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speakerpark · 4 years

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hey hey! i’m alice and i’m beyond excited to be here. this is big mike, aka michael park - the new speaker of the house and representative of hawaii’s second district. he likes long walks on the beach, surfing, and bbq veggies.

( daniel henney. 39. he/him ). ! the washington post reports — MICHAEL PARK, from HONOLULU has been appointed to the position of SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. they are known to be FLIGHTY and sometimes even SNAPPY, but their supporters will tell you that they are CHARISMATIC and are also HARD WORKING. the post believes they are an interesting pick for the position due to their stance on ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. but with this white house, we’ll have to see how it goes.

full bio coming soon but a few bullet points prior to that:

born the only child of a korean mother and an american father. his parents split up when he was young and whilst still in contact with his father and his family, michael lived with his mother and took her surname.

had a pretty normal childhood. he was pretty popular - captain of the swim team, a surfer, a bit of a stoner, and was chosen as homecoming king.

developed an interest in politics when he moved away to chicago to study at college on a swim scholarship. after a year, he found himself missing honolulu and returned to finish his degree there - majoring in political science and enviromental studies before persuing a masters in enviromental policy and management.

prior to being elected to the house, he worked as an enviromental lobbyist - mostly within the state of hawaii itself - and in an advisory role on enviromental policy. he joined the democratic party in college and had some involvement within campaigning prior to his election to higher office.

he was married to a woman named sarah for 8 years - a cnn reporter who tragically lost her life in the accident that killed the president. they had one child together - leo, who is 6 years old.

whilst michael does a good job at playing the role of grieving widower, it isn’t 100% accurate; he had actually been cheating on sarah for most of their relationship and had plans to leave her for his mistress (wc). that being said however, he didn’t want her to die and despite the relief of being able to move on, he harbours a fair amount of guilt about his actions and does mourn her death - despite playing up the extent to which he does for the public. (the mistress is a wanted connection - would love to explore if they’re still together now or not and the way their relationship developed with sarah’s death. it would be good to have someone who is heavily politically involved - a fellow congressperson or a staffer for this. i’d be down to have her making his life difficult.).

michael is best known for his stance as a strong enviromentalist; as a representative of hawaii’s second district, he is committed to the preversation of his state’s ecosystem and the slowing down of climate change. he came into the public eye as the figurehead for a clean energy initiative under the last president and is a strong advocate for investment in renewable forms of power.

he was elected to the role of speaker by a small margin. some had concerns about the way he would handle the role, given his personal situation, but so far, he seems to be doing a decent job - all considered.

would he like to be president? sure. is it going to happen? who knows. he never expected to elected to a role like speaker, even when putting his name forward. michael is the type of guy who goes with the flow with things - if that’s the way life pushes him then he’ll do it. for now, he’s pretty happy with his job.

big mike (don’t call him that lol) is a pretty cool guy. he’s absolutely not an angel by any means but he’s pretty personable and tends to get on well with most people. outside of work, he’s laidback and the type of guy you see chatting to everyone at a party before wacking out a guitar and not being terrible on it. he indulges in substances in a little more than he should (alcohol, weed, cocaine) but since becoming a single father, he’s mostly toned that down. he is also a vegan and probably will mention it.

on the hill, he’s professional and fairly good at his job. he doesn’t have too many enemies as he’s a fairly friendly guy but i imagine a few representatives don’t like him due to his unwavering and (possibly a little) extreme stance on enviromental policy. that being said, if you push him on a personal or professional level then he holds a grudge.

also if it isn’t obvious, he’s based a little on obama lol

#survivorintro #about #ayo! pls hmu for plots - connection page up soon

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castlebay-crossing · 4 years

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The Villager in Tent Three: Chapter Three

Summary: When Aisling leaves her hometown for the island of Castlebay, as part of Tom Nook’s Deserted Island getaway package, all she expects is sun, sand and plenty of solitude. But when she gets there, not everything is as the brochure said. Secretive villagers, judgemental neighbours, and an antagonistic photographer turn out to be the least of her worries, however, when the mysterious villager in tent three turns up dead one night after a vicious storm that left the only plane off the island grounded. Someone on the island is a murderer. And it’s up to Aisling to work out who it is. Before they come after her, too.

Warning: Major character death, some description of violence

Other Links: Readable on AO3 and FFN.

A/N: Hoo boy, this one was a labour of love! Bit of a long chapter and a fair amount of stuff happens in it! Next chapter will likely be another long one with a lot of stuff also happening, then we’ll be dialling back to island life for a little while! So I hope you will continue to accompany me on this journey! Thank you to everyone who’s read, liked and reblogged so far! I really do appreciate every interaction!

