For Immediate Release
Zegrahm Expeditions Brings Adventure Travelers
Face to Face with the Cultures of Melanesia
SEATTLE, WA — Vibrant colors decorate the faces of Papua New Guinea. Woodcarvings and ancient artifacts tell the rich history of the Solomon Islands. Palm leaf-clad dancers with carved headdresses welcome visitors to Vanuatu. And in New Caledonia, known as "Kanaky" by the locals, visitors learn of preservation efforts by villagers to keep their culture strong. Journey with Zegrahm Expeditions to discover the many faces of Melanesia, an island chain brimming with diverse cultures.
Sailing aboard the luxury expedition vessel Clipper Odyssey, Zegrahm's "Faces of Melanesi" voyage departs October 13, 2000 from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and continues on to many off-the-beaten-path locales such as the Trobriand Islands, Kennedy Island, Utupua, and Ambrym Island. Throughout the 18-day voyage, passengers will be charmed by the inhabitants of these rarely-visited islands. Per person prices begin at US$7,990.
"Passengers will experience the time-honored traditions of isolated cultures for a comparative perspective of communities whose heritage is unique to this corner of the world," says Werner Zehnder, CEO of Zegrahm. "In addition, the raw natural beauty may be seen up close while snorkeling and diving, hiking, birding, tide-pooling, and botanizing."
The colorful costumes worn by the inhabitants of these farflung islands mirror the colorful plumage worn by the birds of the area. Which range from common species such as the greater frigate bird, white-tailed tropicbird, and red-footed booby, to the more unusual yellow-bibbed lory and the Santa Cruz ground pigeon. Also found here are beautiful sulphur-crested and channel-billed cockatoos, white-bellied graybirds, and the whiskered tree swift.
Snorkelers and divers will marvel at the atolls and coral reefs, which create an undersea landscape as fascinating as that above the surface. Look for parrotfish, clownfish and long-snouted butterfly fish as well as neon damsels, the striped harlequin tusk-fish, the elegant Moorish idol, and possibly a startling black manta ray. Found also in these waters are bottlenose and spinner dolphins, pilot whales, and the leatherback turtle, a protected species that may reach six feet in size — one of the world’s largest surviving reptiles.
History buffs can immerse themselves in the era that was wartime South Pacific. Iron Bottom Sound off Guadalcanal Island, the site of intense naval battles during 1942-1943, is named for the large numbers of sunken Japanese and American WW II vessels and aircraft. The Clipper Odyssey will cruise in the wake of John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 boat, which was ripped in half in the Blackett Strait by a Japanese destroyer forcing Kennedy and his ten crew members to swim ashore to a tiny island that now bears his name. Divers can visit the never-to-be-forgotten site of the USS President Coolidge, which sank in 1942, and since then has been colonized by a tapestry of coral and colorful fish of all species.
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, houses the National Museum and Art Gallery, which exhibits one of the finest collections of primitive art in the world, including Sepik River carvings, Malagan masks, and Trobriand Island fishing vessels. On Watts Island, the local canoes ply the waters with incredible grace and agility. Often carved from a single tree trunk, these sturdy seagoing vessels are lashed with an outrigger and decorated with gleaming white cowry shells to ward off evil spirits. The Clipper Odyssey accommodates 120 passengers in outside-view cabins, all with private facilities. She also boasts public social and lecture areas, a swimming pool, jacuzzi, library, and fleet of Zodiac landing craft, which allow passengers to explore the most isolated lagoons, reefs, tributaries and coastlines of this traveler’s paradise, part of the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire.”
For almost ten years, Zegrahm Expeditions has specialized in expert-led adventure cruises and tours to remote locations around the world, from Antarctica to the Arctic and many points in between.
Note to editors: Artwork available upon request. |
