We will go on our next great adventure in approximately seven hours. Starting Sunday, 3rd April 2011, and departing from Cairns, Kelly and I will sail on the Orion 1 for 22 days, experiencing a part of the world we thought we would never see, to Papua New Guinea and West Papua & Maluku.
The trip consists of two back-to-back cruises, the PNG Cultural Highlights - Australian Geographic Photography Expedition and West Papua & Maluku - Voyage of Discovery. Our route will take us north from Cairns to our first stop at Alotau, Milne Bay and then further north and west to the Sepik River and back to Rabaul, the end of the first cruise. From there, on the second cruise, we sail up the coast to Wewak and then to several small islands and atolls around the "bird head" to finish up in Darwin.
Note: Click on any image to view a larger version
Google Earth map showing our 22-day route
The first leg is an inaugural photographic expedition specifically designed for different photographic conditions, such as the possibility of morning landings or late afternoon Zodiac cruises to take advantage of specific lighting conditions. Alongside the regular expedition team, two specialist photographers will be on board for this voyage: Nick Rains and Peter Eastway. Nick and Peter will be running a program for all levels of photographic skills while on board.
Nick Rains
Peter Eastway
I haven't met Nick or Peter, but I have worked on several projects for Panasonic Australia, including Lumix Life, which features Nick and Peter's work with Lumix cameras.
The second leg of the journey is termed a "Voyage of Discovery", as it's the first time Orion has travelled this particular route. We will be undertaking anti-clockwise navigation around Papua and over the "birds' head" of West Papua, witnessing some remote locations and unique ceremonies. The province contains the highest mountains between the Himalayas and the Andes, rising up to 4884m high. It also has lowland rainforests, extensive wetlands, and some of the largest mangrove forests in the world.
Around the tip, we visit Raja Ampat, an archipelago comprising 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands. We will sail south to Maluku, a rarely visited group of islands, and finally berth in Darwin.
We have no idea what to expect, and I hope to report daily on what we have seen and experienced. So keep an eye on the blog!
As in the past, our first task was to send the Fur Kids, Rupert and Peanut, off to kitty camp. Here's a shot of them waiting for the Hanrob limo to pick them up.
Peanut (left) and Rupert (right) waiting for the limo
