In a few days we’ll be on Thursday Island, so this morning  I took in the lecture about the Torres Strait by Reef Captain Vikram Hede.

The Captain told us that Torres strait is a place less than 1% of Australians ever visit. He was clearly very pleased that Viking is sharing his part of the world with people who would otherwise likely never be inspired to learn more about Thursday Island.

Thursday Island and the strait’s claim to fame, other than as a WWII military base and shipwreck location, is that it was mentioned in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as where the Nautilus was stranded.

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Captain Hede talked a bit about the culture of the Torres Islands before focussing on our transit through the strait.

Early east Indian adventurers arrived here about 4000 years ago and mixed with the indigenous aboriginal peoples to create a unique culture. The population of Thursday Island is made up of many different ethnicities, including Torres Strait Islanders (a Melanesian people), Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, and Malay. Differing from the mainland, there is only a small number of European-descent people, many of whom work for the government. 

For a very small population, they have made a huge difference to Australia’s treatment of their indigenous people. Torres Strait native Edward Koiki Mabo was instrumental in refuting the “terra nullius” concept that allowed the British to simply take, own, and re-sell land in Australia. Terra nullius is a Latin phrase that means “land belonging to no one”, or empty land, and was a legal concept used by the British to justify their complete takeover of Australia. The High Court of Australia overturned the concept in 1992. Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (commonly known as the Mabo case or simply Mabo) was a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised the existence of Native Title in Australia.It was brought by Eddie Mabo and others against the State of Queensland, and decided on 3 June 1992. The case is notable for being the first in Australia to recognise pre-colonial land interests of Indigenous Australians within the common law of Australia.

The story of Eddie Mabo banishes any doubt that one person can bring about monumental change.

Captain Hede’s stories about ships run aground or sunk in the Torres Strait were quite sobering. When he showed us the path the Viking Sky will be taking during the wee hours of February 14th, we all immediately understood why the route requires an experienced navigator; it is definitely not somewhere you’d want to be trying to avoid the reefs without help.

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The Strait is very shallow, with a depth ranging between just 7-50 metres (20-65 ft), and filled with rock outcroppings and reefs. Hence Captain Vikram Hede, who is a “reef captain”, is on our transit with us. 

As Australia continues to drift northward at its pace of 7cm/2.75 inches per year, eventually this strait between Australia and New Guinea will disappear, and a land bridge will connect Australia and New Guinea.  

In the meantime, we still need Captain Hede.

The morning had back-to-back lectures as we try to fit all of our learning into sea days. 

The second lecture was Nitza Lowenstein’s “The Unique and Diverse Landscapes of Australia”.

Nitza shared hundreds of images of the continent’s magnificent geography, much of which will remain very far from our journey since we are not doing any overland excursions here. Possibly Australia’s most famous landmark, Uluru (formerly known as Ayer’s Rock) is almost right in the centre of the continent.

A morning entirely comprised of breakfast and sitting through two lectures makes a person hungry, or at least seeing Chef’s special Cobb salad and avocado station makes a person think they’re hungry.

My pulled pork sandwich with smashed avocado, and self-created Cobb salad may not make a pretty plate, but they were delicious!

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I spent the afternoon chatting, since with sporadic internet my library app wouldn’t open, and Ted spent his walking and in the gym. Par for the course for both of us.

Dinner was in the restaurant at a really fun table shared with two ladies from southern California and a couple who live in my hometown of Burlington, Ontario.

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The evening show was rock violinist Katei, who proved that a mid 19th century French violin played by a classically trained tattooed young Japanese Australian man in plaid pants, red and white trainers, chains, headband, and Pikachu belt accessory can sound absolutely wonderful.

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Once again we finished our evening with “the boys in the band” in Torshavn.