Visit Some of the Magical Places Alfred Russel Wallace Travelled to in Indonesia and Help the Wallace Correspondence Project!

In October 2018, biologist and Wallace expert Dr George Beccaloni will be the 'Ship's Naturalist' on an amazing 12 day cruise with SeaTrek Sailing Adventures entitled Wallace Trails & Sails, which will travel to some of the most magical and remote places that legendary Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace visited during his epic journey around Indonesia. Wallace was the co-discoverer of the theory of evolution by natural selection and author of the most famous travelogue on the region, The Malay Archipelago, among many other things. 

We will visit some of the places that most fascinated him, including Ambon, Seram, and the remote Raja Ampat Islands with their pristine incredibly diverse coral reefs. Like him, we will go in search of the stunningly beautiful Birds of Paradise, which he regarded as “…one of the most beautiful and most wonderful of living things.”

SeaTrek's ship the Ombak Putih is a beautifully-modernised, traditional Indonesian pinisi vessel and in it we will travel in style to places that very few tourists ever visit. We will have comfortable cabins and delicious food. For us there will be none of the hardships that Wallace experienced: more than once he had to make a small parakeet last for two frugal meals as he sat in his small leaking ant-infested hut in the pounding tropical rain.

George Beccaloni has visited Indonesia six times previously on natural history-related trips. He is the Director of the Wallace Correspondence Project which aims to locate, digitize, transcribe, interpret all of Wallace’s surviving letters and other manuscripts. Its online digital archive and publications will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in the life and work of this great man.

The Ombak Putih has 12 comfortable, air-conditioned, en-suite cabins, each accommodating two adults in double or twin configuration. There are two triple cabins that can accommodate an extra child under 12 years old. The cost for a child is 50% of the adult fare.

The cost per adult is US$6,990 (currently £5,017 GBP), and this includes all meals, park fees, activities, land visits, non-alcoholic drinks (alcoholic drinks are sold at cost price), laundry service (two items per day) and everything else whilst on board - you will not be disappointed!

NOTE!! SeaTrek Sailing Adventures have very generously donated a cabin to raise much needed funds for the Wallace Correspondence Project (WCP). The cabin can accommodate two adults and the regular cost would be US$13,980 (currently £10,033 GBP). If you would like to help the WCP, then George will be accepting bids for the cabin (over £8,500 please!) up until June 30th, 2018. Please send your bid to George at g.beccaloni@wallaceletters.org The highest bidder will win the cabin and all proceeds will be used to further the work of the WCP.

For LOTS more information about the trip please CLICK HERE


Removing a large python from Wallace's hut in Ambon Island. An illustration from his book The Malay Archipelago.
Wallace writes, "...just before dinner, being rather tired with my day's work, I was lying on the couch with a book in my hand, when gazing upwards I saw a large mass of something overhead which I had not noticed before. Looking more carefully I could see yellow and black marks, and thought it must be a tortoise-shell put up there out of the way between the ridge-pole and the roof. Continuing to gaze, it suddenly resolved itself into a large snake, compactly coiled up in a kind of knot; and I could detect his head and his bright eyes in the very centre of the folds...It was about twelve feet long and very thick, capable of doing much mischief and of swallowing a dog or a child."

Add new comment

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith