Today was an excellent day spent at sea crossing the South Atlantic on National Geographic Explorer. We crossed the polar front early in the morning, moving into warmer waters and warmer climes. This shift brought with it new bird species and marine mammals. Standouts included our first sightings of the spectacled petrel and the remarkable southern right whale dolphin!
Brett is a photographer, marine biologist, and educator from California. He is happiest underwater with camera in hand working to inspire marine conservation. He has worked and traveled extensively throughout the Americas, Asia, Oceania, and the Midd...
It was our final day at sea as we edged closer to Cape Town, South Africa. It was also an active day on board with several excellent presentations, including ‘Threats to Marine Ecosystems’ by Jamie Coleman, ‘Our Plastic Ocean’ by Maya Santangelo, ‘Investigating Patterns Shaping Biodiversity Across Spatial Scales’ by one of our visiting scientists Rui Seabra. The final presentation was from our National Geographic photo expert Isai Matriz who delivered an engaging talk on ‘Darwin’s Beetle: A Story in the Making’. Many guests made the most of the mild, calm waters and watched several species of seabirds glide by. We ended the day with the captain’s farewell and prepared for onward adventures.
And so we awoke this morning to our daily announcement to learn that our nearest point of land was Cape Town, South Africa. Our journey from Cape to Cape may be nearing its final Cape, but the excitement at sea has not ended. Once again, we filled our day with a variety of presentations from the staff – from stories about making this crossing under sail, to learning about sustainable seafood, to live demonstrations about the mammalian dive reflex, to expert advice on telling a story with our photos of this expedition. To round off our day, we shared one final natural history recap before being treated to an extraordinary Filipino dinner – complete with a galley tour! – and a wonderful show by National Geographic Explorer’s crew band, The Spice Boys & Girls!
Pushed along by a favourable current and aided by slack winds, we made good eastward progress towards our ultimate stop: Cape Town. We are midway on our four-day passage. The nearest point of land is Gough Island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. The curious-looking spectacled petrels were our constant companions today as they followed in our wake. It is a privilege to see so many of these rare and threatened seabirds.
