Drilling the island

They're drilling for gas on Stewart Island. Rather, Greymouth Petroleum has set up it's rig in anticipation of getting consent to drill for gas. It seems astonishing that they would go to all the effort of shipping gear to Rakiura, assemble it and advertise their intentions through The Southland Times, before getting their consents sorted. Still, there they are.

Meanwhile, we're playing an oil drilling board game on the dining room table, no consent required.

Circling sharks

Whenever I'm on the cat crossing Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island, I always watch the waves for signs of marine creatures - a fin, a flipper or a bristled snout. Mostly I've seen penguins; little blues, Fiordland Crested and sometimes a Yellow-eyed, or seals but as yet, no whales and no sharks. I know there are both in Te Ara a Kewa, the strait's earlier name, and have no desire to get in there with them but I'd at least like to see them in their chilly realm, lolling about or cutting through the foamy brine. Seems my chances of seeing one of those families, the Great White sharks, are increasing markedly. Reports of swelling numbers of our toothy friends in the waters off Rakiura (that's Stewart Island for you Northern readers) have me thinking that I'll get to see some soon enough and that I'll be extra keen to stay aboard when I do.
Sharks eh!
They're everywhere!