.-.-.

March 2nd, 2020 – Morning

The medicine Muffy bought me worked like a charm. It came in two parts – a soft, sweet-smelling cream and a packet of small pink tablets. “Will cure most (non-fatal) illnesses and injuries!” the label boasted. I hoped I’d never have to test it on anything worse than the occasional sickness bug or ache and pain. Muffy helped me spread the cream along the injury and immediately, I felt the sting fade.

“Good as new, nightshade!” she trilled. “Do you feel better now?”

It really was quite remarkable how quickly it worked. Even the swelling looked like it was going down. “Much better, thank you.” I said. “Are you sure I can’t give you anything for the medicine, Muffy? Can I pay you back in some way? I feel bad you had to pay for it yourself.”

Muffy waved her paws at me. “I don’t need any Bells, nightshade! But, I suppose…” she tilted her head, considering. “One thing I do need is a punnet of fresh cherries. I ran out this morning when I used the last on my toast.”

I tried not to think too much about the concept of cherries on toast.

“You’ve seen the cherry trees, right?” she continued. “Even though fruit grows super-quick here, most of the trees near my tent have been picked clean. And the ones growing here aren’t quite ripe enough. But Bill told me there’s a huge patch of them right at the top of the island. I was going to go up but I’m too small to reach the best ones.”

“So you want me to get you… cherries?”

“Absolutely, nightshade! If it’s not too much trouble, of course.”

It did sound like trouble. Entirely too much trouble. But I couldn’t bring myself to say no to her. She was the first person who had shown me kindness, purely out of the goodness of her heart, in such a long time. Sure, Tom Nook had been kind, especially with the tent and the Nookphone, but it had come out of a package deal that had been bought and paid for. Muffy had done it simply because she wanted to help.

I made myself smile. “Yeah, I can go up and get some for you.”

“Thank you!” Muffy beamed. “I’ll be in my tent the rest of the day so you can drop by any time. And oh, nightshade? You should pick up a few extra while you’re down there. You can bring any items you find to Tom Nook and sell them for Bells. It’s the easiest way to make money.”

Muffy’s advice sound vaguely familiar. It rang a bell, as it were. I snickered to myself, and then cringed at the fact that I’d even entertained such a terrible pun. “Yeah, I think Tom Nook may have mentioned it before,” I said casually, trying to shake off the internal embarrassment.

Muffy nodded. “Well, I better get off home. Thanks again, you’re a solid cat! I’ll be waiting, nightshade!”

She waved me goodbye with one of her chubby paws and toddled away, leaving me sitting alone outside Nook’s Cranny. A wind picked up, lifting the hair from my forehead and leaving the leaves giggling in the trees. Everything else remained still and quiet.

I pulled the Nookphone out and booted up the Island Map. For the first time since arriving on Castlebay, I finally had a chance to look properly at the island’s layout. The whole island was cut into four “parts”, I suppose was the best way to describe it, separated by criss-crosses of river. And as Muffy had rightly said, although the island was fairly covered by trees, they seemed densest at the northern part of the island. But what was the easiest way to get up there?

I set to plotting a route. For all the different sections of the river, only two were passable by bridge. The eastern part of the island – where my tent was – was linked to the central area with Nook’s Cranny, Residential Services and Muffy’s tent. The northern most section – containing Bill and Morgan’s tents – was also connected to my section with a bridge. I allowed a sigh of relief. It looked like I wouldn’t have to swim up the river or anything ridiculous like that.

It would be a long walk, though. One that would be better started sooner rather than later. I decided that I would call in at my tend and pick up my rucksack, as I didn’t fancy carrying piles and piles of delicate cherries by hand. I tucked the Nookphone back into my pocket, along with the remaining medicine, and set off.

.-.-.

It was lovely to explore the island a bit more. There was sort of a sacredness to the place, this rolling stretch of (mostly) untouched land under a strip of blue sky. The air smelled clean, heady with the scent of woods after rain. Trees lifted their branches up, like churchgoers at worship, gently shaken, but unyielding in the breeze. There was no path once I crossed the bridge into the top section of the island, so I had to wind my way though skinny tree trunks and uneven ground. Sometimes the trees grew so thickly clumped together that I had trouble squeezing past, and other times the terrain opened out into such sparse clearings that I felt exposed and vulnerable, like I was the only other person in the world.

There was a tent pitched about five minutes away from the bridge – a joyful orange in colour with a makeshift post-box stuck haphazardly into the ground. “Bill” was splodged on in blue paint. I took a few minutes to look around the campsite. Aside from a few loose boxes and what looked like the bones of a campfire, there was no sign of life – or Bill himself – anywhere. Muffy had said he liked running. Perhaps he was still off galivanting somewhere.

