Taking the Dragons by storm

Gallery: its spring time in winter!!

dragon_slayer — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:44:00 GMT

flipped side of the world

Flying high, living Large

dragon_slayer — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:37:00 GMT

Well, this set of pics are just a few from a week of "work". I went along the Ohou colony to count seals and then to my waterfall where I watch seals and people and measure their behaviour. FUN TIMES!!.. Then unfortunatelly for my friend circle, a pilot bud of mine was leaving for a job in Fiji so on his last day he took a friend and myself out on a plane trip to go whale watching. The whale's name was Engleburt. This was the coolest thing I have done in a while. The plane was small and comfortable. and REALLY AMZING!! I suggest you do that if youg et a chance.

Peace our home slice.

Gallery: flying high, living large

dragon_slayer — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:27:00 GMT

whale watch plane ride

Gallery: wizards and wizardry

dragon_slayer — Sat, 2 May 2009 17:28:00 GMT

wizards and wizardry

dragon_slayer — Sat, 2 May 2009 17:07:00 GMT

For the betterment of my sanoty and those around me, I sought to enlighten my worldly knowledge by searching for those long lost seals of New Zealand. For this I would need a few helpers. They just happen to be on a similar quest, but lacked the power that was needed for such a dangerous journey. I first went to seek the advice of a an old wise hermit of Akaroa. There we set sail on the mightly "Decadent". Unfortunatelly, we were wrought with mightly winds. This vessel was barel a match, but we madeit around Paranaky Rock and came back with the knowelege and a new found courage needed for the journey ahead.

Then I set off north towards Kaikoura. This land was known to harbour seals. I found them and managed to capture their souls with my camera. I hope to one day to set their souls free, but this will have to be in a more peaceful time when war does not plague the country. The country side was beautiful. I do believe here is where the mountains fell into the ocean. I met a traveler on the way to my next destination. She was also from the great state of Texas. I wish our time together was longer, but she was off to be a slave in Golden Bay (poor girl). :)

Then I hit Nelson. Here I met the great seal hunter LARA. She showed me her knowledge and blessed me with her kindness. I hope one day to repay in full. We went to the Abel Tasman Park by boat to visit the illusive seal colony of Tonga Island. On a side trip, I went to Nelson Lakes Nature reserve. This was ment to be a journey to challenge my soul, but i failed. I wanted to make the 25 km loop around lake Rotoiti. However about 5 km into my treck the heavens opened up and began to pour. It was not as fun as a vision quest should be and I was cold. SO I sadly turned around. However, I managed to jog a bit of the trail. On the way back I even came across the mushrooms that give you an extra life from the Mario Bros games. NO I DID NOT EAT ONE... but if I were dying i wouldn't put it past me. :)

The second trek was a few days later to see the arthous mountain range (or somthing like that). THis LONG 5 minute trail led me not to dragons, or seals, but to an icy sign (meaning it was cold), and a nasty port-o-potty on the top of the mountain..

Now I am in Westport to save this fishing village from evil. I will keep you updated how it goes.

Until then, Fare the well

Seal hunting

dragon_slayer — Mon, 9 Feb 2009 11:25:00 GMT

This weekend was Waitange Day in New Zealand, and to celbrate I thought I would joing a few other scientist in doing what we love best...obtaining knowledge for the betterment of the world. In this particular case, we were in Kaikoura doing some seal population counts. I call it seal hunting because we were actively looking for seal pups, though no animals were harmed..just given nice stylish mohawk hair cuts.

We had a permit from DOC to catch the pups, weigh them and measure their growth. From our counts...tentitively, there are over 1000 pups at this colony. THIS IS A GREAT THING. For all those who think seals should be killed, this colony was not a breeding one until 1990. That means that in 19 years there has been around a 30 percent population increase. This colony is healthy and thriving given its recent set backs from actual seal hunting for the fur industry.

These animals were soooo cute, but do not try any of this stuff unless you have a permit to do so, and you are trained. Seal bites can be nasty and painful. On the other hand they are very hearty creatures that can hold their own ground. And if you are wandering, there is a rule that all humans must stay 10 meters back from all seals. This is for their safety and yours. I on the otherhand, did not listen and had an amazing time being a seal biologist :)

Gallery: When I went seal hunting..ha ha

dragon_slayer — Mon, 9 Feb 2009 10:44:00 GMT

No animals were harmed in this adventure

Gallery: The Kaik

dragon_slayer — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:14:00 GMT

Dusky Dolphins

playing with seals and dolphins

dragon_slayer — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:52:00 GMT

I meant to spend Christmas Day surfing on a beach, but a slight ankle injury and cold rain meant I would spend this day of peace and joy with good friends and food. I actually had two dinners. One was with my Bosses family and the other was at a cherry farm. The cherry farm lamb roast was an all day long feast of meats and drinks, though I arrived well after 9pm. The following days were busy at the deli with snobby, rude, and even some pleasant customers.

