June 20, 2025 • 9 mins
"After revelling in my 4-night cruise in the Galapagos Islands with Viva Expeditions, my dreamscape experience aboard La Pinta concluded with one final port call at Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island. Viva Expeditions highly recommends you combine a dreamy cruise with a land-based stay and Santa Cruz Island is the incomparable choice."
Read Mike's full article here.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
That'd be our travel correspondent is Mike Gardley. He's here
with us this morning and before we turn our attention
to the Galapagus Islands, Mike, you've got tickets for this evening.
How are you feeling this winter morning in Christy?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
It's certainly winter Jack, Yes, I'm feeling confident that the
weather will favor us. He does not favoring us, but
my heart will window day Jack. So the Crusaders to
win twenty eight to twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's okay.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
I feel like that's a that's yeah. I would go
with you. I would go with a heart overhead slightly.
But I don't know if the head necessarily says the
Crusaders aren't the favorites here. I mean, they've obviously got
an impeccable playoff record when it comes to Super Rugby,
but you know, to Mighty Williams's back, that's going to
be in our favor The Chiefs, Yeah, they faltered a
(01:01):
little bit against the Blues a couple of weeks ago,
and that Super Rugby semi so you know there is
a superb playoffs, so you know, but my gosh, it's
going to be a thrilling match tonight. So in the
last match in that stadium for Crusaders fans, which I'm
sure everyone will be pleased about regardless of the result.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, that's it. I went to the opening game back
in twenty twelve, never knowing it would take so long
to get a permanent stadium.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
So you're like, we'll be here for two years, Max.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, so it'll be great to be there
for the big closer.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah yeah. Okay. So last week, if anyone hasn't heard it,
they should go and see your article at Newstalk ZB
dot co dot nz ford slash travel and you told
us all about cruising around the Galapagos Islands. But this
week you're telling us about your experience staying on the
islands themselves on Santa Cruz Island. So what would you
say is best of the two options, a cruise or
(01:49):
a land based stay.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yeah, it's a great question, Jack. I'd say do both
mix and match it because with the cruise you get
that unplugged dreamscape experience, very wild. You know, very few
people with an island stay, you get a we dip
with the soul of living on the Galapagus. And there's
only thirty thousand people that live on those islands, so
it's very tightly controlled and you're just mixing with the locals,
(02:16):
eating that sabulous seafood they have. That's really special. I
would say definitely Santa Cruz Island because it's close to
the airport. There's a stack of excursions you can do
on the island, and with my cruise, which was with
Weaver Expeditions, it was very easy to transfer from the
cruise for a land base to stay, you know, just
(02:36):
very stress free. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Nice, Okay, that sounds like a really good thing. And
what is distinctive about the port town on Santa Cruz
Island Puerto Ayora.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
It's really eye catching, a beautiful, colorful waterfront town. It's
got the tourist trappings, got accommodation to suit all budgets,
and it's all strung around the esplanade or the melei
Con as they call it. Of course in the Galapagus.
But for all of the alluring creature comforts, what really
struck me Jack nature still holds court. So you've got
(03:09):
marina guanas piling up on top of each other around
the harbor front sneezing out excess salt, which is quite
a clever little trick. And I loved watching the sea
lions just haul the ebulging bodies up onto the beach.
They commandeer the park benches, they hijack the picnic tables
for a spot of sunbathing. They clearly have right away,
(03:31):
and the locals love it that way. In Puerto Ayorda.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, Oh, that's fantastic. Times of the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Right, yeah, it is. So if you want to first
hand primer on the theory of evolution, this is the
place to go. It's like this living lab, the biggest
bio research center in the island to toe to sixty
five years of these hundreds of scientists who work there,
and they play such a critical conservation role. They monitor
invasive species like the ghastly vampire fly, which I did
(04:04):
have a couple of close encounters with. Do suck the
blood out of you, beg flight. I was also struck
jack by the similarities to New Zealand. New Zealand's predator
control missions. They've had all manner of animals introduced on
the galapagus that went feral, like goats and pigs and
(04:25):
dogs and cats. So they're working really hard to send
all of those animals packing too.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, right, okay, how successful is their giant tortoise breeding program?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
It is a wafer. It is globally acclaimed because it's
just been so prodigious. To date, over seven thousand giant
tortoises have been released from that station successfully rewild across
the islands. And one of their most famous breeders was
a tortoise called Diego. He siged nine hundred offspring jack
(05:02):
being retired to eat. Maybe not as wealthy, but he
reached the age of about one hundred and five I
believe before he was allowed to retire to Espaniola, so
he's still kicking about. I walked all around the breeding enclosures,
and it's so called because you'll see all the babies
in the nursery and then you'll see the adults canoogling
(05:25):
right in front of you. So I think, at last come.
The Galapicus tortoise population is now at about twenty five thousand,
so that it has been saved from extinction.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Right, Oh, that's so good. So, speaking of existential problems
for gallipigus island tortoises. Did Charles Darwin eat tortoise meat?
