Last Sunday, after a most interesting full day exploration of Pitcairn Island, the National Geographic Orion left Bounty Bay heading towards the uplifted coral island of Henderson and Ducie Atoll. Sea conditions were changing very rapidly and embarking and disembarking Zodiacs was rough but all of us returned safely.
On our way to to Ducie Atoll weather forecasts indicated that landing at Ducie would be unlikely. Wind and sea conditions did not improve during the night.
We sighted Ducie early this morning and as expected, a strong dominant wind and impressive surf precluded us from landing on this very exposed low island of only 3.3 square km. As we approached land we could observe a variety of sea birds that breed in large numbers in the sparse vegetation characteristic of atolls. From the observation deck some of our bird experts identified petrels, a few tropic birds, and white terns flying close to the ship at great speed due to the quite strong winds. Photography was difficult but the spectacle of these fantastic birds fighting the wind was rewarding.
National Geographic Orion circumnavigated the atoll twice and we could observe great waves crushing into the reef. Many birds were spotted at the distance with powerful lenses and binoculars. Shortly after our ship, heading into the wind, left Ducie in the direction of Easter Island where we expect to arrive after three days at sea.
The rest of the day we enjoyed several very interesting talks by our experts on board.