The cherry trees Muffy promised lay in a small grove twenty minutes away from Bill’s tent. Ahead of the grove, the grass unfurled into a small beach, hidden almost completely from sight by an outcrop of steel-grey rocks. The beach couldn’t have been any more than a few metres in width and length, with a single solitary beach chair set up near the water’s edge. It looked very peaceful. I had to remind myself I wasn’t here to sunbathe. I was here for cherries.

The cherry trees themselves had thin trunks and spindly branches – easy to distinguish from the thick firs and oaks – and the cherries dangled precariously, looking as if they’d drop at any moment under their own weight. The lowest branches hung just above my eye level, so it was easy enough to reach up and pluck the cherries from their stalks. Admittedly, someone Muffy’s height would probably have struggled. A twist of hunger gurgled in my stomach as I breathed in their soft scent. When was the last time I had eaten? I’d had breakfast before getting on the plane at Doveport Airport but between sleeping all day and the sting from the scorpion, I’d not had time to eat anything since. Remembering this, it was like a cavern of emptiness opened in my stomach. The flesh of the cherries was plump, a rich wine-red in colour and I couldn’t resist biting into one. Then another. And then another and another until red stood out around my mouth, my tongue tingled with the mix of sweet and sour, and my belly felt pleasantly full.

Strength returned, I shrugged off my bag, hoping the cherries wouldn’t get damaged when I packed them inside. Hopping from tree to tree, I shook branches and watched the red fruits topple into the grass, gleaming like precious jewels, and then scooped them into my bag. Once I was satisfied, I hoisted the bag back onto my shoulders and walked a few experimental paces. It was certainly heavy, but not enough that it would hinder me on the long walk back. Well, so long as I kept it slow.

With all the tree hopping I’d done I’d wandered away from my original stopping point. I unhooked the Nookphone to get my bearings again. Surprisingly, I found I’d gone far enough that I was closer to Morgan’s tent than anything else. If I squinted and looked across the dipping hills, I could see what looked like the top of a tent among the fronds of leaves.

I could bring Morgan some cherries, I reasoned. He’d come to this place with nothing and nobody, just the same as me. And if we were going to be neighbours, it would make sense to have each other’s backs.

The ground on the way up to Morgan’s tent was messy, littered with branches and weeds, leaving me picking my way across. Several heavy stones stood out like scars, great chunks of them cut away, exposing the ancient layers underneath. I could see Morgan’s tent clearly now, growing out of the hills, a distinctive red that seemed unnatural, bloodlike, against the green of nature.

I was so busy staring at Morgan’s tent that I didn’t notice the hole. My foot slipped on the uneven ground, plunging into a neat little gap. I stumbled and grabbed the nearest tree to steady myself, cursing. The whole tree shook under the impact. Then something dropped heavily to the ground, accompanied by a fury of buzzing.

When I turned my head to look, I came face-to-face with a loose beehive and many small angry bees.

I didn’t wait. Fear gripped my heart; I threw myself to my feet and I ran. Within seconds, the bees followed in one dark cloud, the tempest of buzzing filling my ears. I’d never seen bees behave like this before. Pushing myself through tight clusters of trees, I darted and wove, trying to throw them off, confuse them, but nothing worked. I needed to find cover, quickly.

Morgan’s tent! I’d forgotten about it in the flurry of panic. It wasn’t much, but it was somewhere safe. I pushed harder. The tent flap opened, and Morgan stepped out, his hair tousled, grimacing in the light of the sun.

“Morgan!” I cried. Let me in!”

He turned towards me, his mouth hanging open. I heard some sort of garbled shout, words crashing into each other, and then I was grabbing him by the arm and pulling him inside the tent with me. We crashed through the open flap and onto the ground, but I immediately pivoted on my knees and scrambled for the tent zipper, the droning noise of the bees still ringing in my ears. With trembling hands, I sealed us inside and sat back, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

Morgan tugged on the back of my bag. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The presence on the bag was a sharp, and unwelcome, reminder. “My cherries!” I gasped, a brief vision of the fruit turning to nothing but juice pushing its way to the front of my mind.

“Your… cherries?”

“Yes, my cherries!” I opened the bag impatiently. Inside, the cherries stared back, some of them a bit bashed, but mostly intact.

“Why do you have so many—”

“One of the villagers asked me to bring her some cherries in exchange for some medicine she bought me because I got stung by a scorpion on the beach in the middle of the night!”

Morgan blinked. “Are you aware just how ridiculous you sound?”

I sighed and unfolded my legs. “Of course I do. And to top it all off, I disturbed a massive beehive…”

“Did you get stung?”

