Swimming with Australian Seals

The pictures tell it all. It was like a fairytail!

Little Penguins on Montague Island

A little penguin hiding in its burrow

Little chick out looking for mum

Closing the lid after viewing

During regeneration habitats are placed out

The Little Penguin or Fairy Penguin, estimates 8.000 breeding pairs on Montague Island (third largest colony in Australia) They are underwater acrobats, wings become flippers acting as efficient paddles.
Their wedge-shaped bodies zoom through the water. Under water their short legs transform into well designed rudders.

Happy Couples:
They mate for life, they nest in the same burrow each year, they usually lay two eggs.
They share their jobb, every 1 to 4 days one parent will come to replace the other in the burrow until the chicks hatch.
Parents then take turns to guard and feed the chicks until one week old then both parents fish every day to feed rapidly growing chicks until they fledge after two months. To ensure that at least one chick survives they feed one until it is completely satisfied and then they feed the other chick.

They are a part of a food chain and can become meals from white breasted eagles and fur seals. Penguins biggest threat are people and dogs! Thats is why we are so fortunate to be able to be here and observe these beautiful creatures on the island.

Penguins shed all their feathers once a year in january to march. Their new suit of feathers  developes over 3 weeks.

Our experience:
We sat on the rocks at night and saw them come up from the sea and walk to their burrows. We could not take flash pictures so this is documented in our heads. The waves were quite big as it was blowing this evening (They have probably gone through much worse weather). They come together in what is called a raft when coming on to shore. It seems that they wait for their group members before they start their walk up the penguin highway to their burrows. As we sat there, the penguins marched up around us (we had to keep still not to disturb them).They go quite far up the hill and all around the island in a short time.
Overhead the Shearwater birds flew back to their nests. They fly beautiful acrobatics at sea but land clumsily - quite exciting to watch. They were still laying on their eggs.

Potting Plants for Rehabilitation

Waiting for the seabirds to finish raising their young ones we prepare to repot seedlings so they are ready to be planted out after the burning og dead grass in July.

Kikuyu Grass - Pennisetum Clandestinum

Restored Area with native bush

Sprayed area where grass is killed ready for burning

Kikuyu grass area

Kikuyu grass is a perennial ground hugging grass. It is cultivated for pastures, lawns and playing fields and is a common weed of gardens and roadsides. Native to tropical east Afrika. Introduced to Montague at some time before 1960 to feed the fertile goats on the island that were put there to feed stranded fishermen and lighthousekeepers.

Kikuyu grass directly threatens the Little Penguin breeding success by blocking burrows and entangling birds.

It spreads by runners and forms dense matted infestations.

It's an ongoing project on the island to remove the grass and replace it with bush that is natural to the area primarily a native grass type called Lomandra - Longa folia. This native grass also has seed that aboriginals used as a food source.

The current method used to remove the grass in seabird habitad is to spray with glyphosphak in May. Burn dead grass in June/July (this is when the seabirds are at sea). Plant native seedings. Continue spot spraying until natives plants are established.

Our work on the island was to repot seedling and get them ready to plant after the burning of dead grass. Walking around the island our guide showed us sites that were regenerated.

Montague Island - Barunguba

Montague Island Nature Reserve is about 80 hectares in area and 9 km. from offshore Narooma. (South Coast, south of Sydney)

The lighthouse took two years to build and was finished 1881 and was automated in 1987.

The island has many stories to tell:

The Aboriginal dreamtime
Insight in to the life of isolation led by lighthouse keepers and their families
Important native flora and fauna reserve
Important habitat for birdlife and other wildlife.

"It's all about respect"


The Aboriginal Dreamtime:
Baranguba is the eldest son of Gulaga (Mount Dromedary)  and a brother to Najunuka (Little Dromedary).

Baranguba has a long time Aboriginal connection. The oral stories that are recorded tell that Barunguba was used as a food source and for traditional purposes. It's an important men's teaching place.

The only possible access since ice age would have been by bark canoe. The sea conditions can change quickly for the worse, something we experienced several times while we were there. It was reported from the 1800s the death of more than 150 young men when a squall knocked all the canoes over.

