Off to Easter Island...

Six of us from the Orion took the Lindblad extension package to Easter Island. The Holiday Inn Express at the airport would not store baggage for non-returning guests for over 24 hours (some restrictive trade agreement with the airport), so the Lindblad representative assisted by taking us to the Left Luggage office at Sandiago airport - we didn't want to take all our cold weather gear to tropical Easter Island!

The flight to Easter Island (SCL - IPC) was an almost 5 hour epic on a brand new LAN 787-9 Dreamliner - these are wonderful new airliners compared to the clunky old Boeing Jumbos that Qantas seem to rely on. If we had realised how long this flight was, and in the general direction of Australia, we might have considered an alternate route home, from Easter Island, to Papeete and then Sydney. That would've saved 10 hours extra flying time, nothing to be sneezed at, and we might even have managed a holiday in Tahiti! But, we didn't think of that when we planned this trip and made the flight bookings.

This is the flight path we could/should have taken home, but instead, our bookings have us returning to Santiago.

Easter Island has an amazing story to tell. Firstly, it is the most remote inhabited island in the world, being over 2000km from Pitcairn Island. It is a special territory of Chile, and since 1995, has been named as a UNESCO World Heritage site thanks to its famous and mysterious statues, known as mo'ai or ma'oi, built by the Rapa Nui people and tall, averaging about 4m high. The island is quite small, 164sq.km and has a current poulation of 6-7,000.

The airport runway near the south west corner of Rapa Nui conveys the scale of this island.

Lindblad didn't send an expedition specialist with us, but recruited a local guide, Ata, a well educated and extremely knowledgeable guy with part Italian heritage. We were to learn from Ata, and by our own reading, that almost everything about Easter Island's history is hotly contested, and sometimes mythology seems more dominant than demonstrable facts. We don't know of any peoples whose past is so uncertain! The trouble is, the inhabitants left little in the way of written records - petroglyphs are mostly spiritual. Oral story-telling traditions seem to be poor and variously aid or conflict with carbon dating and scientific research.

Ata's father is Claudio Cristino, an archaeologist from the University of Chile and a co-founder of the Easter Island and Oceania Studies Centre. He has worked on the restoration of Rapa Nui sites. Ata said he didn't follow his father's footsteps in academia, but by doing this job, he is clearly doing his bit to propagate Rapa Nui's fascinating history to the world. Claudio is listed on Lindblad's website as a staff Cultural Specialist. Ata comes with a good pedigree!

The island we call Easter Island has many names. The Easter name was given by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen when he arrived here on Easter Sunday, 1722. Our flight didn't come to Easter Island though, the official destination was the Spanish version Isla de Pascua, and Mataveri Airport's code is IPC . The local population call the island Rapa Nui, which means "Big Rapa", after, apparently, its resemblance to the smaller island of Rapa further west in the Pacific Ocean. But that's not the end of its names - there is Te pito o te kainga a Hau Maka which may mean "this little piece of land of Hau Maka, but the word "pito" also translates as "navel" which leads to an alternate meaning, "the Navel of the World". Such ambiguities are just the beginning on this island which we will respectfully refer to as Rapa Nui in posts to this blog.

Between the years 700 and 1100, Polynesian people first came to Rapa Nui from the Gambier Islands (2,600km away) and the Marquesas Islands (3,200km) in catamarans and canoes - these guys were no mean sailors! - and on these flimsy vessels they carried all the means to extend their traditional islander civilisations. The popularity of sweet potatoes (a South American vegetable) amongst Polynesians suggests that at least some migration to here (and other islands) came from the east.

Regardless, Ata explained to us that the arriving peoples brought Polynesian traditions with them, but were determined to shape and vary them in particular ways. This is no doubt true, and explains differing Polynesian cultures in all their locations. Several clans arrived here. The big mystery on Rapa Nui is why the clans here developed idolatory to a ridiculous extent and competition between them brought about their own destruction. Ata set about telling us this story, but it proved to be hard to separate fact from myth!

Ahu Tahai

Our first exposure to all of this was Ahu Tahai in the Rapa Nui National Park, quite near Hanga Roa, the only town on the island. All the mo'ai in Rapa Nui were destroyed in a crisis about which were are yet to learn, but Tahai (and other sites) had been restored by an American archaeologist, the late Dr. William Mulloy in 1972. The site has a number of erect mo'ai, all facing away from the sea, including five on a single altar, an ahu. UNESCO has apparently directed that most sites be NOT restored, but be left as they were found.

Mo'ai rest on altars, known as ahu.

Mulloy re-erected five mo'ai on their ahu here at Tahai, but most are in poor shape. Neck breaks have been visibly repaired.