“I don’t think so. I didn’t feel anything.” I checked my arms and legs all the same, but only the sting from the scorpion stood out. “Um… listen, I’m really sorry for barging in.”

Morgan went quiet. He looked around the tent a few times, his sharp eyes darting back and forth. The bees buzzed angrily outside, their tiny shadows flickering on the tent canvas like specks of paint. “It’s fine,” he said eventually. “You can wait until they’ve gone.”

“Thanks,”

Morgan’s tent was pretty much the same as mine – a camp bed, in camouflage green instead of my canary yellow, a radio and a lamp. But most of his floor space was taken up by his camera equipment and, strangely enough, a rack of tools, including a net and a fishing pole.

He caught me staring. “I like to be prepared.” He said, his chest puffed up. “Lots of good photo opportunities if I can catch my own fish and bugs.”

I nodded, struggling for something to say. Inside his tent felt strangely claustrophobic, with so much heavy equipment and so little floor space to share. He was uncomfortably close, and I could feel the heat from his breath. I looked down and ran my fingers over the ground, feeling the blades of grass underneath. The bees still flitted outside.

“Have you met the neighbours?” I eventually asked.

“Just one.”

“Which one?”

“Bill. He came by the tent at six in the morning to say hello.”

“Ouch,” I winced. “I’ve not met him yet. I think he must have been out when I passed by earlier.” Everything I said sounded limp. The sooner the bees went away, the better. Still searching for something to say to fill the silence, I thought of the villager in tent three, the one removed from the map. “Have you met the other neighbour?”

“Muffy? No. She’s not been by yet.”

“No, I mean the other one.”

“What other one?”

“The one in tent three. Have you not heard of him yet? Muffy said his name was Ross, but his location won’t come up on the map, so I don’t know where he lives or if he actually wants to meet anyone…”

Morgan returned a blank look. “I thought we were the only two humans here,” he said with the smallest twitch of his shoulders. Then, with a pointed stare, “Oh well. It’s not like I’m here to make friends anyway.”

I lowered my head, trying to conceal the redness of my cheeks. Neither of us spoke, the silence between us expanding further. Then I realised I couldn’t hear the bees anymore.

“I think it’s safe now.” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “I’ll… get out of your hair.”

To my surprise, he followed me back outside. I looked around, suddenly realising how completely unfamiliar I was with this area. Nothing but trees and the occasional rock. I couldn’t even pinpoint which way I’d come in the first place. I consulted the map on the Nookphone.

Morgan came to stand over my shoulder. I tried very hard not to mind. “If you’re looking to get back to Muffy’s, you could probably get there quicker by going straight over the river.”

I stared at the map. Morgan indicated the river that curved from just beyond his house inward to the centre of the island. A frown tugged at the corners of my mouth. Sure, it looked quicker as the crow flew, but it wasn’t like I could grow a pair of wings and ride a good gust of wind across. I was stuck with stubby legs and no bridges this side of the island.

“There’s no bridges.” I said lamely.

“You don’t need bridges. You can vault over it.”

A vivid image of myself trying to vault the river and ending up soaked head-to-toe played inside my head like a rerunning silent movie. “Morgan, I’m not exactly a gymnast. And the river looks wide. And deep…”

Morgan made a low noise. “Wait there,” he said, disappearing around the side of his tent. A few moments later he returned with a long pole, easily as thick as the widest part of his arm. “You can use this. It’s a pole vault. Nook sold it to me after I went to his crafting course yesterday.”

The pole was at least a head taller than me, and surprisingly supple, but I didn’t trust it as far as I could throw it. Which likely wouldn’t be far. “How does it work…?”

“It’s simple,” he said, although I doubted it. “I’ll show you.”

Using the pole to anchor himself, he cleared the river in one jump after a short run-up. As he landed safely on his feet, I couldn’t hide the fact I was impressed. He vaulted back, a slight smirk curling on the length of his lips.

“Here,” he pushed the pole into my hands. It was heavy, and I struggled to get the balance of it. “If you hop over this river and keep going straight, you’ll end up hitting Residential Services eventually. It’ll be a lot quicker than going all the way back around. Of course, if you can’t manage the vault, you don’t have to. You can do the walk.”

I didn’t dare want to admit that I’d rather walk. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. I’d never been massively physically fit and the idea of throwing myself over a section of deep water with only a wooden pole keeping me from falling in didn’t sit right with me. I forced a smile in its stead.

“Thank you. I can… bring it back later tonight, if you like?”

“Nah. Keep it. I can make another. You look like you need it more.”

I sucked in a breath, undecided if he was insulting me outright or inadvertently. Either way, I felt the smile on my face drop off. “Thanks,” I said stiffly.

