Flock to Marion Again!

[Flutterby]

What a fascinating adventure, Flutts!

It looks so comfy and like paradise!

Thanks for all the extraordinary info,

I wonder if people forget port from starboard after being at the hundreds of bars?

Hey RP, welcome! It was a real adventure for us! We forgot port from starboard all the time, because you only know which is which if you know where the bow (front) and stern (back) are! Because the ship is so big, sometimes when we were inside and couldn't see which way we were moving, we didn't know which was the front and which was the back!!

[Flutterby]

As I said to Lis above, the ship holds 2550 passengers and 987 crew. SO has been on this ship and others quite often because they hold conferences onboard, and he told us how packed they get, especially Deck 13 and the cafeteria. He said that it was almost impossible to find a space to sit, and you had to queue for ages to get onto the ship, and to get food from the buffet. He actually hates going on these cruises for that reason, and he was worried we would have the same experience.

However, on this cruise, there were only 1900 passengers, all of whom were birders , and our experience couldn't have been more different. When we arrived at the port, we saw no queues and we were on the ship in no time at all! There is always a 'Sail-away Party' when leaving port, but it was a very quiet affair, and we realised that the serious birders and guides were already on Deck 7 with all their scopes, binocs, and cameras, looking for birds!! This is a screenshot from a video of the party, and SO couldn't believe how few people there were, and that was the busiest it was until the last day. On the days in between, this deck was often empty!

We also realised how seriously these birders take their bird watching. By 9/10 pm most nights, the ship was almost deserted, as everyone went to bed early so they could get up at about 4.00 am to be on deck for sunrise! We never made it that early, but on the day we arrived at Marion, we were on deck at about 5.30 am.

Even the crew told us how much they were loving the cruise, because there wasn't too much to do as no-one was really using the bars!! However, this did change after we left Marion, and the birders started relaxing a bit more.

In comparison, Deck 7 was always very busy, and when we were at the islands, if you didn't get a spot at sunrise, you couldn't get near the railings!!

Day 2 at sea.

Day 3, the day before arriving at the islands.

This is why we spent most of our time on Deck 14, where there was always space. The serious birders didn't like it because they said it was too high above the water. Did I mention that Deck 14 was a smoking deck, which also kept a lot of people away!!

[Flutterby]

Everyday, apart from the 2 days at the island, there was a packed lecture schedule, with many of the 65 experts talking on their specialities. We didn't go to all of them, but thoroughly enjoyed the ones we did attend.

We learnt about daily life on Marion Island for the research teams, a little bit about the stars, more about the Mouse-free Marion project, a lot about albatrosses , and especially, about one man's passion for seabirds! This man is Peter Harrison, MBE. Peter Harrison is an explorer, conservationist, and artist, and is probably the world's leading expert on seabirds, and albatrosses are his passion. He published his first seabird guide in 1983, after travelling around the world for many years to find and study the birds. He published a revised edition in 2021. He was also the first patron of the Mouse-free Marion project. Peter Harrison is over 80 years old and looks very frail, however, when he talks he captivates his audience. He talks quite quickly and quietly, but you can almost hear a pin drop because everyone is so enthralled! He has a wicked sense of humour, but his passion for saving endangered bird species is clearly evident and extremely moving. He normally ended his talks with tears in his eyes, which caused everyone else to blink back the tears, and give him a standing ovation. Seeing him talk was one of the highlights of the trip for me!

Peter Harrison looking for albatrosses!

There were also other birding celebrities on board. I managed to get my copy of A Guide to Seabirds of Southern Africa signed by the author, Peter Ryan.

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One day, while sitting on Deck 14, I asked a man next to me if I could have a look through his scope, as I've never used one before. He had a strong accent, so I asked where he was from. He said his name was Hans Larsson, and that he was an artist from Sweden and was on the cruise on his own. After chatting for a while, he very humbly revealed that he had painted many of the birds in Peter Harrison's latest seabird guide!!

Hans Larsson on the left, Peter Harrison on the right.

