Mike Yardley: Afloat in the Galapagos

"Do the Galapagos sea lions know how good they have got it? Sprawled across the pristine beaches, they wallow, snooze, and frolic across the powder-white stretches of sand, blissfully unconcerned by curious passers-by entering their slice of paradise on a goggle-eyed shore excursion. In fact, some of the sea lions waddled up to greet us into their realm of unrivalled wonder. The Galapagos grips you good, and doesn’t let go. I’m fresh back from my maiden visit to this extraordinary group of islands with Viva Expeditions, enjoying a four-night cruise aboard the magnificent La Pinta."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks a'd be.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Our travel correspondent is Mike Yardley. He's with us this
morning and feeling very pleased with himself. I reckon, how
about those last ten minutes?

Speaker 3 (00:22):
The heart is still in recovery mode. Jack.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
It was an amazing super Rugby semifinal. I just thought
it was that you'd like. Just everything about it was fantastic,
and I am aware of it because the Crusader's wine.
I'm probably feeling a whole lot more positive than many
Blues fans are this morning. But does that mean you're
going to be at the final next week?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Mike? I am.

Speaker 4 (00:39):
My father rang me last hour and he said, do
you want to go to the game with me next weekend?
So yes, I'm locked in rain, hail or snow Jack.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Very good. Yeah, well actually depending on who we play. Yeah,
the conditions could be in our favor if they are
and D pretty chilly sounds. It was pretty chilly down
at Pitch Little last night as well. But anyway, we
are turning our attentions to a slightly more tropical climb
this morning. One of my bucket list destinations the Galapaga Islands.
So yeah, how lucky are you to have visited the Galapagos?

(01:11):
Would you say that cruising is the best way to
kind of delve into the Galapagos?

Speaker 4 (01:16):
Ideally I would do both land and cruise, but yes,
definitely to take in a swag of islands in a
short space of time, given a lot of them are
unpeopled and you can't stay on these islands. Yes, that's
where cruising is just such a revelation. And I headed
there with Weaver Expeditions on a ship called Lophinter. It

(01:37):
had only forty guests, lots of young working professionals, so
I had like a Hollywood actor, a French model, and
a Dutch psychiatrist at my table. Novel Yeah, yeah, it
so does or the opening line to a joke. Yes, well,
we had way too much fun, Jack. But what I

(01:57):
particularly loved was every time we zipped a shawl for
guided excursions, there was no more than ten people in
our group. So yeah, just that small intimate experience just
heightened the encounter immeasurably.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Ah, so special. So what islands did your cruise taken?

Speaker 4 (02:15):
We did a swing through the eastern islands of the Galapagos,
which are the older group of islands, so the Western
group they younger, still rising principally shaped by eruptions. But yeah,
we took in South Plaza, Santa Fe, San Cristobal, and
Espaniola Islands, and then I finished up in Santa Cruz,
where I stayed a few nights, which we'll talk about
next week.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
But the thing which.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
Blew me away is Darwin's theory of evolution. It just
becomes so vividly self evident the more you explore the Galapagos,
because so many creatures there. They're not just endemic to
the Galapagos, but endemic to those individual islands. And I
had this amazing guide to Lexus. He was like a
male Alixa, so you could ask him anything about the

(02:58):
Galapicus and he had delivered the most commanding and lightning answers.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Ah, so good. So we're going to talk about your
time on the island next week, and we'll save the
tortoises for next week as well, because I know the
tortoises a I'm not the only ones and we're not
eating them. But what were the wildlife highlights outside of
the tortoises for you?

