Tongariro Crossing

Middle ascent
Originally uploaded by for the birds1

Tues. Oct 13: Winter conditions, got forced to join a guided group with iceaxes. Went off on our own after lunch to finish the Crossing. Whiteout conditions at the top (photos misleading, no point taking any until a few seconds of clearing). 12 mlles, 900 m. climb. Made it in 8 hrs.

Volcanic and geo-thermal areas near Rotorua

Champagne pool, Waiotapu
Originally uploaded by for the birds1

Oct. 11: Arrived in Waitomo to see glow-worm cave; Ruakuri Tunnel hike. On to Rotorua for Maori Hangi feast, complete with warrior dance and fine dining. Dwight served as honorary chief of our tourist tribe.

Oct. 12: Hiked Waimangu Volcanic valley and Wai-O-tapu with many geothermal features, including the amazing Champagne pool. Tomorrow is the big 11 mile Tongariro Crossing hike. We've been forced to hire a guide because of recent snow and ice. They'll supply ice axes and crampons. More pix to follow, if we survive.

Tiritiri Matangi Island

Takahe
Originally uploaded by for the birds1

Mammal free wildlife preserve, all rats poisoned. Humans allowed by permit only. Sat Oct. 10, 2009. An amazing place---click on pic to see more.

Pukeko!

Pukeko!
Originally uploaded by for the birds1

Aaauck! We're in Auckland. Lots of Awkward birds. Click foto to see more.

Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis
Originally uploaded by for the birds1

I'm praying to get the hang of posting pictures from Flickr before we leave on Wednesday for New Zealand...if you want to view more photos, you'll have to view the photostream. (???)

Testing, testing

Sutter Buttes 09
Originally uploaded by for the birds1

We are going to New Zealand in a few weeks, and we're trying to figure out how best to post pictures. (Not everyone we know is on Facebook). We shall see...

This photo was taken at Sutter Buttes, right here in northern California. It is the world's smallest mountain range.

Happy International Vulture Awareness Day

Yes, we should be aware of our fine-feathered friends, the vultures. There are three species found in northern North America: 1) the Turkey Vulture, which is spread over all the lower 48 states 2) the Black Vulture which can be seen in south eastern US 3) the California Condor which has been re-introduced in California, Arizona and Baja.

Some interesting factoids about vultures:
1. Vultures are a good example of convergent evolution. New World Vultures (listed above) share similar diets, behavior, and appearance with Old World Vultures, yet the groups are not related taxanomically.
2. Turkey Vultures especially are highly migratory. They are the most common raptor seen at the Veracruz River of Raptors in Mexico.

We should appreciate the vultures as well; they provide a valuable service to us, acting as our carrion clean-up crew. Let's hear it for the vultures!