Monthly Archive for January, 2009

Picture of the Day: Gorgon’s Head Coral

Published on January 28, 2009 in Tasmania and Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A new species (pictured) of gorgon’s-head coral–apparently named for its members’ resemblance to snake-haired Medusa and the other gorgons of Greek myth–was discovered just over a mile (1,700 feet) underwater.

The soft coral is one of many new animals found off Tasmania, Australia, by a recent expedition, scientists announced on January 18, 2009.

“There’s a whole suite of brand new communities down there. Some of them are really bizarre,” said Ron Thresher of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), which co-led the expedition with the California Institute of Technology.

The team’s findings include previously unknown sea spiders, giant sponges, and purple-spotted sea anemones.  [National Geographic]

Some Final Thoughts on New Zealand

Published on January 26, 2009 in New Zealand. 4 Comments Tags: .

Our flight back to Australia was uneventful other then Australian customs has to be the only national customs service worse then their US counterparts.  Literally every time I fly overseas and try to re-enter the country the knucleheads at customs screw up my visa allowing me to work in Australia.  It usually takes an hour or two to clear it up but it is extremely annoying.  Flying on Air New Zealand on the other hand is a pleasant experience and they even served some nice wine during the flight.

Anyway my wife and I were extremely happy to be back in Australia after being in New Zealand for nearly a month.  The two weeks we spent in the campervan on the South Island had wore us out, especially me since I got extremely sick with food poisoning for nearly half the trip on the island.

Map of our journey around New Zealand.

When we returned to Australia something friends and co-workers would often ask is, which island we liked best, the North or South?  I always respond that it depends on what you are looking for because the two islands are totally different from one another.  My wife and I were personally more impressed with the North Island because of its many volcanoes, sub-tropical environment, lakes, beaches, and Maori culture.  This is something that makes the North Island unique to someone from North America.  The South Island’s mountains reminded me a lot of the Cascade Mountains in the American Northwest, so although they were spectacular to see, the scenery was familiar.  However, for someone from Australia that has never seen large snow capped mountains before, the South Island may be the better trip to take.

Mt. Tasman on New Zealands South Island.

Mt. Tasman on New Zealand's South Island.

Some other differences between the two islands is the weather.  The North Island is sub-tropical with beautiful beaches, while the South Island is cooler with gigantic mountains and lots of snow.  Another difference are the cities and infrastructure.  The North Island holds the majority of the population of New Zealand and has its only metropolitan ciy, Auckland.  The North Island also has much better roads and infrastructure in general making it easier to get around.  The South Island on the otherhand has a much smaller population and is mostly farm land located around small rural communities.  The South Island’s roads are a joke at times and the terrain itself also makes it harder to get around.  However, if a visitor just flies into Queenstown and tour from around there then this isn’t a problem.

Overhead picture of Queenstown, New Zealand.

Overhead picture of Queenstown, New Zealand.

So my wife and I will definitely go back to New Zealand some time in the future, but the place we will probably visit first will be the North Island again.  There is still a number of things we want to do on the North Island such as climb Mt. Taranaki, see some more of its beaches, the capitol city Wellington, and I wouldn’t mind hiking around Mt. Tongariro again.  That is just an amazing hike you cannot walk enough.

The people in New Zealand we found to be very nice and welcoming and if you can believe it, even more laid back then Australians.  That is one of the good things about staying at caravan parks; we got to meet and talk to many native New Zealanders.  The country is very safe and at no point did we feel threatened by anything other then the substandard infrastructure and a snow storm.

So we are definitely glad we went even if it meant I spent nearly a week of our tour running back and forth to the toilet from the food poisoning I received.  So I recommend to anyone thinking of visiting New Zealand to definitely check it out, but pass on the sushi.

Prior Posting: The International Antarctic Centre

Only Two Beached Whales in Tasmania Remain Alive

Published on January 24, 2009 in Tasmania and Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Sad news from Tasmania in regards to the recent beaching of 43 whales there:

A pod of about 50 whales, mostly mothers and calves, beached themselves on Perkins Island, north-west of Tasmania on Thursday night.

Marine biologists and Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife staff spent Friday on the island trying to save the seven whales still alive.

Two died on Friday afternoon and another three overnight.

Marine biologist David Penberton said the situation is “very negative but very positive”.

“It’s bad because there are so many animals dead but good because there are two alive who are floating at high tide,” Mr Pemberton said this morning.

“They are just bobbing in the water amongst the dead whales.”

Rescuers will now look at an action plan and work on trying to get the pair out to sea.

That is unlikely to happen until later on today or tomorrow morning.