“I didn’t mean to insult you.” He didn’t apologise, nor did he even sound sorry. “I just couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t exactly come here… prepared.”

I bit my lip and hoped he would let the subject go. It was hard to come prepared to a place like this from the situation I’d come from.

“You should get down to one of Nook’s classes.” Morgan continued. “He’s got all sorts going on, he’ll teach you everything you need. And if you don’t already have a net or a fishing rod, I’d suggest getting a hold of them. You really won’t last long without either of them.”

“Thanks for the warning.” I said coolly. “And the pole.” Out of a sense of obligation, I shrugged off my bag and opened it. “Would you like some cherries? I picked too many.��

“You’re fine, thanks. I don’t like them.”

“Alright then. I’ll see you around.”

“See you.”

Leaving Morgan, I walked further down the river. He had turned around and was facing his tent now, but I kept walking. There was absolutely no way I was going to let him see my attempts at vaulting across the river. Especially if I didn’t make it.

Finally, I found a part of the river that looked narrower. I dunked the pole into the water, pushing it down until it hit something solid. I wiggled it to test. Well, it would be as safe as anything else I’d done on this island so far.

I threw my head over both shoulders – just to make absolute sure that nobody was watching me – but something caught my eye in the distance. There was a tent sitting on the summit of a broad, steep hill. Nestled between thick clumps of trees, the tent was almost impossible to notice unless you looked up at the exact right angle. The flat top of the hill was rocky, falling away sharply on one side to cliffs hanging over the beach, and the hill upwards was covered in thick coarse grass and what looked like spiky brambles. It looked like whoever lived up there wanted to make it as difficult as possible for anyone else to reach them.

I pushed the thought away and got ready to make the leap. Trying to remember how Morgan had done it, it took me three “practice” run-ups to even gather up enough courage. On the fourth attempt, I plunged the pole into the middle of the river, pushed myself forward and sailed right over the water.

Landing on the other side, I fought the urge to jump around and cheer, thrilled with my own accomplishment. Even my bag of cherries had made it safely across. But as I turned around and looked back at the tent at the top of the hill, I saw a figure standing between the cluster of trees. The figure waited, unmoving, for what felt like hours. I thought maybe of waving, shouting a greeting, but the words died in my throat.

Eventually, the figure turned away and returned to the tent, leaving me with my heart beating erratically against my ribcage. This was becoming too much. The figure outside my tent, the one in the trees, now the one outside the third mystery tent. This settled it. I had to put all this straight. I couldn’t start a new life with these worries hanging over me like the clouds from an oncoming storm.

I needed to finally meet Ross. Tonight.

#The Villager in Tent Three #The Villager in Tent Three Fanfic #The Villager in Tent Three fanfiction #Animal Crossing fanfic #new horizons #animal crossing #animal crossing new horizons #acnh

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topfygad · 5 years

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Types of Wildlife to Spot During an Antarctica Cruise – I am Aileen

Due to the cold and harsh environment in Antarctica, it’s expected that it is NOT a hospitable place for ‘life‘ to survive in. In fact, as 98% of the continent remains covered in ice, things get extremely grim in the winter with temperatures that are able to fall down to -70°C (it even reached -94.7°C back in 2010 and -89.2 in 1983) — and that comes together with 24 hours of darkness too. Nevertheless, the good news is that the tip of the continent (which is called as the Antarctic Peninsula) as well as the surrounding sub-Antarctic islands are more hospitable; so, they become ideal spots for witnessing some of the amazing Antarctic animals!

TRIVIA: Antarctic life forms are typically called as ‘extremophiles’ given that they can thrive in physically extreme habitats that would typically be detrimental to most life on Earth.

This term though is usually only used for microbes but penguins are sometimes referred to as such given that they can live in this place in which most other normal animals cannot.

With that said, if you are ever a part of an Antarctica expedition, below are some of the incredible Antarctic animals that you can see during your cruise through the surrounding islands and the Peninsula itself! .

Wanna go to Antarctica? Email [email protected] w/ code IAMAILEEN to get a discounted quote!

Top photo ofPenguins on Iceberg from Shutterstock.com .

<![CDATA[#bxtitle_1934505374.box-title.box-title-line-middle .title-bar:after, #bxtitle_1934505374.box-title.box-title-line-middle .title-bar:before, #bxtitle_1934505374.box-title.box-title-line-around .title-bar:after, #bxtitle_1934505374.box-title.box-title-line-around .title-bar:before, #bxtitle_1934505374.box-title.box-title-line-around h2 border-color: #ed2665 ]]>

» Penguins (Birds) «

Naturally, penguins are the first type of animals that people think of when Antarctica comes to mind. (And in case you’re confused — nope, there are no polar bears here in the south, those are found way up north!)

