Welcome to the second issue of our special Explorer alumni newsletter. What a year it has been! This time last year, our "Little Red Ship" was getting a fresh coat of paint, and filling up fast for its inaugural season in Antarctica! To everyone that joined us for our first year of being the proud Canadian owners of the legendary Explorer, we thank you. Many of you have already returned with us during our recent Arctic season, replacing the Penguins or Pythons with Polar Bears and Puffins.
We are sure you still remember your first Zodiac excursion like it was yesterday, heading out on the water to explore the remote corners of the world, which most people only dream of. Well, we aim to help you stroll down memory lane with this Explorer update, by sharing some of the latest stories and images that have come in throughout our inaugural Antarctic, Amazon and Arctic seasons!
Plus, we are offering a number of departures for 25% off, only to past passengers who reference our "Explorer Alumni" promotion. Unfortunately the offer ends on November 30th, so take a look at our departure dates to see where you want to sail to next.
Red Hunt, Editor
Picture from the Captain
The Arctic season has come and gone, and our Captain, expedition team and crew are all preparing for the fast-approaching Antarctic season. (Check out the sailing dates on the left!) We contacted the ship recently to get a quick update from the Captain and a final summary of the recent season in the north.
Busy getting the ship ready for Antarctica, Captain Paul Heslop summed up our 2005 expeditions to Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland with this collage of images taken over the past few months. Click on the image for a larger picture.
The Captain and his bridge-team look forward to another successful sailing season and hope that you can join them once again on one of our upcoming expeditions aboard Explorer in 2006.
See you again soon!
What's NEW with the Explorer?
We have a great collection of new expeditions coming up over the next year, in Antarctica, the Amazon and the Arctic, plus we have added a more comprehensive list of "full package" trips for our travellers that enjoy spending a little extra time in local cities before or after their voyages. Read on the find out more about the new trips in 2006!
In Antarctica, we will have you doing the tango to Antarctica, on our special "Full Explorers Voyage to Antarctica" in November 2006. This unique trip will include tango time in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The ship actually departs from Montevideo in Uruguay, before taking in the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica.
In the Amazon, we have created what I consider to be one of our most impressive trips anywhere in the world - "Oceania, Amazonia & Andes". If you haven't guessed by the name, we added a fantastic journey through the Peruvian Andes, including Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas". A splendid wildlife expedition in the Amazon, plus great scenery and culture in Peru, you can't go wrong! Please note that the Andes portion of this trip has very limited space, so grab your spots early!
Looking ahead to the summer of 2006, we head back north, but this time we're going waaaay north to the Svalbard Archpelago and Spitzbergen, Norway! Check out our "Realm of the Polar Bear" trips, which not only feature polar bears but reindeer, icebergs, glaciers, seals, bird colonies and much more.
|
|
Detecting Polar Bears in the Arctic
If you are in the northern realm of the Arctic, what do you do to keep yourself safe when exploring polar bear territory? Well, if you were aboard the Explorer, you recruit a couple Arctic veterans from the village of Ittoqqortoormiit.
Meet Helena (brown) and Explorer (white), our special guests during our Fjords & Viking Odyssey expeditions out of Greenland.
Our four-legged friends were onboard for more than mere companionship for our passengers. Their important role as experienced veterans of the Arctic was to assist us during our Zodiac landings and shore excursions along the east coast of Greenland, near Scoresbysund.
Any Zodiac landing can be exciting but the Arctic adds an extra thrill when you realize that the largest land carnivore in the world could be lurking around the corner, cleverly camoflauged with its surroundings. What are the chances of stumbling upon a polar bear? Pretty rare if you plan it right. Sending out our Inuit Rangers and huskies ensured the success, and safety, of our shore excursions by keeping both passengers and any nearby polar bears out of harms way. We send out a thanks to our husky friends, who returned home to Ittoqqortoormiit shortly after our voyages.
Did we encounter any polar bears during our Arctic voyages this past summer? Of course! Polar bears, musk ox, puffins, humpback whales and many other Arctic inhabitants greeted us along the way. Why not come join us next time to experience the Arctic wildlife and welcoming small towns for yourself? Our Arctic trips for 2006 are being offered at 25% off to past passengers!
Postcards: Staff Stories from the Arctic
A number of lucky G.A.P staffers were lucky to join in on our recent Arctic season. Here, a couple members of our reservations department give us their own perspectives on the Arctic expedition experience. Read on to learn what Jeff Duford and Richard Heller had to say about their recent expedition aboard Explorer...
Jeff Duford writes:
It was the first day of the expedition; looking back I think it was within the first hour, that things started getting interesting. I was wandering around the Explorer, trying to get my bearings. We were cruising out of Kangerlussaq fjord in Greenland, one of the longest in the world, and the crew was already hoisting one of the Zodiacs into the water. I had determined, due to the calmness of the crew, that we hadn’t lost someone overboard already, but what was going on?
It turns out someone did need to be picked up and brought onboard, Dr. Christine Cuyler. A native of Canada, Christine had apparently been ashore, roaming the rugged, barren, Greenlandic countryside, collecting samples for her research. Christine researches the caribou and musk ox herds of Greenland and we picked her up to be part of our expedition team. She provided passengers with lectures about her research into population studies and about her life for the past nine years, living in Greenland. She was one of the many interesting and surprising characters I met onboard the Explorer, and sure helped to get my adventure off to a great start!
