I'll Be Back New Zealand

I’ve only experienced a small fraction of what New Zealand has to offer, and still I am overwhelmed by its diversity of charismatic marine life, stunning steep mountain faces, and multitude of various ecosystems all converging in one fascinating archipelago. If you have thought about visiting these islands at some point, my suggestion is you definitely should. New Zealand has a lot to offer; for me, the seabirds were all I needed for a perfect week in this country. If you do end up coming down here, you must pay a visit to Kaikoura and book a trip to see the most iconic bird of the sea, the albatross. And when you finally get up close and personal with the world’s largest wingspan, don’t forget to say hi to Gary for me.

In a few hours I’ll catch a bus down to the crippled city of Christchurch, where I will spend a night at the airport before my 8am flight back to Australia tomorrow. Hopefully the ground will stay settled during my stay. Once in mainland Australia I’ll board another flight south again to Tasmania, where I’m to spend another week surrounded by seabirds. We will be camping on a small island about an hour’s boat ride from Hobart, to measure, weigh, band, and take blood samples of nesting Short-tailed Shearwaters and Little Penguins. This will be my first seabird study. I’m thinking of getting into nesting seabird ecology research as a career, and this study will test my enthusiasm in the subject.

So long New Zealand, I wish you and your wealth of natural history well.