hangs out on this beach. Fortunately, there was no sign of him this morning. Pleasant view from the top of the hill. In the afternoon, we set sail for Lizard Island.

Penultimate night on the ship was gala night. There was a parade of all the officers and crew. Champagne was served and there were dancing girls. Eventually it stopped and we went for dinner. I am missing the Indian food. Ship food, as usual, is bland. Le Soleal is a French ship with a French chef. The bread was terrific and the wine was rather good as well. There was a strong emphasis on fancy fish and meat dishes. This did not impress us at all. Vegetables were mostly boiled and very boring. Surprisingly, to me, the cheese was a very mediocre selection. The omelettes were terrible. I am not sure how they did it but a cheese and onion omelette turned out tasteless and oily. I was really missing my spicy masala omelettes.

We had a morning at Lizard Island. I declined the optional walk. Seemed far too hot to me. Snorkelling was a much better idea. We had a very pleasant hour. Diane saw a big sea snake. These are very poisonous but not particularly dangerous. If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. We both saw some giant clams and many, many different fishes. With that, we were basically done. Back on the ship we handed back our snorkelling gear and then went back to our cabin to pack our bags. We had time to pop up to the bridge. I was pleased to see that they were using the Admiralty Total Tide software for their tidal height predictions. Andy and I wrote this a long time ago. It is nice to know that it is still useful. The evening was quiet and uneventful.

Next morning the ship docked early in Cairnes. We had breakfast and disembarked into Australia. Biosecurity is an important thing here. We were given a lot of information explaining how to avoid bringing in any plant or animal products that could cause problems. We had to fill in a landing card where we declared if we had been on a farm and all sorts of other things. We were briefed on the possibility of bag inspections, shoe cleaning and much questioning. In the event it was a complete anticlimax. The border offices took our declarations, said “welcome to Australia” and that was it.

Triton Bay

As the dull morning dawned, we were already at anchor just off from Kitikiti waterfall in West Papua. This is a substantial and picturesque waterfall that drops directly into the ocean. Nearby is a small island known as a haven for fruit bats. The plan for the day was a zodiac ride to see the bats followed by a swim and a snorkel near the waterfall. Unfortunately, the weather was against us. For a start, it was throwing it down with rain. Round here rain is rarely anything trivial. It was gushing down and bouncing off the railings. Worse however, was the sea state. A big swell had rolled in. The skipper felt that RHIB operations were not appropriate and so we were stuck on the ship.

While we bobbed around for the morning, I tried taking a few photos. The islands were looking moody with clouds hanging off them. I think I pretty much completely failed to capture this. Instead, I kept getting my camera steamed up. Outside was hot and very humid. This is not good for cameras. The rest of the day was a slow, steady run down the coast of West Papua to Triton Bay.

The morning in Triton Bay came in clear and sunny. The sea had settled down. We were good to go. This is a karst landscape. That is, it is made of limestone. The sedimentary rock was formed long ago on the bottom of a seabed. Then it got uplifted and got weathered by rain and wind. Limestone is vulnerable to the mild acid that forms in rainwater when it works it way through the soil layer. This is what creates caves. In places the caves collapsed and joined the network of great, water worn gorges. Now this landscape is partially submerged again and the limestone pillars are being rapidly eroded at their base.

We explored the bay and some of its tributaries in a zodiac. This was great fun. I just had to sit there with my camera and try to point it at anything interesting. We were out early in the morning and there were a few birds around. We also spotted a couple of orchids.

Our guides also pointed out an ant plant and some pitcher plants. An ant plant is interesting because it grows an ant nest and invites ants to live in it symbiotically. Pitcher plants are carnivorous. They trap flies and small insects. However, when I looked carefully at my photographs, I decided that I could not see either of these things. There were some interesting rock formations but nothing like Phang Nga Bay (Thailand). I enjoyed the trip but felt it had been oversold to us a little. Similarly, the talk of pristine wilderness seemed a bit over-egged. If you looked closely, there were huts, walkways and other constructions all over the place.