Apart from the various other birds that one can find in the region (such as skuas, albatrosses, snowy sheathbills, geese, etc. which you can see nesting along the shores of Antarctica in the summer or that you could witness from your ship as you make your way into the continent), I’ll rather be focusing on the penguins for this section.

So, to date, there are 17 species of penguins in the world but only 7 of them live on and around Antarctica:

Four (4) live and nest in and around the Antarctic continent: Adélie, Emperor, Chinstrap, and Gentoo

The first 2 are found way further in the icy continent and the rest prefer to be at the northern tip

Three (3) breed in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands: King, Macaroni and Rockhopper .

#1 – Adélie Adélie penguins are commonly found along the coast of Antarctica and you can easily identify them by their small height (around 18 to 28 inches), the white ring surrounding their eyes, and the feathers at the base of their bill. As one of the Antarctic animals, they mostly feed on sea creatures such as krill, little fishes and the occasional squid. If you come around early to mid-December, you can witness baby Adélies because they are usually born around that time.

Adelie Penguins from Shutterstock.com Where to find them: Inside the Antarctica continent, Antarctic Islands (e.g. Half Moon Island) and sub-Antarctic islands

TRIVIA: There’s a reason behind the cute walk or waddling of penguins. Aside from the fact that it’s the only way they can move given their short legs, it’s also a way for them to save and conserve energy. You can think of their motion as an inverted pendulum wherein swinging back and forth makes them continue to move more efficiently.

#2 – Chinstrap It’s clear to see they’re called this way, after all, chinstrap penguins have distinctive black feathers that run under their chin which makes them look like they have a teeny tiny helmet, right?

As for the chinstrap penguins’ chicks, they are typically born between late February and early March; so if you come sometime before those months, you can possibly see them incubating their eggs (they often lay two eggs).

Where to find them: Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctic Islands and sub-Antarctic islands

Chinstrap penguins typically have two chicks per mating season, and they are born between late February and early March.

TRIVIA: The breeding practices of chinstrap penguins are quite dramatic. Males would race to find the very best nests, and then wait for their mates to arrive. If a male can’t find a nest to his liking, he may even force couples out of the nest that he has chosen (talk about forceful!) But once he has a nest, he will give his mate 5 days to show up— if she won’t, he’ll be moving on. Though, if his original mate catches him with another lady, these female penguins will fight over his affections!

#3 – Emperor Emperor penguins are the most southerly of the Antarctic animals and they are also the largest, bulkiest, and heaviest of all penguin species — given that they can stand from 43 to 51 inches and weigh from 22 to 45 kilos. Apart from their height, you can easily identify emperor penguins from their pale yellow breast and bright yellow and orange patches near their ears (this is apart from the typical ‘penguin tuxedo’ look).

And of course, the emperor penguins’ chicks who have silver grey down (or layer of fine feathers) are easy to spot too. If I say so myself, they are the most adorable baby penguins of all!

Emperor Penguins from Shutterstock.com Where to find them: They can be quite difficult to find as they’re found further in the Antarctic continent (e.g. Snow Hill Island, Dion Islands). However, there have been times where they are spotted in the Antarctic Peninsula or even in South Georgia.

TRIVIA: Emperor penguins are the only penguin species that breeds during the harsh Antarctic winter. After laying a single egg, the female returns to the sea to feed and replenish her energy while the male incubates it. If you’ve watched documentaries of this before, you would know how they have excellent camaraderie when all the males huddle together in the winter for warmth while taking turns standing outside of the said huddle.

#4 – Gentoo Gentoo penguins are the 3rd largest penguin species; yet, they’re still fairly small. With a height that can span from 20 to 35 inches, you can recognize them instantly from the wide white stripe across the top of their head as well as their bright red orange bill.

Baby gentoo penguins are usually hatched in October; so, since Antarctic cruise expeditions start in November, you won’t be able to see them with their eggs but of course you can see the baby chicks waddling about since it takes them 3 months before they can become independent.

Where to find them: Falkland Islands, sub-Antarctic islands, and Antarctic Peninsula (e.g. Cuverville Island)

TRIVIA: The penguins may be slow on land but they’re fast in the water! Most penguins swim underwater at around 6 to 11 kilometers per hour (kph), but the fastest penguin — the gentoo — can reach up to 35 kph. Imagine that!

#5 – King King penguins are the 2nd largest of the penguin species and I have come to witness almost a MILLION of them when I landed in South Georgia‘s St. Andrews Bay —it was phenomenal!

