This article is part of a weekly series on cruising in The Sun Herald, Sydney. If you have done an interesting shore excursion and are interested in being featured, please send an email to jane@janeefraser.com.au.
WHO Caroline Melbourne, from Melbourne, on her first cruise.
WHAT Galapagos Islands wildlife encounters.
WHERE Bartolome Island, off Santiago Island in the northern Galapagos Islands.
THE SHIP Caroline cruised with her 16-year-old son, Bill, on the M.Y. Darwin, operated by Gecko’s Adventures (geckosadventures.com).
“With the Galapagos Islands, it is all about the shore excursions. Every island and every beach we went to was different and most of the islands are uninhabited, so the only way you can go on to them is with a National Parks guide. It’s highly organised, with slots for different groups to visit, so you rarely have any more people on the island than your own group.
“The one that really sticks out in my mind is Bartolome Island, because it was so beautiful and we got up so close with the wildlife. We parked the boat in a bay early in the morning and took the tender to a point where there was a boardwalk to walk up to the top of the island. It was a 30- to 40-minute walk, so reasonably strenuous, but when you get to the top you’re looking at a beautiful volcanic peak and looking down over two sandy beaches either side of a peninsula. When we got back to the beach there was a chance to go snorkelling and my son saw… (click here to keep reading)