There are numerous sites, artefacts and middens. Part of the island is closed for visitors to respect the aboriginal sites which Aboriginal people continue to visit today.

Hong Kong - Definately not bush

Hong Kong by night is great. We rode the tram to Happy Valley.

Båtfolket i Aberdeen: How long kan they keep on living there?

Hong Kong has seven million people on a little area. To fitt everyone inn the place they build up! We lived on the 32nd floor !  It's a handy place to get around because the public services are very well built out. You can buy a octopus card for like I did for 150 KH dollars and travel everywhere. I didn't get to use all the money I put on it and we were there for 3 days travelling everywhere on busses, trains and trams.

No bicycles which was a surprise to me.

Clean City and very hilly. On our guided tour we went up its highest peak in a tram. Also saw the old part of town where the fishermenn live and we saw an old temple.

It felt good to have a stoppover. The temperature was a mild 25 degrees and sunny. They have the same seasons as  us so it was winter to them. In summer it is very varm and humid.

We had some great meals too. The food is good and cheap.

Shopping is tax free. Best to keep in the big departmentstores so that you know that you are buying the "real thing" and not immitation.

Vondeveien på Lista

Etter rekord regn og flom ble lørdagen nydelig akkurat passe for en fin tur langs Listas kyst. Stien heter "vondeveien" oppkalt av barn som gikk denne veien til skolen.
Tradisjonen tro ble det julebord samling i år også! Takk for en flott helg!

The biggest lobster

The lobster season 2009 has ended. We had some great meals with friends and family! 6 left in the holding pot waiting for the right moment to enjoy!

This is the biggest one!

Autumn Feelings at Erikstad

Autumn has settled in and there is more time for a bit of lazy living...

gathering herbs....

Early morning in Epledalen/Gronnsfjorden

fish!

more fish!

and then some work to do...

fish for breakfast!

Eirik's farmors dining table's new home

Home for the vinter - we suspect that they have had som fun in our garden earlier this autumn when the farmer wasn't looking. They left evidence on the lawn, plums and apples mysteriously dissapeared...

En sann historie om Høne Pøne

Høne Pøne var lei! hver gang hun ville stifte familie så forsvant egget! Hun bestemte seg for å gjøre noe med det. Hvor var Høne Pøne? Hun var plutselig borte. Alle var bekymret. Hadde hun klart å fly over gjæret? hadde reven tatt henne? Plutselig en dag var hun tilbake i matfatet. Nei der er jo du tilbake igjen? Det ble satt opp vakthold! Tiden var knapp. Det er ikke godt å vite hvor hun har lagt seg til. Når kvelden kom så var Høne Pøne vekke igjen! Dårlig vakthold! Neste dag ville far i huset sitte vakt. Det ble konstatert at Høne Pøne iallefall ikke har fløyet ut av område - hun må være her en plass. Den kvelden ble Høne Pøne oppdaget. Hun hadde gjemt seg under hønsehuset og der lå hun med 18 egg! Stakkar Høne Pøne ruget forgjeves - det blir jo ingenting når hanen ikke får gjøre jobben sin! Han må være igjen på gården når hønene drar på sommerferie på hytta! Kan ikke ha slik bråk så tidlig om morgenen sier naboene!! Heldigvis fant far en rå - han skaffet befruktede egg til Høne Pøne og vi frotset i omelett og pannekaker. Alle er fornøyd!

Høne Pøne ruget frem tre flotte høner? haner? Det er vanskeligere å konstantere dette på høner før de viser antydning til  "kam" eller ei.

Å kunne vite skjønnet tidlig er en japansk hemmeliget sies det ......

Høsten er her og hanen og hønene er sammen igjen!

"Kykeliky"

Return to Apple Tree Bay

Our boat shed on Hafrsfjord has always had a special meaning for us and our kids. Now it's another generation experiencing and for us it's the joy of showing the grandkids fun of catching little crabs, grilling sausages and dipping them in tomatoe sauce poured out on a flat stone.....

Doug's corner

It's soon lobster season, there's a lot of preparation to do, the pots need to be fitted with ropes and floats duly labled with name and address.

The regulations have changed again this year we can only set 10 pots per boat, they have to be fitted with 60mm escape holes to allow the small ones to get away.