The afternoon was snorkelling. Brilliant conditions and really interesting. No photographs again. I do not have a waterproof camera. Maybe I should get one.

Next day was a sea day. We were sailing to the Asmat region of West Papua. This was billed as one of the most remote and mysterious regions of the world. Even today, there are at least 44 tribes that have never had contact with the outside world. In the realm of head-hunters and cannibals we would be met by a multitude of Asmat warrior canoes. We never got there. During the day it was announced that there was a sick passenger on board who would need to be taken to an Australian hospital. This was genuinely a matter of life and death. There was no real option other than to set a course south.

We sailed all the next day and as the third sea day dawned the Le Soleal was met by a fast transport boat from the Australian coastguard. Our patient was passed over so that he could be taken to Thursday Island from where he would be flown to Cairnes. I hope this all worked and that the unfortunate passenger made a good recovery.

Now we had another problem. We had left Indonesia without the proper border clearance. Emergency over, we turned back north and steamed back into Indonesian waters. The immigration officials met us in the evening offshore from Merauke. Formalities took a few hours and then we were steaming south again. Finally, we were back on track to pick up the planned voyage at the Torres Strait.

Banda Neira

We went snorkelling again. Diane is really enjoying this now. There is no stopping her. The ship had arrived at the Barat Daya Islands. This small and remote archipelago is located off the eastern end of East Timor. Most of the islands are barren, infertile and minimally forested. Another way of looking at them is to say they are perfect little tropical islands with clean, bright beaches ideal for a snorkelling trip. This is what we did. I think we had the island to ourselves.

The snorkelling here is extremely good. There is a wide variety of corals close to the beach. This attracts many different fishes. Big, small, brightly coloured, plain white. I have never seen such a variety of fish in one place. Not even in the Dubai aquarium. Diane is turning into quite the little mermaid. She will even let go of my hand occasionally. The water is warm and clear. Just the perfect temperature for some gentle swimming. The sun still feels hot but that just means there is no need to dry off and get dressed. We just hop back into a zodiac and go back to the ship.

Snorkelling in the morning and then we set sail for the island of Banda Neira. Late afternoon the bridge spotted a blue whale. I tried to get a photograph and managed a blurry picture of its dorsal fin. Even so, I was still pleased. My first Blue whale.

This is a small island, just 3 km long, in the centre of a caldera. For a while, it was the only place in the world where nutmeg was grown. The Dutch arrived there in 1600 hoping to monopolise the nutmeg trade. The fell out with the locals, the islanders revolted killing 30 Netherlanders. The Dutch came back with an army and began a campaign of genocide against the locals. The monopoly was broken in 1810. The invasion of the Spice Islands was a military invasion by British forces on and around the Dutch owned Maluku Islands also known as the Spice Islands in the Dutch East Indies during the Napoleonic Wars. The British attack on Fort Belgica, Banda Neira was a bit chaotic but they were aided by heavy rainfall which rendered the defenders cannons inoperative. By 1814, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Dutch once more took control but not before the British had spread nutmeg and cloves far and wide. Trees were transplanted, complete with soil, to Sri Lanka, Penang, Bencoolen, and Singapore. From these locations they were transplanted to other colonial holdings elsewhere, notably Zanzibar and Grenada. The Dutch finally relinquished control in 1949.

We arrived early the next morning. Some canoes came out to greet us. The Banda islands are the visible part of the volcano Gunung Api. Banda Api is the active cone that last erupted in 1988. Ash rose several kilometres into the air. One of the lava flows was clearly visible as we approached the island. Nearly 10,000 people needed to be evacuated from the archipelago. Most of the inhabitants of Banda Api have since relocated to Banda Neira.

The landing was done by zodiac to a small quay. We got divided into small groups and then herded around the island in different directions.

Our first stop was Fort Belgica. This has been restored and is in quite good condition. The top of the towers afford and excellent view across the town. The volcanic cone of Banda Api towers above the fort.

Next, we went to see a nutmeg plantation. This was in the shadow of the fort. As far as I could tell, it was still being run in a very traditional and manual way. The owner demonstrated cutting some cinnamon bark off a tree. I have since learnt that Cinnamon is the name for several species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. Typically, the trees are managed through coppicing.

The nutmeg fruit is a rather unassuming thing about the size of a plum and pale green or yellow. They are traditionally harvested using a bamboo contraption which catches the fruit as it is taken from the tree. This stops it hitting the ground. The fleshy part of the fruit can be used to make jam and sugar crystalised sweets. Splitting the fruit open reveals the nutmeg seed surrounded by a red covering. The covering is mace. A similar flavour to nutmeg but more subtle. Nutmeg and mace, commonly used as food spices, have been traditionally employed for their psychoactive and aphrodisiac effects.

Last event on the agenda was some more dancing and music. Everyone got together for this one. The major presented the captain of Le Soleal with a present and made a speech. We slipped out after the second round of dancing and wandered back to the ship. On the way, we noticed the street lamps had been fashioned to look like nutmegs.

It was late in the afternoon when we sailed from Banda Neira. I took a few photographs as we passed the islands. Eventually the sunset, we had a cocktail and retired for the evening ready for another early start at Kitikiti.

Kalabahi

The day after the excitement of the dragons, we turned up at Maumere, population 80,000, on the island of Flores. The reefs in this area were once considered some of the finest diving in the world. Sadly, a 2007 report found that 75% of the coral reefs had been significantly damaged or destroyed by the practice of bomb fishing, the use of toxic chemicals in fishing, and due to earthquakes.

We were loaded into a coach and driven for an hour up into the hills and to a small village. Here we were welcomed with some traditional dancing and music. Optionally, we were given some betel nut to chew as well as their local hard spirit. The betel nut is the fruit of the areca palm. It contains a mild alkaloid stimulant which is released by chewing it with calcium hydroxide (slaked lime). I had a nibble but it did not taste too good and I was not too sure about putting slaked lime in my mouth. The local spirit tasted like a grappa.

I was not too sure about the dancing. Clearly it was put on for our benefit but I was dubious about the extent to which it genuinely reflected local culture and customs. I am pretty sure that as soon as we left that the locals would put their proper clothes back on and go back to work. Some of the others in our group loved it. I imagine they thought we had penetrated deep into the unexplored jungle and were the first white people to be witnessing these rituals. By the side of the bus was a group of lads hanging out with their mopeds, smoking cigarettes and facebooking on their mobile phones.

The last part of our visit was the ubiquitous carpet shop. The women were hard at work spinning cotton into thread by hand. Next to them were a couple of looms and beyond that an awful lot of fabric hung out for display. They appeared to be doing a brisk trade.

The rest of the day we were on the ship sailing towards the town of Kalabahi on Alor Island. Our ship, Le Soleal, was built in 2012 in Italy. It is run by the French, Compagnie du Ponant. It is slow. Typically, we only do around 7 knots. However, it is remarkably quiet, stable and comfortable.

Next morning we were up early again for a zodiac landing. Fortunately, they could put us ashore on a stone jetty. We did not need to get our feet wet. In something of a repeat of the previous day we were loaded into some small and battered coaches. The trip to the village was a shorter drive but then we had to walk. Not too far. Just a couple of hundred metres up a steep slope. Here we found a carefully laid out market area and beyond that a cleared area with seating around it.

There was a lot more dancing. More whooping and waving of spears and rusty swords. I wandered around the village a little while this was going on. The construction of the huts was quite interesting. The lowest platform was over a metre off the ground. This gave a big living space, open on the sides. In the centre was a fireplace. The posts supporting the roof and attic had wooden barriers to prevent rodents getting up into the top section. The roof was steeply sloping to be effective with the heavy rain that often occurs here.

I spent a while photographing the dancing. For the most part, I was not very comfortable doing this. For a start, it feels quite invasive. I know the dancing is put on for us but even so I am not sure about pushing a camera into someone’s face. Also, I was having to fight with all the other photographers, mostly taking video using their phone. Why do people do this? Hundreds of hours of small, shaky video that nobody will ever watch.

