Faces of Melanesia
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NO SINGLEJUST ANNOUNCED: SUPPLEMENT! FACES OF MELANESIA November 17 – December 3, 2016 | 17 Days | Aboard the Caledonian Sky PAPUA SOLOMON Expedition Highlights NEW GUINEA TROBRIAND ISLANDS ISLANDS Kuyawa Island / LAUGHLAN • Join us on an award-winning journey Nakwaba Island ISLANDS Port Moresby that reveals the extraordinary diversity MELANESIA of Melanesia and its people. Fergusson Island / Dobu Island D'ENTRECASTEAUX SANTA CRUZ • Visit idyllic islands and isolated villages ISLANDS ISLANDS Utupua to witness time-honored traditions and Tikopia ceremonies including hypnotic drum- ming, melodic bamboo panpipes, and Espiritu Santo elaborately-costumed dancers. SOUTHERN PACIFIC OCEAN • Snorkel or dive over pristine coral reefs Ambrym populated by a variety of tropical fish— VANUATU neon damsels, clownfish, Moorish Port Vila idols, butterflyfish, delicate seahorses, and brilliantly hued wrasses. • Search for striking endemic birds, including the Solomon Island sea eagle, buff-headed coucal, and Melanesian megapode, amidst the lush, tropical vegetation. • Itinerary .................................... page 2 > • Flight Information ...................... page 3 > • Ship, Deck Plan & Rates ............ page 4 > • Know Before You Go ................. page 5 > © Sergey Frolov © Giovanna Fasanelli Wednesday, November 23 Itinerary KUYAWA & NAKWABA, TROBRIAND ISLANDS This morning we visit with the traditional Trobriand islanders of Kuyawa and view energetic, time-honored dances that Based on the expeditionary nature of our trips, there may be celebrate fishing and the seasonal yam harvest. Learn about the ongoing enhancements to this itinerary. history of the Kula Ring, a circular pattern of ceremonial trade relationships that binds the islands of Milne Bay and eastern Papua New Guinea together in a long-established network of Thursday & Friday, November 17 & 18, 2016 friendship. These islanders are also renowned for the exquisite DEPART USA quality of their ebony wood carvings, often decorated with Board your independent overnight flight to Port Moresby. Lose a mother-of-pearl shell inlays. Enjoy a walk among the villages of day crossing the International Date Line. Kuyawa before returning to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon we anchor at nearby Nakwaba Island. Snorkel Saturday, November 19 or dive amid kaleidoscopic coral reefs populated by parrotfish, PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA neon damsels, and other brilliantly-hued species. Join naturalists Upon arrival in Port Moresby transfer to the Airways Hotel for on a walk around the island in search of flying foxes (fruit bats), an afternoon at leisure. Gather this evening for a welcome sulphur-crested cockatoos, and helmeted friarbirds. dinner and overnight at our hotel. Thursday, November 24 Sunday, November 20 LAUGHLAN ISLANDS PORT MORESBY / EMBARK CALEDONIAN SKY Traditional canoe building is a specialty of the Laughlan Visit the National Museum and Art Gallery with its exceptional islanders. In this very remote corner of eastern Papua New collections of primitive art, including Sepik River carvings, Guinea, find hand-crafted seagoing canoes in various stages Malagan masks, and Trobriand Island fishing vessels. Board the of construction, with finely tuned hulls of traditional planking Caledonian Sky in the afternoon. lashed with natural sennit fiber cord and caulked with sap. The Monday, November 21 UTUPUA EXPEDITION STOP Numerous small islands dot the southern coast of Papua New © Shirley Metz Guinea and we make an expedition stop this afternoon for an introductory snorkel or dive over colorful reefs. Tuesday, November 22 DOBU & FERGUSSON, D’ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS Today explore these distinctive, jewel-like islands capped by active volcanoes and snorkel or dive in the surrounding marine- rich waters. You will also visit a tranquil seaside fishing village and hike to a series of hot springs and bubbling mud pools surrounded by lush vegetation. ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | FACES OF MELANESIA < 2 > residents here welcome you with a stroll through the village of an unforgettable dive over the USS President Coolidge, which palm-thatched houses. Enjoy an afternoon snorkel off a pristine sank in 1942, and is encrusted by a tapestry of corals, offering a sand-bar or an adventurous dive off the outer reef. haven for fishes; or accompany our naturalists on an excursion inland to search for some 50 species of birds, including the very rare mountain starling and thicket warbler, found only at Friday – Sunday, November 25 – 27 high elevations, the chestnut-bellied kingfisher, and the yellow SOLOMON ISLANDS white-eye. This afternoon, conditions permitting, we snorkel at Over the next three days, explore some of the numerous small Million Dollar