For the past two weeks the Natural History New Zealand crew has been taking every opportunity they get to film humpback whales underwater. Unfortunately the massive animals can be quite skittish when they hear the boat’s engine and divers’ bubbles. ► Read More…
This morning the strong westerly winds that have been making work challenging for both the science and film teams finally turned to the south and began to drop. While sea conditions didn’t ease enough to allow sampling at the more ► Read More…
Last night a great orange moon rose between Nugent rock and the Meyer Islands. What followed was a bright evening and a ‘Full moon celebration’ aboard the Braveheart. Kina, Tam and Lindsey from the Natural History New Zealand team also ► Read More…
We woke to the nearby calls of boobies and ternlets hovering above the Braveheart. We left Macauley Island the previous evening and dropped anchor just after 6am and we’re now sitting alongside the Meyer Islands, just off the north coast ► Read More…
Today we woke to fair weather and the white cliffs and lava flows that surround Macauley Island. After yesterday’s shake down dives, today was the day for the film team and the science team to hit top gear. Boats raced ► Read More…
Today we continued our long journey north following the Kermadec Ridge, but more importantly, we have come upon land! First we passed Havre Rock and L’Esperance rock at dawn; then Curtis Islands and Cheeseman after lunch; and Macaulay this evening. ► Read More…
The Great Humpback Whale Trail team is now safely back on the mainland after 13 days of very successful fieldwork. Videographer Steve Hathaway has prepared a short video of some of the highlights of our work at Raoul – many ► Read More…
The Great Humpback Whale Trail field work is now completed. Our two weeks at Raoul has been in the planning stages for many years – but good things take time. In 2010, I was part of a Southern Ocean Research ► Read More…
An unexpected low over Raoul Island forced the Braveheart to relocate to a new location near the Meyer Islands early this morning. Nevertheless ‘Thomas the Tag Engine’ was on the water as soon as possible and off to a great ► Read More…
While the whale team have been going great guns chasing those marine leviathans at sea, we shifted our land-based focus from medium-sized seabirds to the small ones. When invasive aliens (rats, cats, etc.) make their way to an oceanic island ► Read More…
