Spirit of Adventure

With the Svalbard In Depth, Photography, Art & Wildlife voyage having just returned we have compiled a fantastic slideshow that is now available to view on our website. Both Nick Garbutt (wildlife photographer) and Larrs Jonsson (artist and ornithologist) added immensely to the voyage. Nick put together the highlights from his images which you can see here together with Lars’ sketches and watercolour paintings.

We are excited to announce that Nick will be joining our 20 January Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia voyage as well. Nick is an award-winning wildlife photographer and author whose travels have taken him all over the world. He has forged a career primarily as a wildlife photographer and author, while combining all this with being a tour leader, lecturer and illustrator. Nick will demonstrate his photography skills onboard and also help you with yours.  He’ll run a series of presentations during the voyage as well as sharing his own ‘best of images’ from a lifetime of travel.  We hope that you can join Nick in Antarctica in January for this incredible voyage. This voyage has two extra nights on South Georgia to enable us to operate the Shackleton Traverse (an optional extra for those who choose this), this extra time gives us added opportunities for wildlife viewing on one of the world’s most amazing islands.

We’ve combined two separate Arctic voyages to make one awesome 28-night expedition that takes in ‘both sides’ of the Arctic.

In joining on you save over A$5000*. We’ve put together this ’special’ package with our flight and hotel partners that combines the following voyages - the Spitsbergen, East Greenland & Iceland (departing 6 July 09) voyage and the Iceland, Greenland & Baffin Island (departing 19 July 09) Explorer voyage. This fantastic package includes both voyages, international flights (from Melbourne/Sydney), 3 nights’ accommodation, all transfers and charter flights.

These two trips combine the Canadian High Arctic and the Scandinavian High Arctic in one awesome adventure. The wildlife, landscape and cultural highlights encountered on these voyages are seemingly endless.

Wildlife
Throughout the voyage you go in search of the extraordinary wildlife of the region including walrus, seal, whale, musk ox, puffin and the great polar bear. Polar bears can be spotted for most of the voyage and the Svalbard archipelago alone is home to over 4000 of these amazing beasts. When crossing the Denmark Strait we recommend you to be on the lookout for whales, as several species of massive marine mammals are often found here. The bird life is also rich and diverse with colonies of black guillemots, little auks, puffins and black-legged kittiwakes found in colonies of staggering numbers, sometimes containing hundreds of thousands of birds.

Landscapes
You experience enormous glaciers and cruise through fjords like Scorebysundfjord that are dotted with icebergs. In Greenland you see some of the most ancient rock found on earth. In our Zodiac inflatable boats we cruise beneath the sheer cliffs, which provide shelter and a safe refuge for many Arctic birds.

Cultural Highlights
In Greenland you visit the ruins at Herjolfsnaes, which was settled around 985 AD by Vikings from Iceland led by Erik the Red. You also walk through musk ox habitat, visit fascinating ancient Thule settlements and learn about life in a remote Greenlandic settlement that is the northernmost community on the island’s east coast. At Beechey Island you learn of the centuries-old quest to find the Northwest Passage, which was to open up a new trade route across the top of the world. You also hike to the graves marking the winter camp of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition. In their search for the Northwest Passage, all 132 men died after their ships were crushed by the ice. In addition to history you also get to meet, interact with and learn about today’s Greenlanders and the Inuit people in general.

This is our most extensive Arctic expedition to date. At such a great price, can you afford to pass it up?

Want to no more?
For further information or to submit an expression of interest for this special combination voyage, please email expedition@peregrineadventures.com

*Packaged price quoted is for same berths on each voyage. Is subject to availability of cabin type, voyage and flights.  Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.  All booking conditions apply as per Peregrine’s High Arctic 09 brochure.

With a focus on the needs of those travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic regions who have special interests in photography, painting and other visual arts, we have organised for some of the most experienced and talented photographers and artists in their field to join us onboard. Read on to find out who will be joining us on two of our Specialist Photography, Art & Wildlife voyages…

For Art Enthusiasts…

As well as our usual team of expert expedition staff on the Svalbard in Depth 22 June voyage, we are also joined on this journey by Lars Jonsson. Lars hails from Sweden and has just completed his third book on bird art, entitled Birds. Lars has had a fascination with drawing and painting birds since his early childhood spent in Stockholm and is generally inspired by all things natural including other animals (especially insects), plants, landscapes and the human face. Most of Lars’ inspiration is drawn from painting outdoors and sketching while looking through a telescope. Lars will help anyone who is interested in furthering their painting skills and he’ll also run a couple of onboard sessions where he will discuss his own artwork. This will be an amazing voyage and, as with all wildlife journeys, more time in the field means more wildlife viewing opportunities.

