ABC TV: The Wild Ones: Edge of Nowhere

Macquarie Island, situated in the cold and furious Southern Ocean, is one of the most remote and little known places on Earth and is the last green outpost of land before the ice of the Antarctic. Here, on this tiny island at the end of the world, resides one of the largest concentrations of wildlife on the planet.

Dean Miller, scientist and marine biologist, dedicated twelve months of his life living on the island to study and document the return of the Antarctic fur seals from the brink of extinction.

Armed with a High Definition camera, Dean set out to observe and document every type of seal, every type of penguin, killer whales and every marine bird you can think of, and in the process captured the unique stories of each of these creatures and the wild island that they call home. It is a wild, colourful and rich story; it is the Edge of Nowhere.

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Help Save Endangered Wildlife with Heritage Expeditions

Russian Sea Otter and pup

Heritage Expeditions is offering two special voyages in 2012 offering dedicated wildlife lovers the chance to become a part of genuine conservation projects helping to save endangered species from extinction in the remote Kuril Islands and Russian Kamchatka Peninsula.

The 18-day ‘Sea Otter Survey’ voyage will be led by a team of world-renowned professionals, who will undertake much-needed research on the Sea Otters of the region. Participants will join the research teams in Zodiacs and on shore patrols to assist with invaluable research and data collection. There will also be plenty of opportunities for birding, photography and hiking – or to simply enjoy the rugged beauty of these remote volcanic islands north of Japan. Largely uninhabited, their isolation has created a sanctuary for some of the highest concentrations of wildlife on earth. In particular, the secluded islands of Paramushir, Atlasova and Shumshu have the highest numbers of sea otters in the region.

A highlight of the voyage will be a landing at the rarely visited Kurilsky Nature Reserve on Kunashir Island, which is also home to numerous breeding bird species including the endangered White-tailed Eagle.

The second voyage, ‘In Search of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’, run in conjunction with Bird Life International, will conduct vital surveys of one of the world’s most critically endangered birds, travelling to places very few people have visited.

The warmer Pacific Ocean climate creates ideal conditions for seabirds and the area is one of the richest in the world, both in terms of the number of species and their sheer abundance.

Heritage Expeditions is a Bird Life Species Champion and is committed to helping Bird Life International’s work in protecting the world’s most threatened species from extinction.

A previous expedition in 2011 made ornithological history by finding a previously unknown breeding site of these rare birds. While the search for Spoon-billed Sandpipers are the central focus of the voyage, there are countless other wildlife highlights including Steller’s Sea Eagles, Brown Bears, and a high diversity of whale species including Blue, Killer, Grey, Humpback and Sperm Whales.

Both expeditions will take place on board the 50-passenger Spirit of Enderby, a former Russian research vessel, purpose-built for polar and oceanographic research and refurbished to provide comfortable accommodation for travellers.

Prices for the 18-day ‘Sea Otter Survey’ voyage departing on 9 May 2012 start from US$4900 per person. Prices for the 14-day ‘Search for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’ voyage, departing on 24 June 2012 start from US$8400 per person. Prices include all on board ship accommodation, meals, transfers, all shore excursions, landing fees and onboard lectures by experienced naturalists.Heritage Expeditions is also able to arrange competitively priced airfares, as well as additional pre and post voyage touring in the Russian Far East.

For further information phone 1800 143 585 (Australia) or 0800 262 8873 (NZ) or visit www.heritage-expeditions.com

American Cruise Lines Plans Mark Twain Tribute Sailing

Queen of the Mississippi, 150-passenger sternwheeler

By Theresa Norton Masek (Travelpulse)

American Cruise Lines, getting into the spirit of its new Mississippi product, is offering a special Mark Twain tribute cruise aboard the new Queen of the Mississippi on Sept. 15 roundtrip from St. Louis. Planned stops include an extended visit to Twain’s childhood hometown in Hannibal, Mo.

The cruise will feature a Mark Twain impersonator, a tour of Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, an onboard display of a first edition copy of “Life on the Mississippi,” and a guided trolley ride through Hannibal. Guests will receive special edition copies of “Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.”

The Queen of the Mississippi, which will makes its debut in August, carries 150 guests in staterooms with private balconies. American Cruise Lines intends to operate the paddlewheeler over the entire Mississippi River system, including the Ohio and Cumberland rivers

Islands still harbour cold war secrets

Kris Madden - Escape

I FEEL as if I am in a scene from a James Bond movie. Some of us are wearing balaclavas as we race away from the Russian mother ship in our indestructible black rubber inflatables, heading for the shores of an abandoned Soviet nuclear submarine base.

The haunting remains of the crumbling buildings come into view as we land at Broutana Bay on Simushir Island, a now-uninhabited speck of land in the cold waters of the northwestern Pacific Ocean and part of the Kuril Islands chain which stretches between northern Japan and Russia.

This is certainly no holiday resort. From the 1960s through to as recently as the mid-'90s, this remote string of islands, and an area to the north known as the Kamchatka Peninsula or the "Russian Far East", were once used as secret hiding places for warships and submarines and used as "listening posts" to spy on the United States, which I discover is surprisingly within striking distance, just across the Bering Sea.

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Wildlife photographer to host A&K Galápagos photo safari

48-passenger Eclipse

Abercrombie & Kent has booked zoologist, conservationist and wildlife photographer Mark Carwardine to lead a photo safari in the Galápagos Islands May 24-June 3.

A&K said late spring is the perfect time of year for photography in the Galápagos when the Humboldt Current brings cooling waters and more nutrients to the archipelago.

Photographers can come face to face with giant tortoises, sea lions, marine and land iguanas, and indigenous birds including the blue-footed booby.

Carwardine will share practical tips for capturing these animals on twice-daily shore excursions, along with presentations on board about his adventures with
Stephen Fry filming ‘Last Chance to See,’ a BBC series devoted to animals facing extinction based on the book he wrote with Douglas Adams.

Carwardine will accompany the group each day, hosting lunches and dinners on board and sharing his experiences during evening programs devoted to wildlife and photography.

The trip sails on the 48-passenger Eclipse, which earned the Rainforest Alliance ‘SmartVoyager’ green seal of approval for environmentally-sensitive operations.

Silversea cuts fares on some expeditions

Silversea Cruises announced lower fares, starting at $1,999, on select voyages sailing March to November, including a few expedition voyages.

The new fares are available on dozens of sailings spanning the globe from Africa, Asia and the Americas to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

Expedition ship Silver Explorer sails from Colón, Panama, April 4 on a 10-day cruise to Barbados with fares starting at $2,999 per person.

Here be dragons, and they're after you

A TOUR of Indonesia's spice islands brings a close encounter with a reptilian giant. by Barry O'Brien, The Adelaide Advertiser

A BIG beady eye fixed its gaze on me. Suddenly the long, powerful tail started to twitch and the monstrous beast lifted to its full height on razor-sharp, clawed feet. I was sitting on the ground near a water hole trying to get a low-angle close-up shot of two Komodo dragons, side by side in the wild.

"I'd get up now sir," our guide pleaded with a hint of trepidation in his voice as he readied his stick to counter a possible attack. When one of the reptiles moved towards me, its long, white, forked tongue darting in and out, I didn't drag my feet in heeding his earnest warning.

Earlier we'd been told how a bite from these 3m monsters causes a painful death to their prey by infecting them with poison. Only a couple of years ago a child was taken from a village by a dragon.

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