“I can’t put a time limit on it right now, it’s a long way off because at this stage we are assessing it and looking at the best way to go about and set them out to sea.”  [AAP]

Picture of the Day: Aussie Open Riot

Published on January 23, 2009 in Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Arrests were made and fans ejected after an ugly confrontation between Serbian and Bosnian fans at the Australian Open. - Herald-Sun

Rescuers in Tasmania Try to Save Beached Whales

Published on January 23, 2009 in Tasmania and Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

For whatever reason beaching of whales on Tasmania continues to be a problem:

No hope ... 43 whales died in a mass stranding off the northwest tip of Tasmania / Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife

RESCUERS are battling the odds to save five sperm whales that survived a mass stranding on the northwest tip of Tasmania.

Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Liz Wren said four staff members had made their way in a dinghy to Perkins Island, near the mouth of the Duck River at Smithton, where 48 whales beached themselves last night.

“They are stabilising the five surviving whales and are monitoring them until the next high tide due this afternoon, which will give them an opportunity to rescue them,” Ms Wren said.

She said the area where the whales had stranded themselves was treacherous, with numerous sandbars making navigation difficult.

She said some of the surviving whales were up 18m long.

Department of Primary Industries and Water spokesman Warwick Brennan said sperm whales were the “lords of the sea”.

“They weigh up to 50 tonnes and have a lot of blubber so they easily overheat,” he told The Mercury. [News.com]

Just a couple of months ago 64 whales were found beached on Tasmania as well.  The first beaching happened near Stanley, Tasmania with this one happening at Perkins Island just a short distance to the west:

Locations of whales beached in Northwest Tasmania.

The Bass Strait between Tasmania and the Australian mainland is known for its treacherous currents.  I wonder if the beaching of whales that continues to happen regularly in Australia has anything to do with the current that flow through the Strait that possibly the whales use to help navigate?

Government’s Bonus Checks Stimulates Gambling, Booze, and Sex Industries in Australia

Published on January 23, 2009 in Australia in the News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

I’m not shocked in the least by this news:

VICTORIANS have set a new gambling record and the Federal Government’s pre-Christmas bonuses are being blamed.

Figures released by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation show just over $248m was put through gaming machines in December last year.

That is a $24m increase on the previous month’s expenditure, and $29m more than December 2007.

Anti-pokies campaigner Tim Costello says there is “no question” the massive increase is a result of the Federal Government’s December cash injection to pensioners, carers and low-income families.

All those eligible were given a one-off $1000 payment in a government attempt to stimulate the economy.

“We know how these things work … and rather than going into people’s pockets, there’s a direct causal connection with obscenely rich figures going into the pockets of gaming companies and boosts such as the Government’s grant,” Mr Costello said.

He said it was a “badly missed opportunity on creating jobs” and the same thing happened when the baby bonus was introduced. [AAP]

Let’s not forget what the Aboriginals did with the bonus money as well:

A Northern Territory politician says alcoholics and vulnerable sections of the population are using the Federal Government’s economic stimulus cash hand-outs to binge drink.

Country Liberal Party Member for Katherine, Willem Westra Van Holthe, says in the past two Friday nights, 210 people were taken into custody in Katherine for being drunk – double the average.

The former police officer says the Commonwealth hand-outs are pushing police resources in Katherine to the limit.

“I do get a chance to get out and talk to my former police colleagues, and they have in fact asked some of these people they’ve been locking up, ‘where did you get the money from?’,” he said.

“And the answer has been ‘oh, we got that government money’.

“This has just been an easy fix that has unfortunately just gone awry in place like Katherine.”  [ABC]

Or better yet how the brothel industry is flourishing:

It is pretty clear that the government’s bonus did stimulate business, just not the type of business people expected to be stimulated in this economic down turn, the gambling, booze, and sex industries.  I am not surprised in the least because this same type of waste of money has been going on for years with the baby bonus.  Another cash give away with good intentions that has been abused so much that it is even called the “Plasma Bonus” by the Australia media because that is what many people use the baby bonus for.

It didn’t work in Australia and the prior hand out last year in America by the Bush administration didn’t work either yet in America at least an even bigger cash hand out is being planned by the new Obama administration.  This is going to be great news for the gambling, booze, and sex industries in America as well.

Picture of the Day: Fans Cheer at the Australian Open

Published on January 22, 2009 in Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Fans cheer for Lleyton Hewitt. Picture: Ellen Smith - Herald-Sun

Picture of the Day: Australia’s Newest Bizarre Species

Published on January 21, 2009 in Tasmania and Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Finds of strange sea life continued to be discovered in the waters around Australia:

An oddity among oddities, this newly discovered carnivorous sea squirt traps fish and other prey in its funnel-like front section, scientists announced today. Most of the 2,000 or so known sea squirt species are filter feeders that strain plankton from seawater.