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yes? Yes. Most historical accounts believe Darwin and his Crewel
and HMS Bigel consumed about thirty torsoises, and in fact
there is a reference in one of Darwin's diaries how
he notes that the flesh had a particularly delicious buttery
taste and texture. So shockingly, it's estimated now is eight
(06:09):
about two hundred thousand giant tortoises which walk into the
edge of extinction. Yeah, it would have typically taken according
to my guide, six men would have been needed to
carry a giant tortoise onto a ship, and they had
to tie it up with rope and attach it to poles.
Of was the hell of an effort. Darwin also took
some juvenile tortoises home alive to England, and one of
(06:32):
them was believed to be Harriet, and a lot of
Kiwis will have seen Harriet. She lived out her last
twenty years of Australian zoo and died at the age
of one hundred and seventy five.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Oh my gosh, that's amazing, aid, isn't it. I think?
What does this tortoise live through. Yeah, that's amazing. Okay,
So beyond the research station, where is the sort of
best place for FaceTime with the giant tortoises.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
My runaway highlight from the Galapagus was going up to
the highlands of Santa Cruz and there's some a number
of nature reserves up in the highlands joining the national Park.
And this is where you will be transfexed by the
size of these giants. Because it's the highlands, they've got
a lot more to eet, a lot more foliage. And
(07:20):
when I went into this nature reserve called Rancho Promissias,
it was like entering Jurassic Park. These guys were supersized,
fully grown giant tortoises and from a distance they look
like colossal boulders with their dark domes. Just scattered them
in the meadow, and then you just walk with them gently.
(07:41):
It's just the most extraordinary experience.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
And what impressed you most about them They.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Are mammoth, but so mellow, or two hundred and fifty
kilograms of them. And when one of these big daddy
tortoises stretched out has wesned old face in front of me,
it became readily apparent. What inspired Steven Spielberg's creation of
et that the faith. Yeah, they have such a limited agility.
(08:12):
Every movement Jack seems exhaustingly slow and deliberate. But what
really blew my hair back about these ancient creatures. The
giant Galepicus tortoise can survive but up to a year
without food or water. Isn't that remarkable?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Gosh, it's amazing, isn't it. It is like it's like
time affects them differently in every sense. Yeah, it's like
that whatever our kind of measure of time is that
they're on a they're on a different kind of scale altogether. Yeah,
what a remarkable experience. Make you know how envious I am?
But that does sound amazing, And hey, good luck tonight
(08:52):
was speaking of envy, My goodness, I will be thinking
of you. It's when the Crusaders hopefully record their upteenth
Super Rugby title. Mike Yardley is our travel correspondent. For
all of his tips on walking with the giants on
some to Cruz Island, you can find his piece on
the news Talks. He'd be website, Newstorks, he'db dot co
dot mzi Forward slash Lifestyle forward slash travel, or just
(09:14):
go to our show page. That's where we put everything
from the show.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks dB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
That'd be our travel correspondent is Mike Gardley. He's here
with us this morning and before we turn our attention
to the Galapagus Islands, Mike, you've got tickets for this evening.
How are you feeling this winter morning in Christy?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
It's certainly winter Jack, Yes, I'm feeling confident that the
weather will favor us. He does not favoring us, but
my heart will window day Jack. So the Crusaders to
win twenty eight to twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's okay.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
I feel like that's a that's yeah. I would go
with you. I would go with a heart overhead slightly.
But I don't know if the head necessarily says the
Crusaders aren't the favorites here. I mean, they've obviously got
an impeccable playoff record when it comes to Super Rugby,
but you know, to Mighty Williams's back, that's going to
be in our favor The Chiefs, Yeah, they faltered a
(01:01):
little bit against the Blues a couple of weeks ago,
and that Super Rugby semi so you know there is
a superb playoffs, so you know, but my gosh, it's
going to be a thrilling match tonight. So in the
last match in that stadium for Crusaders fans, which I'm
sure everyone will be pleased about regardless of the result.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, that's it. I went to the opening game back
in twenty twelve, never knowing it would take so long
to get a permanent stadium.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
So you're like, we'll be here for two years, Max.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, so it'll be great to be there
for the big closer.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah yeah. Okay. So last week, if anyone hasn't heard it,
they should go and see your article at Newstalk ZB
dot co dot nz ford slash travel and you told
us all about cruising around the Galapagos Islands. But this
week you're telling us about your experience staying on the
islands themselves on Santa Cruz Island. So what would you
say is best of the two options, a cruise or
(01:49):
a land based stay.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yeah, it's a great question, Jack. I'd say do both
mix and match it because with the cruise you get
that unplugged dreamscape experience, very wild. You know, very few
people with an island stay, you get a we dip
with the soul of living on the Galapagus. And there's
only thirty thousand people that live on those islands, so
it's very tightly controlled and you're just mixing with the locals,
(02:16):
eating that sabulous seafood they have. That's really special. I
would say definitely Santa Cruz Island because it's close to
the airport. There's a stack of excursions you can do
on the island, and with my cruise, which was with
Weaver Expeditions, it was very easy to transfer from the
cruise for a land base to stay, you know, just
(02:36):
very stress free. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Nice, Okay, that sounds like a really good thing. And
what is distinctive about the port town on Santa Cruz
Island Puerto Ayora.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
It's really eye catching, a beautiful, colorful waterfront town. It's
got the tourist trappings, got accommodation to suit all budgets,
and it's all strung around the esplanade or the melei
Con as they call it. Of course in the Galapagus.
