Greetings from New Zealand!
Sorry to have been out of touch but having some technical difficulties. My computer was great for 6 weeks but now seems a bit tempermental. The joys( not) of airport internet access. While in NZ we’ve travelled along steep winding roads with BEAUTIFUL and awesome scenery. Mountains green, brown and gray. We went out to a gannet breeding colony and saw the chicks feeding by putting theirbeaks waaay down a parent throat. There were at least 100 birds right in front of us not carry whether we watched them as long as we stayed about 5 ft away. It was very interesting actually see bird behavior I’d only read about (or seen on videos) before. The fact that the birds were territorial was obvious. Each nest, more like a flattened mound, was defended by an adult. The babies were really late juveniles, the same size as their parents but with a mixture of white, brown and gray feathers rather that the white and creamy yellow headed adults. Soon the young will go one direction to feed and grow for 3-5 years before returning to the same place to breed. The adults will go another direction to feed until next breeding season. The separation probably to reduce competition between the two subpopulations.
We went out on a boat and spent 20 minutes watching very rare Hector dolphins – a pod with juveniles babbies and mothers. They came right up to an even under the pontoon boat. We also saw four different species of water birds called cormorants as well as the NZ pigeons (not like the ones a Ball Hall) and NZ robins which are smaller than our robins but hop around like the robin we know. We also tasted some great NZ wines.
This country seems to do a great job of balanced land and water use. They say they’re interested in sustainable use of their resources and what I’ve seen is consistent with that. They plant trees to harvest and leaveother areas wild and untouched. They build resorts and golf courses but in the same area are dedicated to remove all the human-introduced predators so that one day the endangered kiwi (NZ’s iconic bird – not the fruit) can be re-introduced. Sheep and cattle graze on brown grass on what would seem unscalable inclines. Most of the land appears untouched and the shorelines are breathtaking one after another after another. If you like seafood – fish and mussels and oysters and scallops – and I do – this is a wonderous place! It was a great 12 days relaxing, studying the environment and eating fabulous food.
On the ferry between the north and south island the water was every color possible from sea green to cobalt blue to gray! Brilliant! Gotta go only a few mintes left. Actually I got to edit at a free site in the Sydney airport.
Today we’re flying to Sydney and then to Honolulu. Looong flight but expecting more adventures.
Will let you know more soon, I hope!
Wow, you are having such wonderful adventures! I wish I was there! Have a great time, and say hi to any mollusk you see!
Chaz