Birds by Lars Jonsson
ISBN-13: 9781408110140

Brett Jarrett, acknowledged as a leading marine bird and mammal painter, will join us on The Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica 24-night voyage. He specialises in painting oil on canvas, a medium allowing for natural blends and glazes that best replicate the textures of subjects. His paintings are certainly a unique and attractive way of documenting and recording wildlife. Brett will host several presentations during this voyage to discuss his work and the process that he goes through in creating a painting, with a step-by-step review of his painting technique from initial drawings to the finished work. He will also examine light and tonal values in painting and how best to analyse photographs as reference materials for art. One of Brett’s works will be auctioned during the voyage, with the funds raised donated to our Get Albatrosses off the Hook fund.

A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife – illustrated by Brett Jarrett
ISBN-13: 9780713664065

For Photography Enthusiasts…

Award-winning photographer and editor of Better Photography magazine, Peter Eastway, will also be joining us on The Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica 24-night voyage. Although he has worked in most areas of professional photography, Peter Eastway’s passion is for landscapes. With a career spanning nearly 30 years, Peter is a well-respected name in the photographic industry and also has earned the accolade of being only one of five people in the world to be awarded the title, ‘Grand Master of Photography’. Peter will lead a Photoshop workshop/audio visual presentation and will be on hand to offer invaluable photographic advice and coaching to help you get the best shots from your camera.

Nick Garbutt is an award-winning wildlife photographer and author whose travels have taken him all over the world. He has forged a career primarily as a wildlife photographer and author, while combining all this with being a tour leader, lecturer and illustrator.Nick regularly contributes articles and photographs to a wide range of magazines such as National Geographic, Africa Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Africa Birds & Birding, Travel Africa, NaturFoto, Geographical and Outdoor Photography. He is also a special lecturer in wildlife photography and imaging at his old university in Nottingham. In 2000 Nick was the winner of the prestigious Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and in 1996 he won the Urban & Garden Wildlife category in the same competition. He has also had several ‘Specially and Highly Commended’ images over the years.

Nick will be joining us on the Svalbard in Depth 22 June voyage to assist anyone interested in furthering their photography skills.

Set sail for a medical conference and learn about current issues in your field, join vibrant group discussions and get amongst some of the most beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife on earth.

In partnership with StuVac Seminars, in 2009-10 we are offering medical conferences in three of nature’s most fascinating and pristine environments: the icy extremes of Antarctica, the wildlife wonderland of the Galapagos Islands and the Nordic outposts of the High Arctic.

Each day in Antarctica and the High Arctic will begin with a presentation by a noted medical expert, before our day’s wilderness activities start. In the Arctic, we take to the ice to explore tiny outposts and old whaling stations, visit Inuit communities and watch giant glaciers calving into ice-studded fjords. Majestic Antarctica offers penguins, whales, seals and an untouched icy wilderness like no other on Earth. When we return to the ship in the late afternoons we get to enjoy another presentation before it’s time for dinner and a glass or two of wine. After dinner, join the all-in case discussion for some fascinating exchanges about topical issues.

In the Galapagos our days will be spent swimming with seals, exploring the islands on foot, and getting up-close to unique wildlife such as iguanas, giant tortoises and prolific bird life. Whichever Galapagos voyage you choose, all participants and both key note speakers will gather in Puerto Ayora for a 2-day seminar.

This is your opportunity to participate in vibrant topical discussions while on a wilderness and wildlife adventure!

The pick of our Arctic voyages, this 14-night voyage will offer any wildlife enthusiast the very best the High Arctic has to offer. A photographers’ paradise, the Svalbard archipelago is home to over 4000 polar bears.

Sailing as far north as 80 degrees, high above the Arctic Circle to the edge of the pack ice that is the barrier to the North Pole, we’ll circumnavigate the major islands of the Svalbard archipelago and be on the constant lookout for polar bear, walrus, ringed seals and beluga whales.

Excursions to both the shore and in amongst the ice will maximise access to destinations of the greatest beauty, so your amazing experience can be captured and enjoyed forever!

To find out more about our Svalbard in Depth journey visit our website.

As a Victorian Head Office based organisation, our thoughts and sympathy go out to those who have been devastated by the worst bushfires ever experienced.

