Conservation non-profit BirdLife South Africa has opened up public bookings for a fund-raising cruise that will take more than 2 000 passengers on a voyage to the Marion and Prince Edward Islands in the sub-Antarctic in January, 2025.
The cruise will see birdwatchers, nature enthusiasts and photographers boarding the MSC Musica at Durban, before heading down to the islands for the seven-day “Flock to Marion AGAIN!” cruise from January 24 to 31.
This is the second trip of its kind, following the 2022 “Flock to Marion” cruise on the MSC Opera.
After a preferential booking period, during which bookings were exclusively open to BirdLife South Africa's donors and members, reservations for the 2025 cruise can now be made by the general public. Approximately 1 400 passengers have reserved a space, leaving around 600 spots available.
Proceeds from the trip will be donated to the Mouse-Free Marion campaign, a BirdLife South Africa and Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment project, to rid Marion Island of invasive house mice.
Accidentally introduced by humans in the 19th century, the mice are preying on Marion Island's globally important seabirds and undermining the integrity of the island's ecosystem. Without intervention 19 of the 29 species of seabird breeding on the island face local extinction.
Seabird expert, author and artist, Peter Harrison, who will be on the cruise, said that the previous voyage set new standards in oceanic birding.
“We saw no less than 60 different species of seabirds, many of them incredibly rare. At one point as we cruised between the islands, we had no less than 500 albatrosses in the air together, and among them were nine different species – almost half the world's albatross species,” Harrison said.
“This is a voyage for everyone from ardent conservationists, to novice birders and those who are experienced,” Harrison added.
