Tag Archives: James Cook

London’s Oceania Exhibition Gets More Rave Reviews

London’s Oceania Exhibition Gets More Rave Reviews

The new Oceania exhibition has just opened at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. The Guardian’s art reviewer Jonathan Jones was there, deeming the show “dazzling … like having the ocean…

Through A Child’s Eyes

Through A Child’s Eyes

In Sailing the Unknown: Around the World With Captain Cook, American poet Michael J. Rosen imagines the journal of the real-life 11-year-old Nicholas Young, the youngest sailor aboard Captain Cook’s Endeavour. “We know very…

Checking in at Opua

Checking in at Opua

Opua is the first mandatory stop in the Bay of Islands for boats arriving from foreign waters and where visiting sailor, and blogger, Ruth checks in with New Zealand customs and immigration officials. “Actually,…

Six Spots Bluelisted

Six Spots Bluelisted

Six NZ tourist attractions made Lonely Planet’s 2008 Bluelist, an annual collection of the world’s “hottest trends, destinations, journeys and experiences.” Jetboating Queenstown’s Shotover River is featured as one of the great river trips,…

Holland Ahoy

Holland Ahoy

New Zealander Ron Holland is one of the world’s top naval architects. Based in the small Irish sailing port of Kinsale, his latest project is designing and building a 190-foot, $50 million superyacht Ethereal for Sun…

Maritime Mystery Nearly Solved

Maritime Mystery Nearly Solved

American archaeologists have discovered four 18th century ships off the coast of Rhode Island, New York, one of which could be Captain Cook’s Endeavour. Cook commanded the Endeavour on his famous 1768-1771 voyage to…

North Island Odyssey

North Island Odyssey

The Telegraph‘s Max Davidson takes a leisurely tour of the North Island’s wine-producing hot spots. The trail begins in “cosmopolitan Wellington,” followed by the Wairarapa, Auckland, and Waiheke Island. Further north, the scenery becomes more and more…

Cook Sails into Prime Time

Cook Sails into Prime Time

Captain Cook is the inspiration behind America’s latest hit reality TV show. The Ship follows a group of ordinary folks in their bid to sail a replica of the Endeavour from Australia to Indonesia….

History Resurfaces

History Resurfaces

A letter penned by Captain Cook announcing his return from Australasian waters has been discovered stuck behind a picture frame at Brancaster Hall, England. The 200-year old missive “recalls the grim hardship of what is now considered…

Uncle Sam’s Head?

Uncle Sam’s Head?

The sale of Te Kuri/Young Nick’s Head to an American financier has not escaped international notice. Symbolic for both Maori and European firsts (reputed to be the first land seen by Captain Cook’s Endeavour), comparisons were…

Strenuous Endeavour

Strenuous Endeavour

“How a poor Yorkshire farm boy became a saltwater giant is an incredible tale. Formally speaking, 4-year-old Cook wasn’t even a captain when, over considerable objection, he was appointed master of a naval ship…

Edge Explorer Revised and Revisited by Aussie Historian

Edge Explorer Revised and Revisited by Aussie Historian

Tony Horwitz revisits the James Cook legend and Cook’s Star-Trek echoing logbook, “I have gone farther than any man has been before me, as far as I think it is possible for a man…