Rich Heller writes:
It’s really hard to imagine the life that the people of Greenland must lead. Visiting Kangaamiut, a small fishing village on the Western Coast of Greenland, allowed me a short glimpse into the lives of these remarkable people who live in one of the most desolate but beautiful places on the planet.
From the sea the multicoloured houses of the village stand out against the shades of the tundra. Many small dilapidated fishing boats line the shore in front of the village. Harpoons adorn the bows of many of the vessels. Fishing and hunting is the key to survival for the people of Kangaamuit. Fish, whales, seal, reindeer and muskox provide the majority of food and the small amount of income for these people.
My most vivid memory from this excursion was listening to one of the elders of the village speaking in Greenlandic (translated into Danish and then into English), telling us stories, as our group huddled together in the local church. It was evident that life here could be harsh, but at the same time, these people were free and in touch with their surroundings. It may not be easy, but in many ways it seemed a more rich and rewarding existence than living in crowded cities and working at a computer desk every day! I really admired the people in the town of Kangaamiut, their resolve to keep up their heritage and their determination to survive in one of the most ecologically extreme places on the planet.
Where in the World?
Do you think you can figure out where these two images were taken? Be the first to guess both images correctly and you will receive a discount voucher for your next trip with G.A.P Adventures, along with a copy of Ship in the Wilderness, the book written about our expedition ship M/S Explorer. Good luck!
For your chance to win guess where these two shots were taken. Don’t forget to email us your mailing address along with your submission, or you won’t get your prizes!
Special Alumni Offer - 25% off!
That's right, as a past Explorer passenger, you have the exclusive option to take advantage of our "Explorer Alumni" discount offer. Only selected departures qualify for this promotion, as indicated in our sailing dates on the left-side of this newsletter. To get your 25% off, book your trip online or call our reservations staff and quote our "Explorer Alumni" discount promotion.
TOP 5 Bi-Polar Highlights
One of the strange phenomena that has started to occur at G.A.P Adventures is an increasing desire to be bi-polar. True, the desire to visit the extreme north and south polar regions is hard to resist, so what are some of the top draws of the Antarctic and the Arctic? Our newest bi-polar personality, Wiz Wisniak gives us his top list.
1. The Auroras March & September are generally the best months to see both the northern and southern lights, the Aurora Borealis & Aurora Australis. Towards the poles is where you need to get yourself and if you're lucky enough to experience them, displays can last for hours, with arcs of glowing greens, reds and yellows crossing the skies, bursting forth and forming outlandish patterns in the heavens.
2. Penguins, Seals, Polar Bears, Walruses & Whales In terms of wildlife, the highlight of Antarctica is seeing penguins by the thousands and seals drift by on ice flows. I was even lucky to witness a lunch encounter between a leopard seal and a penguin. In the Arctic, the highlights were watching walruses play in the water, their tusks at the ready as they jostle for dominance and coming across polar bears on land and in the water. Whales are quite commonly seen at both poles, but you have to be really lucky to see the famed narwhal (Arctic only).
3. Glaciers The enormity of thousands of years of snow and ice working its way down a mountain valley into the sea is something that can only be appreciated in person - and what better way to do that than aboard a zodiac ride (an Explorer speciality) towards its base or by hiking up a side hill. You'll find outstanding examples of the world's glaciers on Explorer trips to either pole.
4. Towns & Food The embarkation port for Antarctica expeditions is Ushuaia, at the extreme southern end of Argentina. With the feel of an alpine village, you can enjoy some of the continent's best seafood, beef and wine. Nuuk, the capital city of Greenland, is only 14,000 people, but like all of the towns along the Greenland coast, you'll find the locals welcoming and the houses brightly painted. Local specialities include caribou, smoked salmon, muskox and muktuk (the skin and blubber layer of whales).
5. Colours While my overall colour memory of Antarctica was the over-whelming whiteness of the snow, ice and glaciers, contrasted with the bluest of skies and the red of the Explorer, the Arctic (in late summer) stands out with all colours, fields and valleys ablaze with wildflowers and berries, brightly painted houses of red, green, blue & yellow, northern light displays that defy description and even moss and lichens that drew the camera lens.
WizIT Development Manager G.A.P Adventures
Planeterra Report: Amazon
With over $20,000 raised over the past years expeditions, we owe a big thanks to our passengers, who have given generously to the sustainable tourism programs we support with our Explorer expeditions.
The "Save the Albatross" camapign in Antarctica was our largest fundraising initiative, thanks to our sea chart auctions. However, the most obvious impact of the generosity of passengers was seen in the Amazon.
During our inaugural 2005 Amazon expeditions, G.A.P Adventures raised over $4,000 USD by auctioning off our Captain's sea charts and other expedition items to passengers aboard the Explorer. The majority of the money raised was used to purchase school supplies for communities that we visit along the rivers of the Amazon Basin with the rest being donated to the Planeterra Foundation. This season we purchased sufficient school supplies to support 15 communities, home to 1675 families for the entire year as well as rubber boots and soccer balls.
The Planeterra Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of people and communities around the world through support of international charities, local organizations and community projects.
Developed by G.A.P Adventures, Planeterra expands upon our commitment to offer environmentally, culturally and socially responsible trips and expeditions worldwide. We are committed to minimizing our impact on the environment, respecting local people and cultures, contributing to the economic well-being of local businesses and communities, and promoting the protection of destinations for future generations.
To learn more about the Planeterra Foundation, or to make a donation, please visit www.planeterra.org
|