Tethered to the seafloor 13,143 feet (4,006 meters) underwater, the 20-inch (50-centimeter) sea squirt, or ascidian, is one of the deepest-dwelling animals ever found in Australia. The new species is one of many new deep-sea creatures discovered on a recent expedition that used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) near southern Tasmania, Australia.

The joint U.S.-Australian endeavor explored the Tasman Fracture Zone, a crack in Earth’s crust 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) to more than 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep.  [National Geographic]

Are Sharks Really On the Rampage in Australia?

Published on January 21, 2009 in Australia in the News and Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

According to TIME magazine they are:

A surfboard with a shark bite in Binalong Bay, off the Tasmanian coast in Australia's far south, on Jan. 12 Tasmania Police / Reuters

Swimmers at Australian beaches are usually reassured by statistics that indicate they are more likely to be struck by lightning than chomped by a shark. But after three non-fatal shark attacks in the country in less than 48 hours and a deadly one last month, some are wondering if the odds have changed — and whether Australia’s efforts to protect sharks are to blame.

Australia’s summer of shark terror began on Dec. 27, when local banker Brian Guest went missing while snorkling off a beach south of Perth in Western Australia. A search located a few tattered pieces from a wet suit belonging to the 51-year-old. Authorities concluded that he had been killed by a large white pointer shark spotted near the beach.

That attack was followed by several more. On Jan. 11, a man surfing near Fingal Head in northern New South Wales was bitten on the thigh. Jonathon Beard, 31, made it to shore and survived after his friends used the leg rope from his surfboard to stem the bleeding.

The same day Hannah Mighall, 13, was surfing in Binalong Bay off the Tasmanian coast in Australia’s far south when she screamed and was dragged under the water by what authorities suspect was a large white pointer. Her cousin paddled to the injured girl and dragged her to safety while being circled by the shark. On Jan. 12, a man snorkeling in a tidal lake in New South Wales was bitten on the leg, probably by a bull shark. Authorities reported that the man punched the shark in the nose and made it to shore with about 40 puncture wounds. All of the victims are recovering.

According to records kept by Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, 193 people have been killed by sharks in Australia over the past 200 years, averaging about one per year. [TIME Magazine]

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m sure not worried about getting attacked by a shark while swimming in the ocean.  One person a year on average gets killed by a shark out of all the people who go swimming in the ocean every year, those are odds I like.

Here is the best explanation I have seen for the recent number of shark attacks:

Researchers play down the significance of the unusual spate of attacks. They point out that more people are entering the ocean, increasing the chances of an encounter. “The human population is expanding at a rate of knots,” says Rory McAuley, a senior research scientist with the West Australian Fisheries Department. “Not only is it getting larger, it’s getting more dispersed, so people are getting into the water over a greater area of the shark’s range. It’s probably likely to expect to see an increase in shark sightings and attacks.”

So I am not about to stay out of ocean out of fear of being attacked by a shark, what about everyone else?

Sydney’s Loneliest Camel

Published on January 19, 2009 in Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A camel in Sydney is looking for a friend after losing its mom:

SHE may be able to get by without water for long periods of time, but surviving without her mum has been much harder for Jessica the camel.

When her mother died last year Jessica, who lives in a paddock at the Sydney Skydiving Centre near Picton in New South Wales, laid beside her grave for several days.

She refused to eat and her condition deteriorated, eventually losing her teeth.

The centre’s concerned owner, Phil Onis, tried to find a home for the animal, but when he couldn’t staff decided it would be best to put her down. But as soon as Jessica saw the RSPCA rifle, she bolted.

“The RSPCA couldn’t get anywhere near it,” Mr Onis said.

“It suddenly became a lot better after that.”

While locals now feed her carrots, bread and apples on a daily basis, they are worried she is lonely and needs a companion.

“We have been told it’s best if she can be with other camels,” Mr Onis said.

Jessica and her mother were originally brought to Sydney from Alice Springs about 25 years ago by a previous owner of the centre.

Marina Wright, who also works at the centre, said she has “cried buckets” worrying about Jessica.

“She’s so special, she’s a real good girl,” she said.

“We all love her.”

Ms Wright said Jessica and her mum had always just been there and were well-known among locals.

“It was always the two of them.

“It would be nice if someone had an old donkey or something, just so she has company,” she said.  [The Daily Telegraph]