We learned a lot on this first visit. The mo'ai, Easter Island Heads, are statues of men in which the head is disproprtionately large compared to the body, and don't have legs. This constant theme is no doubt symbolic, and maybe partly due to practical reasons. They (mostly) all face inland, supposedly guarding clan lands. The statues are made from blackish soft volcanic ash (tuff), but their heads are topped with a different material, a reddish coloured rock called scoria. Almost all mo'ai now have empty eye sockets, but one at Tahai has had its eyes restored - these are made from obsidian, and have particular sacred powers.

A restored mo'ai, complete with scoria hat and obsidian eyes.

A memorial to Mulloy at Tahai acknowledges his contribution to Rapa Nui. In part it says "by restoring the past of his beloved island, he also changed its future". Ata explained the truth of this statement, how the restoration has delivered pride and self esteem to the Rapa Nui population.

A raging surf rolls in on the north-east coast of Rapa Nui at Tahai.

There's a very small rocky beach at Tahai, enjoyed by a few sunbakers and determined swimmers. This area looks like a sort of port.

Ata taught us that carving, moving and erecting the mo'ai depleted the resources of Rapa Nui, a situation which got worse as apparent competition between the clans caused the mo'ai to get bigger and bigger. The fact that the mo'ai were all destroyed later in some crisis suggests that the people identified and protested against this folly, but were apparently powerless to influence the leadership, the Rapa Nui royalty. It seems that the powerful were far more concerned with death, and possibly the afterlife, than in sustaining the living!

Most mo'ai were pushed over and broken during a crisis.

Ata showing us the foundations of canoe shaped shelter at Tahai. It would have been used for sleeping and storage, but cooking and living would be outside. The tiny entrance at the right.

Sadly, the end of the Orion's expedition...

Sadly, our long voyage on the Orion had to end. We sailed back into Ushuaia overnight in a gale so bad we had to retreat from the harbour after a few failed attempts to dock, and wait for calmer weather in the morning. So, reviewing our experience on the Orion as an expedition vessel...

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The Expedition Staff

What a team! Shaun Powell is so smooth, so competent. We have no-one to compare him with, but we simply cannot imagine a better expedition leader. He is all of knowledgeable, enthusiastic, energetic, flexible and diplomatic. He dealt with weather, tides and ice to vary the program on a moment's notice to take advantage of any opportunity for a new experience.

Shaun Powell

Shaun's offsider Johanna Werminghausen was a fabulous contributor to the expedition. She seemed to get all the dirty work dealing with the punters and their boots while Shaun was out scouting exciting new landing locations.

Joahnna Werminghausen

Tom Ritchie, a staff naturalist who has been with Lindblad for 40 years, was the resident guru. He is the goto man for any question. He was full of dry humour, and his many presentations were always a relevation. On land, he was the man to stand beside for insightful commentary.

Tom Ritchie

Doug Gould, top bird expert and great photographer, was always fun and helpful. He knows every bird by name, and has photographed them all. We understand Doug is leading the Orion's next expedition.

Doug Gould

Marieke and Steve Egan, naturalists who taught us more about birds and whales than we ever thought we'd need to know. Steve, at heart a laconic Aussie, lives in Broome with his action-wife Marieke, who thrives on a few unexpected thrills and near spills in the outings.

Marieke Egan

Steve Egan

Robert Alexander and Erin McFadden are the dive team on the Orion, and thrilled us with brilliant movies of their underwater exploits in almost every place we stopped in these freezing waters. Erin, a Scottish lass, is a brilliant undersea specialist, and her symbiotic (and vital) close partnership with Robert (a firefighter in Hawaii, in his day job) was apparent for us all to see.

Robert Alexander

Erin McFadden

The whole expedition was touted by Lindblad as a great photography opportunity. Indeed it was, and an extended workshop too. The photography team was Dan Westergren (National Geographic, brilliant at composition and light), Ian Strachan (a photo instructor, so helpful on getting composition and settings right, with a hilarious presentation on the mating habits of zodiacs) and James Napoli (the video chronicler - amazing what he can put together so quickly). We were given a professionally finished DVD of the entire expedition before the Orion had pulled into Ushuaia.

Dan Westergren

Ian Strachan

James Napoli

All hands on deck for a wet landing!

The Deck and Engineering Crew

Orion Captain Martin Graser is the most personable skipper imaginable. He cheerfully gave us a navigation or seamanship lesson every time we were on the bridge. He or his navigator showed us where we were on the charts or the instruments, and told us what the issues ahead were. He was delightful company in the dining room, where he often took a meal with his girlfriend Dorothee, and he frequently spoke to all passengers in the lounge. Martin and Dorothee participated in many passenger activities, particularly the zodiac excursions.

Captain Martin Graser

We met many of the crew. Whoever was on duty in the bridge followed the Captain's lead and welcomed all visitors at any time. Apart from the officers, the only crew members we really came across were the able bodied seaman who often piloted the zodiacs and helped us in and out of them from the transom. Unfailingly, they were all polite, friendly and very helpful. All members of the Orion's crew have obviously been drilled in customer relations.

