growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional :-)

On Monday 18th of February it was my 27th birthday. Gosh i don't feel 27! I received some beautiful cards from friends and family. Being away has really made me reslise the importance of my fabulous friends and my incredible family. I cant wait to see you all and give you all a huge hug! Luckily i had a half day at work and headed straight for the store, grabbed some cider and bubbly and sat on the decking in the sunshine. My friend Steffie and i popped the cork and i made a wish ;-).... the sun started to set, the mist moved accross the mountains and my new zealand playlist played in the background. It was perfect. I just wished for that moment, just for a night, that i could have transported you all from wherever you were, to our little deck in Kaikoura to join in the celebrations.

Unfortunately this would have only been possible through magic and fantasy, so instead i decided to surround myself with the beautiful cards and gifts i received from you all.
i really appreciate each and every thought, each and every gift and message via facebook.
you are all wonderful THANK YOU X

A beautiful under water world...

My friend Sarah and i had finished work and she really wanted to go snorkelling, i wasn't that botherd as i love the ocean, but i prefer to be on it and not IN it. But she told me to go for it and that it would be fun, im so glad i did.

Iv done some snorkelling in Kenya before, ther the water was much warmer. The reef in kenya was stunning, there were lots of parrot fish and as we snorkelled we carried out research on the number of and types of turtles which were in the area. I visited Kenya back in 2008, and cannot wait to return one day.

So i found myself hoisting up a wetsuit at the jetty near South Bay. We ended up having a wicked time. there were not as many fish around as we would have liked, but there were a few, it was just nice to be below the surface of the water. I really wanted to see an octopus but unfortunately we didnt come accross one. However we did see some beautiful paua shells glistening on the ocean floor.

There was a lot of kelp and marine vegetation which looked like an under water forest. It was silent and beautiful and i could have stayed there for longer. Im so glad i took the opportunity, we laughed so much. Sarah is a wicked wildlife photographer so she bought her underwater camera and capture the moment, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, it was so invigorating. It makes me realise that you will never do exciting things in life if you spend all your time just thinking about them. So say YES next time you're offered an exciting opportunity.

posting a smile...

I received a lovely card, well cards today, such a treat, made me smile :-), Today we had Orca and pilot whale pass through Kaikoura again, Orca have passed through the last 4saturdays in a row now, bit of a pattern forming, maybe they'll become our resident population. It would be wicked to tag them and see where they're travelling to. Apparently there's been an increase of sting ray in the area which is their favourite prey, so that's a likely reason, we're not complaining x

an influx of the Portuguese Man of War!

First of all sorry for the lack of updates, our internet has been very slow lately.

So in the last 4 months i have never seen the Portuguese Man of War until yesterday when we had 4/5 seperate incidents of people getting stung. We checked the ocean and sure enough there was a great number of these jellyfish like creatures, they are also known as blue bottles. Its venomous tentacles can deliver a powerful sting.

The Portugues Man of War lives at the surface of the ocean, the gas filled bladder remains at the surface whilst everything else is submerged. This creature has no means to move itself so it relys on winds and currents, it can be found anywhere in the ocean, especially in warmer waters. The water around the coast of Kaikoura is normally approximately 16 degrees however the last few days the temperature has increased to 18/19degrees. These creatures are most commonly found in the tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. They are mainly found in large numbers and sometimes washed up onto beaches, which could cause the beach to be closed.

The blue bottle can paralyze small fish using the venom in its long tentacles, stings usually cause sevee pain to humans. The loggerhead turtle feeds on the blue bottles, the logger heads skin is too thik for the sting to penetrate.

So although pretty cool to see at sea, unfortunately these guys can be a big hazard, so for future trips we'll keep our eyes peeled and hopefully we wont swim into too many more. We managed to get a few to show in the Kaikoura Aquarium for people to see. They are pretty strange as you can see...

(pic from internet)

today an alien landed from the deep...

Today was amazing, one of the fisherman went out in his boat this morning, and off an area called 'sharks tooth' he spotted something strange floating at the surface. As he got closer he new he was looking at a giant squid, im sure he was wide eyed and pretty gob smacked! He managed to tow it back slowley to the jetty at South Bay. Word spread quickly.

These guys mainly spend their life on the bottom of the ocean floor. Adult giant squid come to breed in New Zealand waters, females can grow 13 m tentacle to tail and can weigh 300kg. Their huge eyes can be 30 cm accross, are designed so that they can pick up large flashes of light created by other fish in the deep waters. This creature has the largest eyes of any living thing, bar the colossal squid.

This giant squid measured about 8m in length, and is thought to have been attacked by another squid because of the bite marks it had near its head. This squid had 8 arms and 2 huge tentacles. Each arm is lined with hundreds of suction cups varying in size, each of these cups has its own teeth which help the squid to latch onto its prey. The giant squid is the main prey of the sperm whale, which often has visible scars created by these suction units. The giant squid catch their prey by using their 2 huge tentacles.

These giant squid can be found in most oceans of the world. From the northern British Isles, and northern Atlantic, through to the Southern Atlantic around the coasts of South Africa. They can be found in the North Pacific around waters of Japan, through to the Western Pacific around New Zealand. First photographs of these creatures alive were produced in 2004 and video in 2006.

It was like something had landed. This creature was incredible, beautiful yet grotesque to look at. I thought about what it must have seen through its huge eyes, which type of encounters in the deep it must of had. The way the creature was put together was amazing. Not many people have had the opportunity to see these creatures dead or alive, so today was a very special day.  The giant squid was being kept in the Kaikoura aquarium, where many children and adults throughout the day have been able to view, touch, and smell this alien of the ocean. Although unfortunately this creature had died, it will and has created alot of excitement amongst the community. Preserving this giant squid will mean that lots of people get to learn about this inctedible creature and be inspired to learn more about, and explore our oceans.

Aliens really do exist!

spot the kiss x

beneath the cliffs

I decided to head towards the peninsula walk, but this time i would follow the cliff base around the peninsula. It was simply beautiful, the raised limestone and siltstone laid down beneath the sea about 60million years ago is now exposed. The peninsula was once an island and has now been connected to the mainland because of debris from the mountain range. The Kaikoura mountains are rising faster than any other mountain range in New Zealand at 10mm per year. The limestone has been uplifted and sculpted by the waves to form many different shapes and patterns.

Offshore there is a very deep underwater canyon, this system comes unusually close inshore, this is known as the Kaikoura canyon. The canyon collects sedimendts which will form rocks on the future and even mountain peaks in millions of years. Id love to witness that journey! here are some pictures, but the real thing is much more impressive, I even came accross a little heart shape naturally created on the rocks! I also walked through a huge colony of breeding birds, mainly red billed gulls, which swooped down at me from all angles. There was an incredible atmosphere down there at the base of the cliffs, seals slept and soaked up the sunlight, the birds were very vocal and the waves crashed against the rocks, this area will never be static, the coastline is constantly being reshaped and moulded, sculpted by mother natures hands. unfortunately the tide was coming in and it can get pretty dangerous there on your own, i didnt want to get stuck, so i turned back and carried on along the cliff tops! I looked down and noticed a kiss, how lovely! x