Cat's Adventures in the Wild: New Zealand - Day 2.a

Today has been more exploring around Auckland, but at further distance. I will separate out the Aquarium trek from the Muriwai Beach trek mostly because I want to give Muriwai the space it deserves. The Aquarium visit will be extensive because of the pictures.

We got out to the Aquarium at about 11am and parked along the road near the Tamaki Yacht Club. From there we could see Devonport, which is a Naval Base. On the right side of the peninsula is a hill called North Head and the left is Mt. Victoria, both of which are extinct volcanoes. There are a LOT of extinct volcanoes around here. Basically, if it's a large hill then it's probably an extinct volcano.

The Auckland Navy is in process of being converted primarily to patrol ships to manage illegal fishing and provide rescue services, similar to the U.S. Coast Guard.

There is a separate, large island to right.(not pictured) - Rangitoto - active. Volcano - last erupted 500 yrs ago.

So, still having a hard time getting used to the car seats being reversed. I keep going to the driver's door and waiting for Tash to open it. Then she looks at me and waits for it to dawn on me that I need to go to the left side of the car. D'ow! I've told her that I'd probably be able to drive if it weren't for the round-a-bouts. I have to think too much while I'm doing those in the U.S. so I'm not risking it on British-left roads.

Enrichment moment (like you don't get enough of those from me): There is an interesting tree here that reminds me of the live oak in the south, it's called the Pohutakawa. The Pohutakawa is the native New Zealand Christmas tree because of the red flowers that bloom at Christmas. While it is similar in structure - size, shape (of small live oak specimens), and leaf appearance, it is not technically a tree, but part of the myrtle family.

Kelly Tarleton Aquarium Location

Kelly Tarleton was a native New Zealander who was also a Marine Archaeologist, Conservationist, and record-holding free-diver. I know that Free Climber is a concept in common circulation now, so apply briefly that to diving. His official New Zealand free-diving record was 24 m, but his personal best was 37.5 m. While known for this, it was his extensive treasure-hunting successes that raised him the funding that ultimately enabled the building of the Aquarium in Auckland.

Through the looking Glass - Ice Cave Spinning Video

SOUTH POLE EXHIBIT

The first exhibit in the Aquarium is about the South Pole. The British, Terra Nova expedition by Captain Robert Falcon Scott is featured with a reconstruction of Scott's Hut from 1911 when he led his group of explorers to the South Pole. While the first expedition to reach the South Pole was a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen, Scott's expedition's effort to expand scientific understanding of the region is notable.

The cramped housing from the Scott Expedition can be seen in the pictures here of the bedding arrangements. A small wooden structure was built on the continent for them to explore from, record their experiences, publish documents, and make observations on the scientific samples they retrieved.

Thick undergarments were needed to explore into temperatures that can range down to -60 Celsius, with records of near -90C. The climate of Antarctica is the driest on earth due to a constant High Pressure system over the polar region.

While there may be precipitation near the coastline, most snow seen in video is due to the extremely high winds (gusts recorded up to 360 kph / 220 mph, but sustained winds frequently up to 200 kph / 125 mph). I wouldn't recommend flying a kite or...well.... going at all. But Buzz Aldrin thought it would make a nice trip and it IS becoming an EXTREME tourist destination - but not for the sandy beaches and balmy weather. More for frost bite and health complications.

Printing Press was a handy tool to record and report when your hands are too cold to write. Tough to place all that typeface, though!

Important to be able to fix your clothes. Good thing these men can use a Singer!

Some of the scientific work was very much like Darwin's expedition of the Beagle. Collect organic specimens and either put the skeleton together (many examples of this can be found in the Smithsonian), preserve, or stuff the animal. Taxidermy and artistic skills seemed to be necessary tools for Biologists before Cell Phones and Digital cameras.

NOW for the FUN!!!

Penguins!!

Video Links:

Penguins at play1
Penguins at Play 2
Penguins at play 3

Some favorite pictures from the South Pole Exhibit:

Next - GIANT SQUID - Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda

Phylum Cnidaria - includes Jellyfish, Anemones, and Corals -- all of which have alternating lifestyles (Hydra/Medusa [motile/mobile] & Polyp [sessile/attached] cycles) and nematocysts, which are the stinging structures.