Taiwan, June 2026
After a decent nights sleep, being lulled by the gentle rocking of the ship I was up early to hit the gym. Given that I always eat way too much on these trips, I am trying to keep some balance by going to the gym most days. (We will see how long that lasts!)
Thankfully, the ship also has an earlier riser breakfast (not all the fancy cooked food, but fruits and muesli which is enough) which means I can also enjoy a coffee and breakfast early. This morning it was as we pulled in to the Taiwanese port of Hualien.
Hualien (Taiwn’s second largest city) appears to be a relatively major port for cruise ships, and we had to go through customs like we were arriving in Taiwan for the first time – which maybe the case for some cruises. We were also all gifted with a box of tea, which I guess I will either have to use before we get to Australia, or give away!
Once the formalities were complete, we were back on a bus and off to Taroko National Park and the famous Marble Gorge. Despite the rain and grey sky, the lush green mountainsides were still beautiful.
We learnt a little about the indigenous tribes of Taiwan, astronesians who spread across the Pacific, but 16 tribes remained in Taiwan. Each leave on a different mountain and speak a different language. I found this fascinating and wish I have time to dive more deeply into these cultures.
2 years ago, the area suffered a huge earthquake, which caused significant damage to the gorge and its surrounds. There is still some obvious damage and a lot of strengthening works going on. The road into the gorge is also now only one way in parts, so we needed to adhere to strict timings to ensure we could get in and out in the allocated time windows.
Our first stop was a photo stop at the Taroko Arch for a photo opportunity before heading into the Visitor Centre. I was a great source of information and included a video about earthquake and typhoon damage the area (including the cross-island highway) has sustained recently.
Back on bus and we made our way into the gorge where in some places, the marble walls are 300m high, soaring over the valley floor and the Liwu River. By the time we reached out stopping point the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. (We had been told that the sun was always shining in the gorge and they were right!)
The Xiangde Temple was built in the 1960’s as part of the construction of the cross-island highway and it sits high above the valley. The many steps to get up to the pagoda was the first test to show the mobility of the people on the trip (most who are significantly older than me, and I am old!)
We had some time to explore the temple and surrounds and enjoy the antics of the local top of Formosa Rock Macaques. Also know as the Taiwanese macaque, they are endemic to Taiwan (but have also been introduced to Japan) and are the only native primate in the country (besides humans).
We drove back through the gorge, and back to the port, where we officially exited Taiwan, got heat scanned by Philippine officials and the set sail. As we had an afternoon at sea, I settled in to ship life and the lectures started.
The first being on Astronesians and their expansion across the Pacific. I must admit I am pretty ignorant when it comes to these people, so it was fascinating to learn that most Polynesians are linked back to these early people from Taiwan.
The term Astronesians actually refers to a family of languages (over 1,200 languages), as well as the seafaring people who speak them. They stretch from Madagascar to Easter Island and everywhere in between and it is believed that they originated in Taiwan around 5-6,000 years ago.
Using outrigger canoes and using the stars to guide them, they carried out one of the greatest migrations in human history settling all across the Pacific (with the exclusion of Australia which was already populated)! People from Maritime and parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, New Guinea, Melanesia, Polynesia (including New Zealand) and Madagascar can all trace their roots back to these great seafarers, as well as ethnic minorities from countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia etc.
As the afternoon continued, we sailed down the coast of Taiwan (I had no idea the country was so mountainous) as we had future lectures, followed by the Captain’s welcome drinks and an introduction to ship’s crew (we had met the expedition crew the night before).
I was settling in to life on board and eating too much! A big dinner welcome dinner and too much wine did not help!
Cockneykiwi takes flight 