Eventually, it all stopped and we got to spend time in the make-shift market. Eventually, that ended as well and we walked back down to the coaches. I thought we might get back to the ship then but instead we were taken to a market. This one really baffled me. A market selling fruit, vegetables, fish and meat. The fish and meat was getting rather revoltingly smelly in hot tropical sun. There was also a lot of rubbish.

Next we were taken to a museum. They have a bit of a thing about drums in Kalabahi. In particular, Moko drums, which are ancient and valuable bronze kettledrums. The Moko drums are believed to have originated from the Dong Son culture of North Vietnam, possibly imported to Indonesia by traders between 600 BCE and 300 CE. Their exact local origins remain a mystery to the Indigenous people of Alor. The museum has a large and diverse collection of drums which they are very proud of.

Komodo

First day on the ship is all about finding your way around. We had mandatory briefings about the use of RHIBs. We were loaned some snorkelling gear. We discovered the restaurants and bars. We attended a lecture about Komodo dragons. In the evening there was a gala dinner. Some people got dressed up for this. I put my cleanest shirt on but still managed to enjoy the champagne. Life from a 23 kg suitcase does not allow for dressing up clothes.

The Komodo Dragon is the biggest lizard in the world. Up to 3m long and 150 kg. These monitor lizards are endemic to a handful of Indonesian islands in the Komodo National Park. They are the apex predator and live off a diet of deer, wild boar and carrion. The Komodo dragon was the driving factor for an expedition to Komodo Island by Douglas Burden in 1926. They returned with 12 preserved specimens and two live ones. This expedition provided the inspiration for the 1933 movie King Kong.

We arrived early in the morning. A few people live on the island and they had set up a small market area to sell things to tourists. We were divided up into small groups. Each group had a guide and two national park rangers armed with long sticks. They went in front and behind the main group. Occasionally, dragons attack and bite humans. Sometimes they consume human corpses, digging up bodies from shallow graves. This habit of raiding graves caused the villagers of Komodo to move their graves from sandy to clay ground, and pile rocks on top of them, to deter the lizards. The guide was just explaining how it was not guaranteed that we would see any dragons when one wandered past the market area.

These dragons do not breath fire but they are still fearsome warriors. Komodo dragon skin is reinforced by armoured scales, which contain tiny bones called osteoderms that function as a sort of natural chainmail. They have orange, iron-enriched coatings on their tooth serrations and tips, as an adaptation for maintaining the sharp cutting edges. It used to be thought that the bacteria on their teeth could make even a small bite ultimately fatal. This has since been disproved. Dragons do have venom glands that secrete several different toxic proteins. The extent to which these are used for killing prey is uncertain.

We walked round a track through the forest. It was only quite short although the whole trip took nearly two hours with many stops to listen to the guide and watch the dragons. In all, we saw half a dozen dragons. They did not appear to take much notice of us. One of them was digging out a nest.

We got to an area where we could smell decaying meat. There was not anything to see but the guide assured us that a dragon had been eating here. Loosely articulated jaws, flexible skulls, and expandable stomachs allow them to swallow prey whole. Copious amounts of red saliva help to lubricate the food. Sometimes a dragon will ram the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat. A single meal can be 80% of their body weight. This means they only need to eat every few weeks.

Further down the track, our guide pointed out a young dragon in a tree. Poaching and loss of habitat make the dragon endangered these days. Across the whole Komodo National Park there are about 3000 dragons left. Young dragons mostly live up trees where the mature reptiles cannot catch and eat them.

I was quite happy to get to the end of the track. It was very hot and I was starting to wilt. Our route was arranged so that we needed to go through the market area to get back on the ship. There were t-shirts, little model dragons and various other tat that looked suspiciously like it was mass produced in China.

In the afternoon, the ship moved to another island, without dragons, and we went snorkelling. Diane’s first ever snorkel. She was a bit nervous but soon got used to it. Buoyed up by two pool noodles she was soon swimming around like a pro.