Point, where the Allies jettisoned large quantities islands of the Solomons. We’ll snorkel and dive over pristine of surplus war material into the sea. reefs of hard and soft corals, from delicate seafans to staghorn formations, where colorful sponges, flower-like anemones, and giant tridacna clams edged with iridescent blue mantles flourish. Thursday, December 1 We plan to step ashore on traditional islands to visit with locals AMBRYM and learn about life in this tropical paradise, while nature enthu- Today we are welcomed by palm-leaf-clad dancers with siasts search the lush vegetation for birds and other wildlife. elegantly carved headdresses before exploring traditional Linbul Village. Ambrym is known for its slit-gong drums, some carved from enormous breadfruit tree trunks. Monday, November 28 UTUPUA, SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS A lagoon and barrier reef surround the rarely visited island Friday, December 2 of Utupua where Zodiacs take you down a fjordlike channel. PORT VILA / DISEMBARK / BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA Among the marshy mangrove trees, learn about an ecosystem Disembark this morning for a tour of Port Vila, the capital of that is a beehive of biological activity. Enjoy free time to stroll Vanuatu, ending at the airport for your independent flight to through Nembo to see the villagers’ prolific gardens, or join a Brisbane. Dinner and overnight at our airport hotel. snorkel or dive excursion. Saturday, December 3 Tuesday, November 29 BRISBANE / USA TIKOPIA Transfer to the airport this morning for your independent flight to Tikopia is legendary—a remote tropical paradise where tradi- the USA. tional customs remain intact. This Polynesian-settled island lies in Melanesia, yet its people are descendants of Tongan and Wallis Island settlers. School children clad in tapa cloth harmo- Combine this voyage with Indonesia, November 3 - 21, nize songs of welcome, followed by enthusiastic dances by the 2016 and save 5% on the cost of both. Or, choose to join our young men of the village. A hike to the crater lake at Tikopia’s optional pre-voyage extension to Papua New Guinea, center may reveal fairy terns, cardinal honeyeaters, and yellow- November 11 - 20, 2016. Contact our office for details. bibbed lories. In the afternoon choose to stroll the lovely beach or snorkel or dive along the fringing reef where you may spot up to 60 species of fish. Flight Information You will need to purchase airfare from your home city/ Wednesday, November 30 Port Moresby and Port Vila/Brisbane/home city. Please contact ESPIRITU SANTO ISLAND, VANUATU our in-house Air Department for fare quotes, reservations, This morning we have three options—visit Nekat Village and or other air-related questions. participate in a traditional kava ceremony; divers may set out on TIKOPIA BLYTH’S HORNBILL © Shirley Metz © Jarda Versloot ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | FACES OF MELANESIA < 3 > The Caledonian Sky Deck Plan PANORAMA DECK The all-suite 100-guest Caledonian Sky is a PANORAMA DECK PANORAMA DECK spacious, yet intimate, expedition vessel. Refurbished Library PANORAMA DECK Library in 2012, her beautifully designed public spaces Panorama Lounge Sun Deck PANORAMA DECK PanoramaLibrary Lounge Sun Deck Bar include a single-seating dining room, a large lounge, Elevator Library PanoramaBar Lounge Sun Deck Elevator Library Bar elegant bar, enclosed panoramic viewing deck, sun Elevator Panorama Lounge Sun Deck PanoramaBar Lounge Sun Deck deck, library, and gym. All suites have an ocean view BRIDGE DECK Elevator Bar BRIDGE DECK Elevator and feature a sitting room, en suite bathroom, flat- BRIDGE DECK 511 505507509 511 505507509 BRIDGE DECK Bridge screen television, spacious wardrobes, and dressing Outdoor Cafe 511 505507509 BRIDGEOutdoor DECK Cafe Elevator Bridge table. The Caledonian Sky carries a fleet of Zodiacs, Outdoor Cafe Elevator 511 505507509 506508510512 Bridge Elevator 506508510512 511 505507509 available for accessing remote shorelines and islands. Outdoor Cafe 506508510512 Bridge PROMENADEOutdoor Cafe DECK Elevator Bridge Elevator 506508510512 PROMENADEPromenade DECK Deck Promenade Deck Visit www.zegrahm.com/caledoniansky for Promenade Deck 506508510512 Promenade Deck PROMENADESalon 43 DECK3 431 427 425 423 421 419 417 415 Promenade Deck Promenade Deck Salon 433 431 427 425 423 421 419 417 415 more information about this ship. PROMENADEWC DECK Elevator 427 425 423 421 419 417 415 Salon Promenade433 Deck431 Promenade Deck PROMENADEWC DECK Elevator 434 432 Salon GymWCPromenade433 Deck431 Elevator 427428 426425 424423Promenade 421422 Deck 420419 418 417416 415414 Gym 434 432 Promenade Deck 427428 425426 423424Promenade 421422 Deck 420419 418 417416 415414 Salon WC 433 431 Elevator Gym Promenade434 Deck432 428 426 424Promenade 422 Deck 420 418 416 414 WCPromenade Deck Elevator Promenade Deck CALEDONIANGym