That brings us to New Years Eve... This was definatelly a very fun night which brought all the Akaroan characters out. I made it to a friends house by 4am and was up bright and early at 9am to work at the busy deli (Wahoo!!).

My advisor arrived into the country on January 6th. We proceeded towards Kaikoura where he was staying and doing some dusky dolphin research. The most interesting thing about hanging out with Tim is that he knows where every good food joint is on a 6 hour stretch of road from Christchurch to Nelson. On our first day in Kaikours, we were surveyors on a 5:30 am dolphin trip. I got to play with a very fancy camera and pretend I knew a thing about the creatures to the tourist. Then we headed to Ohou point to survey some New Zealand Fur Seals, then we headed to the seal waterfall, and to finish off our day we took Panua Ahai (the boat) to the dolphins again. It was just the two of us and +500 dolphins. This was by far the best part of the day. I jumped into the icy water without a wet suit to swim with the Duskys. They were so playfull, doing flips and tricks just feet from our boat. I drove the boat while Tim photographed them. It is so amazing driving within a pod of dolphins that stretched over two miled wide..WOW!!. FInally to finish off our night, we all (the research team) went to the Whaler to participate in quiz night. We came in 3rd, and drank a lot. The great thing about it is that out team, "The Pretty Pink Hornicorns" won every boat race we participated in. A boat race is a team drinking game where your team has to drink faster than the other team. We were internationally sponsered with a Mexican, a Texan, a Russian, and a Californian.. I think we represented our countries and states well.

Then it was off to see Marlbourough sounds and do a short walk along the Queen Charlott track. I would definatelly want to to the whole thing which takes a day. We spent the night in Nelson to celebrate a friends birthday and do some shop talk about my seal project. I think I will incorporate all the beautiful places of NZ into my project (all the places with seals and tourist). This way I can travel all over the country :).

What can I say

dragon_slayer — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:05:00 GMT

What can I say, I love it here in new Zealand. On my arrival, I actaully missed my connecting flight because I was waiting at the wrong terminal. Though, I was waiting for the correct flight destination. So, I had to go through custums, collect my belongins which had been sitting on the baggage claim floor for a few hours and hike my way to the other terminal. This was no easy feat since I was carrying the weight load of a semi truck with all my belongings. Once I get to the check in counter, they notified me that my flight, which I had missed was actually delayed due to fog. YEAH!! I was put on the next flight to Christchurch and arrives a few hours later. In the hostel, it was easy to make friends and go out for dinner. Then a few days later I went to Akaroa, my new home and finally dropped off my semi load of stuff to the place where I curretnly reside. The social life here is great. Full of travelers who are working for the summer and we all need a friend. The locals are also very cool here. I recommend coming to Akaroa if not for any reason other than the stunning scenery. There are dolphins, penguins, fur seals, petrels, albastross, a guy who dresses up in french colonial gear on the weekends, and tons of international culture. We put on an american tradition of Thanksgiving and of the 15 people that came, only two were actually from the US. The others were NZ, Scottish, French, Dutsch, German, and Irish.

I aslo hooked up a job at a local deli where the people are friendly and the food is amazing. So now I know how to make coffee with a smile. MOD eat your heart out. The sailing is great here. Being on a peninsula, there is usually necer a lack of wind. I sail on a Farse 11.6 ( I think) with a great bunch of old dirty men. The vibe here is relaxed and friendly and thus I call it my home away from home. Christmas is soon, and we are hoping for warm weather to spend our day on the beach surfing and bar-b-queing. I have to be good on that night becuase work starts bright n early on the 26th (Boxing Day).

Yes, I am doing my seal research as well as all the affore mentioned things. The only problem is the weather is not deciding to cooperate right now as its been raining for the past few days. Ugh!!

Nugh of that for right now. Off to work

P.s. excuse the spelling.. I am not a pro

Gallery: greatness

dragon_slayer — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:32:00 GMT

All the great things about this place