The Seabirds and Cetaceans of Australasia

Day 1: Port Vila, Vanuatu

Board Heritage Adventurer in the afternoon at the wharf in Vanuatu’s capital city of Port Vila. The Captain and expedition team will be waiting to greet you on arrival and show you to your cabin. You will have time to settle in and familiarise yourself with the ship and we will also take the opportunity to introduce you to your Expedition Team and our voyage plans.

You are invited to join the Expedition Team in the Observation Lounge and up on the Observation Deck as we set sail.

Days 2 to 8: At Sea

We have seven days at sea to look for seabirds and cetaceans as we initially sail southwest passing the northern end of New Caledonia and then the remote Chesterfield Reef.

Initially whilst we transit the warmer and more tropical waters, we are likely to find feeding flocks which can occasionally contain hundreds of birds. These flocks are typically dominated by species like Brown and Black Noddies, White and Sooty Terns, Red-footed, Masked and Brown Boobies and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and often attract marauding frigatebirds and skuas which are searching for an easy meal.

We may well also find both White-tailed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds and will need to also watch for other species with the ‘Melanesian Shearwater’ (a proposed split from Tropical Shearwater) a definite possibility during the early part of the voyage.

This part of the Pacific is, however, also home to an impressive range of Pterodroma petrels and related species and finding these will certainly be one of our priorities. Amongst the more likely species in these warmer waters are Kermadec, Providence, White-necked, Black-winged, Gould’s and Tahiti Petrels, but we will also hope to find some of the less well known and rarer species such as Vanuatu, Herald, Collared and Magnificent Petrels.

As we pass the northern reefs which encircle New Caledonia, we will hope to find two special species of Storm Petrel, Polynesian and New Caledonian. Whilst the former has a wide range across the tropical Pacific, it remains a tricky bird to see and has seemingly declined markedly in recent decades. Previous expedition cruises off the northern part of New Caledonia have seen this species on a reasonably regular basis so we stand a decent chance of finding it.

New Caledonian Storm Petrel, however, very much remains an enigma having been rediscovered on the West Pacific Odyssey in 2008. Although some initially questioned the proposal that this was the same species as a long forgotten specimen from Samoa, it is now accepted that they are indeed one and the same and this species was formally redescribed in 2022. Little else is known about this species and whilst it appears that like Polynesian Storm Petrel it may have once been found widely across the tropical Western Pacific, there remain very few sightings away from the coastal waters off west New Caledonia and the seas off Queensland and the breeding grounds are yet to be located.

As we head further south, we will be within the likely feeding range of Providence Petrels which will be coming to the end of their breeding season on Lord Howe Island, with increasing numbers of Flesh-footed Shearwaters likely to be found too.

We will also need to check any ‘Masked Booby’ we see, as there is now evidence to suggest that the birds which breed on Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands should be treated as a different species, with ‘Tasman Booby’ proposed as a name for this potential split.

As we continue onwards, we are likely to start finding other species of Storm Petrels with White-faced, White-bellied and Wilson’s all possible, along with increased chances for Black-bellied as the waters continue to cool.

As we transit these waters, we can also expect to range of cetaceans which could potentially include everything from the largest species on the planet, Blue, Fin, Sperm and Humpback Whales, to pelagic dolphins and beaked whales. A number of different species of ‘beakies’ are certainly possible and whilst the widespread Cuvier’s is probably the most likely, others such as Blainville’s, Gingko-toothed, Longman’s and even the recently described Deraniyagala’s have all been found on previous expeditions travelling through these waters.

As the ship continues heading south and the waters begin to cool, we will enter the range of a different suite of seabirds with an increasing percentage being wanderers from the Southern Ocean. Indeed, during the latter stages of the voyage, we hope to find the ultimate seabird wanderer, the Wandering Albatross, with Snowy and Gibson’s Wandering the most likely forms/species.

Other possible albatrosses include Black-browed and the closely related Campbell, as well as both Northern and Southern Royals, Antipodean Wandering, Salvin’s, Shy, Buller’s and Grey-headed.

As the ship nears Tasmania, we are likely to also start finding Giant Petrels with both Northern and Southern possible, along with smaller members of the petrel family including Cape, Grey-faced, Mottled, White-chinned and potentially Westland Black. More of an identification challenge will be the prions with Antarctic, Slender-billed and Fairy, the more likely possibilities, and as the voyage reaches its conclusion, the numbers of Short-tailed Shearwaters should grow significantly with the chance of some vast rafts of these long distance migrants with millions nesting on Tasmania.

Day 9: Hobart, Australia

Heritage Adventurer is due to arrive in the early morning at Hobart, the capital of Australia’s Island state of Tasmania and after a final breakfast aboard, there will be a complimentary coach transfer to Hobart International Airport, however, in case of any unexpected delays due to weather and/or port operations, we ask you not to book any onward travel until after midday.

Note: During our voyage, circumstances may make it necessary or desirable to deviate from the proposed itinerary. This can include poor weather and opportunities for making unplanned excursions. Your Expedition Leader will keep you fully informed.

THE SHIP

Heritage Adventurer is a purpose built expedition ship (which was previously known as Hanseatic and Resolute) which offers extremely comfortable cabins and passenger facilities and is so smooth that on flat seadays, it is possible to use a telescope to look for seabirds.

Originally designed to accommodate 184 guests, Heritage Adventurer will carry a maximum of 140 expeditioners ensuring spacious, stylish and comfortable voyages.