The Hotel Crew

Ian Vella was the manager of the large (mostly Philippine) Orion hotel team, which included Lothar Greiner, the head chef, the galley crew and the restaurant and bar staff, not to mention the cabin attendants, including ours, Melvin. These folk are too many to mention by name, but like the deck crew, they were all so attentive, courteous, friendly, well-trained and just fabulous. Just no grounds for even the slightest criticism here.

This is probably true of all luxury holidays, but the Orion's food was both extraordinary and copious. The real challenge is to manage your consumption. We hope we did that pretty well, by skipping some meals altogether, and avoiding delicious and frequent between meal snacks.

There was also Kathrina Victoria the purser and her offsider, Rowan (a Zetland lad) and Kim, the wellness lady from Bulli who unfortunately broke her wrist in a zodiac incident and had to fly back home from Ushuaia - all great company aboard the Orion.

The Passengers

It goes without saying that the passengers on this expensive expedition vessel were well-to-do, and that was visibly so, but for some at least, this trip was a major budgetary expense. Apart from being wealthy, we thought our co-passengers were generally well-educated, friendly and open, well-connected, enthusiastic, committed to the environment, energetic and intrepid. This last characteristic because virtually everyone on the boat, including the older and frailer, cheerfully fronted up for the most difficult excursions.

Most passangers were in "couples", although there were quite a few singles. There were only a few instances of small groups travelling, and even these were only 2 or 3 couples who knew each other. Accordingly, there were few cliques at the start, and they didn't form. We adopted a "sit with anyone" strategy in the lounge and in the dining room, and we reckon we've chatted with just about every passenger at some stage.

Many passengers were retired, but equally, many were still working. We discovered a wide range of professions, lawyers, professors, pilots, librarians, engineers, and even a nuclear power plant operator! There was a wide range of ages from 30's up to 80's.

Most passengers were from the USA, with 11 from Australia, and 4 British people living in Kenya - no-one else. The Americans and indeed the Australians were from all over. We enjoyed talking to them all! Usually, we have the most arduous journey home, but this time we will enjoy a long but direct flight to Sydney from Santiago. Others have complicated itineraries lasting up to 40 hours with multiple connections and long layovers.

Health

Dr Joe Rizzi looked after the health of everyone on board. He didn't have too much to do, and we saw him frequently looking after his own fitness on the treadmill. He was on duty for the Polar Plunge, but wasn't needed. The main problem was a few upset tummies early in the trip (the welcome reception or the catamaran cruise in the Beagle Passage suspected), and some motion sickness, not to mention Kim's wrist. Most passengers seemed to be well prepared for sea-sickness with ginger tablets, medication and behind the ear patches. The crossing of the Drake Passage was thankfully pacific, and allowed most of us to earn our sea legs. By the time we encountered really rough seas, between South Georgia and the Falklands, we were all pretty well sea-worthy!

A lot of people on board Orion seemed to have coughs and colds, but fortunately we didn't succumb to these ills at any time. Hand sanitizer dispensers were all over the vessel - we used them liberally, which may have helped.

The Ice

It's like Uluru! No photos, no description can prepare you for the sight of those tabular icebergs in the Weddell Sea. Or the feeling of motoring through a field of pack ice on the other side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Someone commented that these were the only times that we all went quiet! So unbelieveably awesome.

Ice

The Wildlife

To see a blue whale close-up is a fabulous experience, but it's matched by the sight of 300,000 penguins. You have to go to South Georgia for these wildlife thrills - that incredible island was the unexpected diamond in our expedition itinerary. Or the Falklands for 100,000 albatross.

Wildlife

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We had a few hours to enjoy Ushuaia under our own steam. Some guests headed straight for the Stern jewellery store, but we thought the highlight of this town was the Maritime Museum. It's located in the star-shaped old jail for intractable criminals, Ushuaia's previous main reason for being, until President Peron closed it. We learned about the Yamanas, a local tribe of Amerindians who appeared to live in canoes - they had strong upper bodies but emaciated legs - and were completely wiped out by European diseases.

Yamana couple and canoe, in the Maritime Museum.

Reconstructed cell at Ushuaia Prison.

Unreconstructed cell block at Ushuaia Prison.

The town itself sports all the characteristics of a tourist haven - backpacker accommodation, cheap souvenir shops and lots of kiosks selling tours. Lindblad (bless them) had arranged access to a cafe in the Metropole Hotel, where we could get free coffee and snacks, whilst awaiting our bus to the airport for the Lindblad charter flight to Santiago.

Hotel Albatros in Ushuaia.

The pier in Ushuaia Harbour is full, cargo and expedition ships.