Their look is similar to that of the emperor penguins with slight differences on the cheek or ear patches. One could even say that unlike the emperor penguins who have a jet black color, king penguins rather have dark grey. When it comes to baby chicks though, king penguins don a brown fluffy fur. They shed this for months through a process called moulting until they finally achieve the ‘signature look’ of adult king penguins. (NOTE: When early explorers first saw the baby king penguins, they thought they were an entirely different animal!)

King Penguins from Shutterstock.com

Wanna see almost a MILLION of them? Read about my experience in South Georgia for this!

Where to find them: Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and sub-Antarctic islands

TRIVIA: King penguins have a long breeding timeframe that lasts for about 14 months. Meanwhile, their diet rely on small fish (e.g. lanternfish) and squid. They rely less on krill and other crustaceans which is what other penguins mostly feed on.

#6 – Macaroni Macaroni penguins may be small but they are flashy given their big orange bills and bright and spiky orange eyebrows (which are called as ‘crests’). Crests are actually common in all penguin species but they’re in a lighter color and not as predominant as that of the macaroni penguins.

When I first saw this kind of penguin, I immediately remembered Lovelace of Happy Feet!

Macaroni Penguins from Shutterstock.com Where to find them: Sub-Antarctic islands (e.g. South Georgia, Heard Island)

TRIVIA: Penguins seem to look like they’re wearing tuxedos, right? Well, this is helpful for camouflaging them while out hunting in the waters (against their predators like the leopard seals).

#7 – Rockhopper If macaroni penguins are flashy, rockhopper penguins are too — BUT, in a more subdued way since their crests or eyebrow markings are less striking but are still spiky and bright yellow that extend all the way to the crown of their heads.

As for their name, this came about because they typically hop around their rocky environment. You won’t find them in Antarctica itself but they are found in the northern Antarctic islands.

Where to find them: Falkland Islands and sub-Antarctic islands .

BONUS: Magellanic These are named after the famous Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, who first spotted them in 1520. You won’t find these cute penguins in Antarctica as they’re mainly a South American penguin as they breed in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands — however, since your Antarctica trip may stop by the Falkland Islands, they’re worth mentioning here!

» Whales «

In the Antarctic summer, there are various types of whales who go around to feed on the nutrient-rich waters and there are about 15 whale species that can be found there. Sure enough, spotting them from your ship or from a zodiac boat is one of the most exciting experiences you can have in an Antarctic expedition!

Some of the types of whales that you can see (if you’re lucky) are:

Sperm whales: the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator that mainly feed on squid (medium-sized ones, even giant squid, colossal squid), octopus, and fish. Fun trivia: they have the largest brain of any animal on Earth and can live for more than 60 years.

Orcas or Killer whales: they’re technically NOT a part of the whale species but rather belong to the oceanic dolphin family. They have a diverse diet: some feed only on fish while others will hunt seals and dolphins. It’s helpful to note that other than the Antarctic regions, they’re found in a lot of other places like the tropical seas and the Arctic regions.

Fin or finback whales: they are the 2nd-largest mammalian on Earth after the blue whale, and with their long and slender bodies, they’re a sight to be seen in the waters!

Humpback whales: known for frequent breaching (or coming to the water’s surface to breathe) as well as doing other amazing surface behaviors, humpback whales surely are popular with whale watchers!

Blue whales: the largest animals ever known to exist that can grow as long as 100 feet and weigh more than 120 tons! They used to be abundant on all oceans (numbering at about 239,000) until the 20th century when they were hunted almost to extinction. As of 2002, it is estimated that there are approximately 5,000 to 12,000 of them worldwide.

…and others: you can spot minke, sei, southern bottlenose whales, etc.

Humpback Whale from Shutterstock.com During my Antarctica expedition, I was able to see fin, humpback and killer whales!

TRIVIA: You need NOT to be afraid of these gentle Antarctic animals. Even if they are aggressive toward their prey, they don’t really attack humans. Sure, you may have heard of killer whales who attack their trainers but that’s because they have been raised in captivity.

Anyhow, many of these Antarctic whales have been hunted in the past resulting to endangered status on some of the species. This is as evidenced by some of the whaling stations that you will pass by during your cruise; nowadays though, there are international regulations on these whaling activities and the entire ocean surrounding Antarctica is regarded as a whale sanctuary.

» Seals «

In Antarctica, there will be 4 types of seals that you will likely find, namely:

Elephant seals: they are the largest Antarctic animals and the ones found here in the southerly part of the world are bigger than the elephant seals that you will find in the north (such as in USA, Canada, etc.). Truth be told, elephant seals can be as heavy as 3,000kg!!! Also, as what you might be thinking, they acquired their name due to their snout that looks like an elephant’s trunk. (Diet: fish and squid).

