Expedition Stories

Our fleet navigates the world in search of adventure. These are the stories they bring back…

World View

5/14/2020

4 Min Read

Peninsula Valdés: A Paragon of Conservation

Jutting into the South Atlantic Ocean, Argentina’s Peninsula Valdés is its very own Patagonian wild. There, calm and warm waters serve as a breeding haven for the endangered southern right whale, friendly-faced southern elephant seal, and stout southern sea lion.

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Daily Expedition Reports

Follow Along

Daily Expedition Reports

5/5/2025

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National Geographic Explorer

Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands

The natural harbor of Scapa Flow has been the site of historical importance that far outweighs the size of these sleepy little islands in the North Sea. With the closing of WWI, the German High Seas fleet was interred by the British Navy in Scapa Flow and rather than allow their captured ships to be used by their enemies, the German Navy decided to purposefully sink their cruisers, battleships, and other military vessels. What has been left is an incredible number of large shipwrecks which are fairly easy to access.   While guests visited the museum of Scapa Flow to learn more about this strategically important embayment and its storied history, the undersea team went for dives to explore the wrecks up close. After being sunk in 1919, the fleet became one of the largest artificial reefs in all of Europe and are a magnet for marine life. The wrecks are covered in soft corals called dead man’s fingers and are home to countless invertebrates, like sea slugs and even huge lobsters. The wrecks are a testament to the scale of military engineering and the power of natural regeneration.

Daily Expedition Reports

5/5/2025

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National Geographic Islander II

Santa Cruz Island

Today our guests explored Santa Cruz Island. After a delicious breakfast we landed in Puerto Ayora, which is the home port for most of the tour boat operations in the Galapagos. This town is also where the Galapagos National Park headquarters and Charles Darwin Research Station are located.   Today our guests hiked into giant tortoise territory and learned about the iconic giant tortoise restoration project.

Daily Expedition Reports

5/5/2025

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National Geographic Quest

Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands, Channel Islands National Park

Our final day of this wild escape was spent within the National Park. With a break in the weather, we were able to land on two different islands.   This morning was spent at Anacapa Island, the only island in the Channel Islands that has kept its original Chumash name, meaning “mirage”. We spent the morning choosing between Zodiac cruising around the island to check out the landscape or hiking ashore to see the seabirds up close.   Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the Channel Islands, was a great place to spend the afternoon. Once again, we had options to both hike and Zodiac cruise. We spotted foxes, the endemic jay, and had a great end to a great trip exploring California’s Channel Islands!

Daily Expedition Reports

5/5/2025

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National Geographic Sea Bird

Haida Gwaii – Daajing Giids

We awoke to a blanket of calm in the air. A thin fog, blueish light, placid water, and the sights of sleepy boats in the harbor were the archetypical backdrop for the beauty of Haida Gwaii.   Our expedition took us off National Geographic Sea Bird to the Haida Heritage Center. Here we had the privilege to be guided through the museum to get a closer look at the art, livelihood, totem poles, and the beauty of the Haida way of life. What we witnessed gave us a small taste of the wonder the Haida have maintained for generations.   The afternoon took us deeper into the island, to the rainforests in the interior. Our forest walks took us to the Spirit Lakes where we witnessed the splendor and deep biodiversity among old growth western red cedar and Sitka spruce.   Today was both for land and sea, with our undersea team scuba diving at a nearby island and naturalists showing guests the invertebrate life up close that we had been sharing space with on the dock.   As the day comes to close, I write from open waters as we make our way south to the island of SG̱ang Gwaay.

Daily Expedition Reports

5/5/2025

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National Geographic Resolution

In the Ice 80° North

Today we awoke in the ice, heading north to explore the frozen environment. We made a spectacular discovery of killer whales in the pack ice, a sight that none onboard have ever seen in Svalbard waters. Later, we continued moving through the ice and spotted a hooded seal, also a rare find, which made it very exciting.   In the afternoon, we parked National Geographic Resolution in a floe of sea ice 40km long and had a nice walk off the ship and onto the ice. The wonderful day was rounded out with an amazing show by the crew.