But for all of the alluring creature comforts, what really
struck me Jack nature still holds court. So you've got
(03:09):
marina guanas piling up on top of each other around
the harbor front sneezing out excess salt, which is quite
a clever little trick. And I loved watching the sea
lions just haul the ebulging bodies up onto the beach.
They commandeer the park benches, they hijack the picnic tables
for a spot of sunbathing. They clearly have right away,
(03:31):
and the locals love it that way. In Puerto Ayorda.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, Oh, that's fantastic. Times of the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Right, yeah, it is. So if you want to first
hand primer on the theory of evolution, this is the
place to go. It's like this living lab, the biggest
bio research center in the island to toe to sixty
five years of these hundreds of scientists who work there,
and they play such a critical conservation role. They monitor
invasive species like the ghastly vampire fly, which I did
(04:04):
have a couple of close encounters with. Do suck the
blood out of you, beg flight. I was also struck
jack by the similarities to New Zealand. New Zealand's predator
control missions. They've had all manner of animals introduced on
the galapagus that went feral, like goats and pigs and
(04:25):
dogs and cats. So they're working really hard to send
all of those animals packing too.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, right, okay, how successful is their giant tortoise breeding program?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
It is a wafer. It is globally acclaimed because it's
just been so prodigious. To date, over seven thousand giant
tortoises have been released from that station successfully rewild across
the islands. And one of their most famous breeders was
a tortoise called Diego. He siged nine hundred offspring jack
(05:02):
being retired to eat. Maybe not as wealthy, but he
reached the age of about one hundred and five I
believe before he was allowed to retire to Espaniola, so
he's still kicking about. I walked all around the breeding enclosures,
and it's so called because you'll see all the babies
in the nursery and then you'll see the adults canoogling
(05:25):
right in front of you. So I think, at last come.
The Galapicus tortoise population is now at about twenty five thousand,
so that it has been saved from extinction.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Right, Oh, that's so good. So, speaking of existential problems
for gallipigus island tortoises. Did Charles Darwin eat tortoise meat?
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yes? Yes. Most historical accounts believe Darwin and his Crewel
and HMS Bigel consumed about thirty torsoises, and in fact
there is a reference in one of Darwin's diaries how
he notes that the flesh had a particularly delicious buttery
taste and texture. So shockingly, it's estimated now is eight
(06:09):
about two hundred thousand giant tortoises which walk into the
edge of extinction. Yeah, it would have typically taken according
to my guide, six men would have been needed to
carry a giant tortoise onto a ship, and they had
to tie it up with rope and attach it to poles.
Of was the hell of an effort. Darwin also took
some juvenile tortoises home alive to England, and one of
(06:32):
them was believed to be Harriet, and a lot of
Kiwis will have seen Harriet. She lived out her last
twenty years of Australian zoo and died at the age
of one hundred and seventy five.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Oh my gosh, that's amazing, aid, isn't it. I think?
What does this tortoise live through. Yeah, that's amazing. Okay,
So beyond the research station, where is the sort of
best place for FaceTime with the giant tortoises.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
My runaway highlight from the Galapagus was going up to
the highlands of Santa Cruz and there's some a number
of nature reserves up in the highlands joining the national Park.
And this is where you will be transfexed by the
size of these giants. Because it's the highlands, they've got
a lot more to eet, a lot more foliage. And
(07:20):
when I went into this nature reserve called Rancho Promissias,
it was like entering Jurassic Park. These guys were supersized,
fully grown giant tortoises and from a distance they look
like colossal boulders with their dark domes. Just scattered them
in the meadow, and then you just walk with them gently.
(07:41):
It's just the most extraordinary experience.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
And what impressed you most about them They.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Are mammoth, but so mellow, or two hundred and fifty
kilograms of them. And when one of these big daddy
tortoises stretched out has wesned old face in front of me,
it became readily apparent. What inspired Steven Spielberg's creation of
et that the faith. Yeah, they have such a limited agility.
(08:12):
Every movement Jack seems exhaustingly slow and deliberate. But what
really blew my hair back about these ancient creatures. The
giant Galepicus tortoise can survive but up to a year
without food or water. Isn't that remarkable?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Gosh, it's amazing, isn't it. It is like it's like
time affects them differently in every sense. Yeah, it's like
that whatever our kind of measure of time is that
they're on a they're on a different kind of scale altogether. Yeah,
what a remarkable experience. Make you know how envious I am?
But that does sound amazing, And hey, good luck tonight
(08:52):
was speaking of envy, My goodness, I will be thinking
of you. It's when the Crusaders hopefully record their upteenth
Super Rugby title. Mike Yardley is our travel correspondent. For
all of his tips on walking with the giants on
some to Cruz Island, you can find his piece on
the news Talks. He'd be website, Newstorks, he'db dot co
dot mzi Forward slash Lifestyle forward slash travel, or just
(09:14):
go to our show page. That's where we put everything
from the show.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks dB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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