GLOBETROTTERS
life-changing journeys Sarina Bratton, founder and Managing Director of Orion Expedition Cruises, shares the fulfillment of travelling to the world’s most remote destinations, reaching not only the isolated areas, but also hundreds of lives.
I
was very fortunate to travel quite a lot as a young elite diver, both domestically and internationally. I just love the opportunity to discover, learn and immerse myself in different cultures and to experience the wildlife found in different parts of the world. This has really helped me in appreciating what we have at home in Australia. Travelling has made me appreciate the delicate nature of the world far more and it made me realise the need for us to develop sustainable tourism products that do not impede, harm or detract from the beauty of the regions, its peoples and its wildlife. We do need to tread lightly and provide an enduring legacy for generations to come. A visit to the remote Kimberley area of Western Australia on a friend’s super yacht in 2003 was the catalyst for me in founding Orion Expedition Cruises. Some 600 nautical miles of the most pristine wilderness area to be found on this planet with no infrastructure to support operations became both my inspiration and challenge in this venture. I knew I needed a small, self-sufficient, luxury expedition vessel to share this great beauty with others. This is how Orion Expedition Cruises started. Orion is all about unique and meaningful experiences in remote destinations. Pioneering new itineraries in remote destinations requires a level of commitment in researching and scouting for resources that are uncommon in the mainstream cruise industry. I think it is a good outcome that the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) introduced new compliances, which restricts big ships from cruising remote
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destinations. After all, as an industry, our ability to have control on environmental impact becomes challenged when large numbers of guests step foot ashore in any remote areas. Every leader of an organisation touching these areas must have a clear conscience about how they interact with the area, the wildlife and the enduring quality of the destination. When we cruise to the Antarctic Continent and the Ross Sea in particular, the window of operation is very narrow, and less than 300 people a year get to experience this remarkable destination. Orion is one of the few expedition cruise ships to navigate deep into this isolated area. Our capacity is exclusive to no more than 100 guests, giving us the opportunity to work with indigenous communities in inaccessible areas, in ways that many would not have thought possible. To pioneer cruises to such destinations entails management and minimisation of risk, which is why the ship’s technology and waste management systems are imperative to enable us to efficiently operate in these remote areas. The beauty of a small expedition ship is that we don’t have regimentation with our itineraries. The Captain and the Expedition Leader tailor the activities accordingly. If there is a pod of whales, we may choose to spend an hour or so with them, if there is a magnificent sunset, we may choose to remain at anchor and dine out on deck, if there is a break in the weather in Antarctica, we may get you ashore early in the morning to stand inside famous Antarctic explorers’ huts. Nowadays, it’s about creating opportunities for people to experience exotic cultures, flora and fauna