More than 180 people have lost their lives and 7000 more are now homeless, with all their possessions destroyed.

The Australian Red Cross is working around the clock to provide support to the victims and they need our help.

Peregrine and Gecko’s Adventures is supporting the Australian Red Cross by matching your donations to the ‘Victorian Bushfires Appeal 2009’ dollar-for-dollar up to a total amount of A$20,000.

Please give now to ensure your donation doubles in value.

• Click here to make your donation directly to the Australian Red Cross ‘Victorian Bushfires Appeal 2009’
• Email your receipt to us here at bushfires@peregrineadventures.com so we can match your donation.

Charity auctions

Peregrine has also donated places on three amazing tours to be auctioned on eBay. All the proceeds raised will go directly to the Australian Red Cross ‘Victoria Bushfires Appeal 2009’.

Click on a link below to bid on one of these Peregrine adventures and help the victims of Australia’s worst ever natural disaster.

• Spitsbergen Explorer
• Antarctic Explorer
• Galapagos in Depth

Please give to this appeal. Your assistance will help the people of Victoria affected by these catastrophic fires to rebuild their lives.

Thanks for you support,

Glenyce Johnson

Managing Director.

The Svalbard in Depth voyage now has an exciting new site that both history buffs and wildlife lovers alike will enjoy. For wildlife lovers, Kvitoya is home to walruses (with sightings of up to 400), polar bears and Arctic terns on this mainly ice-covered island.

The island is probably most famously known as the place where Swedish explorer Andrée and his two companions died in 1897. Their expedition attempted to fly over the North Pole in a hydrogen balloon, but crashed on the pack ice about 300 kilometres north of Kvitoya. The group then reached the island on foot and settled on the only ice-free part of the island, now called Andréeneset. It has long been a great mystery of the Arctic, until their remains were discovered in 1930. A monument now stands on the island to commemorate the three companions. To find out more about our Svalbard in Depth journey visit our website.

John Rodsted is not someone who idles through life, counting down the days until his next holiday or saving his pay-cheques to buy a new car… John has dedicated his life to a cause, the banning of landmines and cluster bombs, and our passengers are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to learn from his skills and experiences on two of our voyages.

John has spent most of his adult life in war-torn regions, photographing the crushing effect of war on civilians. His career spans 30 years in the photographic industry and his work as a photojournalist has taken him to Afghanistan, Cambodia, Bosnia, Sudan, Kosovo, Mozambique, West Sahara, Eritrea, Laos, Lebanon and East Timor. Communities at risk are his main focus in these devastated regions where ordinary people are trying to survive the horrors of war. In 1997, he and his colleagues were awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for their successful anti-landmine campaign.

Most recently, John has been on a 10,000 kilometre journey, from the Balkans to Oslo, on a bus – striving to achieve a ban on cluster bombs by building strong support for the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The ‘Ban Bus’ and its crew have spent three months on the road raising awareness of the use of cluster bombs and gaining support for the signing of the convention by governments. The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions by the countries who sign the treaty. The good news is that the Cluster Bomb Treaty opened for signing in Oslo on 3 December 2008.

John has sailed with us since 2004 and will lead photography workshops and presentations on two trips in 2009:

Svalbard in Depth, a 14-night voyage departing on the 22 June 2009.

The Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica, a 24-night journey departing on 6 November 2009.

If you’re looking for a High Arctic adventure with a twist, how does kayaking on the High Arctic seas sound?

Paddling quietly through the icy waters of the High Arctic allows you to get very close to the wildlife and scenery of this amazing destination. Feel dwarfed by the immensity of the landscape and silence that surrounds you, interrupted only by the drip of resting paddles and perhaps the crack of glacial-ice calving into the sea. Wildlife encounters are magnified as curious whales swim under and around your kayak without fear, and you cruise beneath towering cliffs, home to huge colonies of sea birds. A highlight will be the feeling of independence and solitude that a small, noiseless kayak allows you in this incredible wilderness.

We take up to ten kayakers per voyage in the High Arctic and seize every opportunity to go out paddling when sea, weather and ice conditions permit. If you have a little kayaking experience and are up for a nautical adventure be sure to reserve your place when booking your voyage as they fill up quickly. We supply all the gear you need, including kayaks, paddles, lifejackets and dry suits and you will be accompanied by a qualified kayak guide and back-up Zodiac on all excursions.

Find out more about kayaking in the High Arctic.