It's worth watching Peter Harrison talking about Flock to Marion Again! here:

https://www.birdlife.org.za/flock-to-marion-again-2025/

[Flutterby]

When we got onto the ship it was unbearably hot and humid, but it started cooling down as soon as we had left the harbour, and picked up speed. We had some big swells that first afternoon and night, and I did feel a little queasy, but not as bad as some people who apparently ended up on drips. I think by the next morning I had found my sea legs and felt fine for the rest of the cruise, even when we had some rough seas.

This pic was taken on the second day, and you can see everyone is in summer clothes.

On the 3rd day, you can see more long pants and jackets.

On day 4, no-one was wearing shorts!!

Tina and I thought we had brought too many winter clothes, but we wore them all!

[Flutterby]

My friend, Tina, is not a birder, so she spent a lot of time people-watching instead of bird-watching!

When we were at the islands, she found a sheltered spot on Deck 14, out of the wind, and settled down there.

It might look warm because it was sunny, but it was the coldest I have felt in a very long time!!

[Richprins]

This is absolutely enthralling, Flutts!

You tell such a good story!

Everything looks so interesting, and as you say, it makes a difference if there is a birding purpose behind it.

It looks wonderfully organised with the lectures and all, and even celebrities!

From hot to cold!

(Any food pics? )

[Lisbeth]

It looks like a perfect corner where Tina has settled down

There are lots of people though; I can imagine how it is when the ship is fully booked Of course everybody is on the same side of the ship in the photos ... Port or Starboard, I don't know

Sounds interesting though You are very good at making one feel the enthusiasm. I am sure that you were never bored. Was there never a dinner party with music and dancing? Maybe serious birders are not great dancers

(On longer cruise trips there are usually lots of stop-overs to visit towns, to dive, to swim or to visit interesting sites. There are many big Zodiacks for this purpose) .

By the way, did you see any birds?

[Flutterby]

This is absolutely enthralling, Flutts!

You tell such a good story!

Everything looks so interesting, and as you say, it makes a difference if there is a birding purpose behind it.

It looks wonderfully organised with the lectures and all, and even celebrities!

From hot to cold!

(Any food pics? )

Thanks RP, glad you're enjoying it. Sorry, no food pics.

[Flutterby]

It looks like a perfect corner where Tina has settled down

There are lots of people though; I can imagine how it is when the ship is fully booked Of course everybody is on the same side of the ship in the photos ... Port or Starboard, I don't know

Sounds interesting though You are very good at making one feel the enthusiasm. I am sure that you were never bored. Was there never a dinner party with music and dancing? Maybe serious birders are not great dancers

(On longer cruise trips there are usually lots of stop-overs to visit towns, to dive, to swim or to visit interesting sites. There are many big Zodiacks for this purpose) .

By the way, did you see any birds?

Thanks Lis. There were shows on at night but not many people went to them. On the night before we got to the islands, there was a penguin-themed dress-up party, but it wasn't well-organised and people were just sort of milling about before dinner, and then nothing really came of it. The crew had a big party on the second last night and we tried to crash it, but security asked us to leave!

And yes, we did see birds...coming up next!

[Flutterby]

As this was my first-ever pelagic trip, I was not sure what to expect. I had read that a cruise ship is not ideal for pelagic trips because you are too high above the water, and when I read that we would not get close to the islands, I really wasn't sure how much we were actually going to see!
Then, on the first two days, we saw quite a few birds flying around the ship, like Cory's Shearwaters and Great-winged Petrels, but they were usually on their own, and quite far away, so I didn't manage to get any good pics, and again wondered if the quality of the sightings would get better.

This was the first bird picture I took, and this is also cropped from the original, so you can imagine how far away it was. This is a Great-winged Petrel.

This is a Soft-plumaged Petrel...another very far-away bird.

However, I had nothing to worry about, because from the third day, the bird viewing began to improve, and on the two days we were at the island, it was amazing, and, according to US conservationist Robert Cushman Murphy, “I now belong to a higher cult of mortals for I have seen the albatross.”

My first albatross....a Wandering Albatross.

And then it came closer.

Wandering Albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any bird in the world, up to 3.5 metres! They can also soar over the water for hours without flapping their wings.