Speaker 4 (03:17):
Yeah, they talk about the Big fifteen as the Galapicus
wildlife icons. Obviously the tortoises right at the top, but
I found the birds so engrossing. Jack are toonishly colorful
and so quirky, just bursting with personality. So they've got
these guys called the blue footed boobies. These guys are

(03:38):
my favorites. So they are enormous seabirds, comical to watch
because the ungainly walking style reminds you of circus clowns,
you know. And then in flight they just transform into
precision hunting machines with the most spectacular plunge style dives underwater.
We also watch the amazing dance and the males. They

(04:02):
will exuberantly show off their feet to the prospective girlfriends
because apparently the ladies prefer a turquoise shade of blue.
They don't like a deeper blue because a deeper blue
suggests the hopeless at catching fish appar So these are
the things you learn at the Galapagus. Another highlight very

(04:23):
quickly the frigatebirds. The males had the most fascinating bright
red throat skin sects, and when they are wanting to
caught a chick, they inflate these secs, which form a
giant heart shaped balloon.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah. Lots of iguanas.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah, crawling with these super sized lizards.

Speaker 4 (04:48):
And I got up close and personal with the yellow
land iguana on South Plaza Island. These guys are just mesmerizing,
and that yellow color is the result of eating prickly
pear cactus plants. Very few species eat, I understandably. But
the thing which blew me away Jack was watching these

(05:11):
iguanas rolling the cattive furiously, feverishly in the sand on
the beach, and they were trying to blunt the spikes,
you know, just to make the consumption somewhat more comfortable.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Isn't it incredible? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (05:27):
You think, come on, just diversified that diet a little bit.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
And how does the snork? Yeah? Really good.

Speaker 4 (05:34):
The water clarity is good, although it is cold, even
though the galapagus is pretty much on the equator. Of course,
you've got that nutrient rich Humboldt current which comes all
that cold will water up from Antarctica, so you will
want to wear a wet suit the galapagus. But yeah,
I did some snorkeling off Santa Fe Island, which was

(05:56):
really good. Lots of tropical fish. But the thing which
I love the most the sea lions. I mean not
just sort of monopolizing the beaches of the Galapagos, but
they will go swimming with you.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
They just love it.

Speaker 4 (06:08):
They will, you know, you can just tell us so
playful around you, and it's sort of like they try
and outwitch you and think, yeah, you're too slow for me.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
They just love it. They just love that interaction.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
So did you have a kind of favorite standout island experience.

Speaker 4 (06:26):
I would have to say Espaniola. So the entire island
is a national park, heaves with hot wildlife. The star
there for me was the galapagus albatross, which is the
only species of albatross that lives in the tropics, and
you will only find it on that island. So watching

(06:47):
these A three eighty style birds take flight, it was
just pure drama because they tenuously waddle up to the
edge of this really high cliff and then just hul
themselves at the sea below, do or die style in
order to gain speed for flight. It was in your
mouth stuff watching them. And then you've just got the

(07:09):
most spectacular scenery on Espanola, you know, sort of thunderous
lava blowholes and just the most vivid colors to the foliage.
So yeah, that would that would be the one that
would get my ticture.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
Of the list. Okay, what surprised you most about the
Galapagos overall?

Speaker 4 (07:28):
I have never encountered anywhere on Earth where there are
so many animals and birds in the own natural environment
who show no fear of you. No critter, no creature
in the Galapaga seemed the least bit perturbed by our
presence in their realm. And it wasn't that they were indifferent,

(07:50):
they weren't different. Some are quite inquisitive and wanted to play,
like the sea lions. But just that universal absence of
fear was something I've never experienced with so much wildlife,
and I think that is what made the Galapagas so
special for me.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
That sounds amazing, Mike. I'm just burning with envy at
the moment, to be perfectly honest, not only because of
the Super Rugby final you'll be attending next weekend, but
for this amazing adventure. So yeah, really looking forward to
hearing a bit more about it. The tortoises we can
do next week as well, but it sounds like a
wonderful starts to the trips. Thank you very much. We

(08:26):
will catch you in soon, Mike Hardley, our travel correspondent.
For more tips on cruising the Galapagus Islands, you can
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(08:47):
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Speaker 1 (08:58):
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