Fiji to the Philippines (stations 175 to 205)

Leaving Fiji on 11 August 1874 the crew headed to up to Cape York, at the north tip of Australia and then up to the Aru islands, Indonesia. After spending just over a week exploring around these islands Challenger headed to Banda and up to the Philippine islands. The crew spent a long time exploring the Philippine Islands, visiting Zamboanga (then Sambogoan), Cebu (then Zebu) and Manilla just to name a few. The crew explored marine life, birds, buffaloes and plant growth as well as the culture of those who lived there and how they dressed and made weapons. It wasn’t until February 1875 that the crew left the Philippines for the last time, though they did spend six weeks in Hong Kong over Christmas.