Ushuaia's airport confirmed our earlier impression as being possibly the worst we have ever encountered. It's got a very new and good looking terminal, but the procedure for exiting Argentina was horrendous - a one hour queue with the manual inputting of the same passport data as when we arrived, as well as compulsory photographing and fingerprinting again. Through a glass panel, we could see the arriving Lindblad charter flight passengers going through the same arrival formality agony as we had three weeks ago.

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Only 6 of us were scheduled to take the Lindblad Easter Island extension tour, so, on arrival at Santiago we farewelled the almost 100 other Orion passengers. A Lindblad agent helpfully escorted us 6 to the airport Holiday Inn Express which was, most conveniently, only one pedestrian crossing away from the arrivals area and baggage claim. We stayed here the night, for our outgoing flight the next day.

Hopping rocks on New Island...

New Island is 3.5 hours fast sailing south from Steeple Jason. Once held a whaling station (naturally, until 1916), it is now a 23sq.km nature reserve.

The Falkland Islands are not just a speck in the ocean. We steamed overnight to get from Stanley to Steeple Jason and another 3+ hours to New Island.

We pulled into Coffin Cove with the sun well and truly setting, to see a tiny settlement, maybe half a dozen buildings, a derelict sealing boat, an anchored yacht, and a lovely sandy beach. As we waited to disembark, we were thrilled by a pod of Peale Dolphins who put on an exhibition, then raced our zodiac to the beach. We had a wet but effortless landing.

A pod of Peale's Dolphins at Coffin Cove. Steve was playing with one of them, but this is as close as we got to a photo!

New Island, quite treeless, is privately held by a Conservation Trust (since 1996), and the Rockhopper Penguin colony is on land managed by a couple who have built a little museum and souvenir shop. Apart from permitting our visit (and no doubt getting paid for it), they came out in two 4WDs to help the infirm amongst us climb the hill.

Almost everywhere we have been on this trip has been a highlight, and New Island was no exception. We trecked about 1km up a 4WD track from the settlement to a fantastic rocky gorge which ran into the sea on the other side of the island. Tom Ritchie told us this was classic African geology, and reminded us that the Falklands are not separated from Tierra del Fuego but are a fragment of the African continent moved here by plate tectonics. Can't quite see how, but Tom won't be wrong.

The delightful couple who run this property happily provide limited transport up the hill.

There were two distinct bird colonies here, one of shags, and one of the Rockhopper Penguins we had come especially to see. Their name is obvious, they've got lots of rocks to hop, and indeed they hop, just like a kangaroo, two legs together. They are among the smallest of penguins. Rockhoppers have yellow whiskers rather like the macaroni penguins, and the yellow markings on their faces resemble eyes, which then look as though they open. Most rockhoppers stand steadily in the stiff breeze and afternoon sun with their eyes closed. To catch one with eyes open is a treat, because they are blood red.

It's a lot of hops to and from the water for these penguins.

To these rockhoppers, it's home, but to Tom, this is perfect African coastal geology, from whence the Falklands came.

The rockhopper penguin, red eyed and oh so cute!

A young rockhopper. They seem so resigned to their fate.

A rockhopper demonstrating the technique to her chick.

Some rockhoppers prefer to sit down for a rest.

Catching the late afternoon rays - it's 7:30pm.

Hasn't quite got his whiskers yet.

Johanna on the scent of the rockhoppers.

Unlike some of the penguin variants we have seen, rockhoppers are totally disinterested in their human visitors. They don't move or even look at you, even if you stray quite close.

Next to the rockhopper colony is another of shags.

An imperial shag on New Island.

This young shag became very interested in Mike sitting on a rock.

But then he started picking at my Bogs boots!

How terrifying to live with predators constantly soaring overhead on the prowl.

We were all quite enthralled by this visit, and at 7:30pm, when Shaun called us back to the ship, we were pretty reluctant to leave. As it turned out, Mike caught the last zodiac off the beach with Shaun, and looked back to see the host couple wave us goodbye and head back to their lonely settlement, which, we are absolutely sure, they love dearly. Apparently, these people were in residence here but unaffected by the 1982 Falklands War, which was almost entirely fought on the east island.

Upland and ruddy-headed geese roam happily and safely. We also saw some introduced cottontail rabbits in the field.

A tall bluff catches the last of the day's sun.

A old sealer "Protector III" graces the sandy beach in Coffin Cove, as the last of us zodiac back to the Orion.

Whatever it is, this introduced shrub is looking at home on the beach.

More of those geese, enforcing their right of way.

As the last Orion zodiac leaves their beach, the owners return to their remote settlement.

The sun has gone down on this tiny, idyllic settlement on New Island.

Our Bogs boots were cleaned and put away for the last time, a very sad occasion. As the Orion set sail for Ushuaia, the passengers enjoyed a fabulous Valentines Day celebration and meal in the dining room, our last dinner on board.