Leopard seals: the infamous spotted predators of the adorable penguins (and even their fellow seals), fur seals are the 2nd largest species of the Antarctic seals. They’re also known to be fierce in nature to just about anyone and although they don’t attack humans often, it’s advisable to keep a distance from them. During my expedition, we spotted some of them in the waters from our ship but they weren’t so visible.

Weddell seals: these seals gather around cracks in the ice and are also often seen lying on their sides when on land. They’re very docile so they’re said to be the most approachable and the best-studied of the Antarctic seals. In terms of appearance, they’re often compared to cats due to their somewhat similar facades, not to mention that their upturned mouths make them look like they’re smiling. (Diet: fish, krill, squid, prawns and crustaceans.)

Crabeater seals: contrary to what you might think, these seals don’t eat crabs (they actually mainly eat Antarctic krill). You can quickly identify them in the ice due to their pale color — that is if you’re lucky to spot one as they’re customarily found on free-floating icea from the Antarctic coast. Nevertheless, your chances are high since they’re the most abundant seal species in the world.

Around the Antarctic waters though, and mostly in South Georgia Island, you will see the Antarctic fur seal which is a less aggressive seal than the leopard seal. When we landed in South Georgia we had to take caution of “attacking” fur seals who sporadically do so due to concerns that we’re out steal their girls or harem — nope, I’m not kidding! Competition is fierce for space and females that’s why they may even charge at penguins. Rest assured, it’s safe since they only run after you if they feel like it and then give up easily if you either make noise or point a stick towards them (it makes them stop running for some reason).

Weddell Seals from Shutterstock.com

TRIVIA: Being as they are, seals are actually slow predators and they hunt by waiting in places where prey might appear. For example, leopard seals usually patrol in the edges of the ice in the water and they lie there waiting for any penguins who might enter the ocean.

Moreover, much like the whales, seals also used to be hunted heavily for their skin and oil. Now that they’re protected, their numbers have grown to millions!

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Antarctic animals truly are awe-inspiring — may it be the thousands of waddling penguins, the numerous cuddly seals, or the lurking grand whales. I hope you can see how it would be such an incredible experience to be able to see them up close in the wild or in their natural habitat!

Here’s to wishing that you also get to this remote part of the world and undergo these once-in-a-lifetime encounters!

What do you think of these Antarctic animals?

Which would be your favorite? Or who do you think is the cutest?

Or, have you been to Antarctica before? How was it?

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licencedtoretire · 6 years

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Leaving the wonderful camping area of Maraenui vowing to return sooner rather than later we headed off in our convoy of three towards Te Araroa and the reason for our trip the opening of the new NZMCA Park there.

With Dave and Nita leading the way us in the middle and Den and Bren bringing up the rear I wondered how traffic behind us would feel. Den however dropped back so that traffic would not face three motorhomes one in front of the other and Dave and I made sure we pulled over whenever we had someone behind us. I actually think we did a really good job of not slowing things to much.

The East Coast Road is so much different than the two of us remember, last time we came this way over 20 years ago, we remember seeing nothing but “Keep Out”and “Private Property” signs as well as a large proportion of rundown ramshackle housing of which there was almost none on this drive. A really noticeable difference.

You know you aren’t on State Highway 1 when the road narrows to one lane but that all adds to the enjoyment of the drive. As well as the chance to go slowly enough to have a decent look at the views as the road follows the Motu River for a short distance.

Den and Bren (Dennis and Brenda) have recently upgraded to this Mitsubishi Fuso Bus from their old Nissan Civilian. Sarah snapped this shot of the two of them sharing the love seats in the front. They reminded her of a couple of 16 year olds. The two front seats are mounted almost right next to each other reminding us of a love seat.

With Dave and Den knowing the area well it was good to have a couple of guides leading the way. Stopping at places like this church to take in the sights and feel of the coast. If we were on our own we might have stopped to snap the photo of the church but would not have known that it was open to viewing so would never have had the chance to step inside.

We stopped at Waihau Bay for some lunch, sadly the weather was beginning to pack in spoiling what I am sure would have been a really nice view across the bay. There is a charges applies parking area here just behind where we had parked, which looked like a great place to stay in summer. #3044 for those with the travel directory.

We also stopped at the beach in Hicks Bay where we could have walked to the old wharf but with the rain now really starting to make it’s presence known we decided that that’s something for another day. The road to the wharf is in poor condition and really narrow that’s why Dave had parked on the beach but neither Den or I were prepared to try that.

When I was planning this trip I had seen that at the opening of the Park at Dargaville they had some 80+ vans with a large number also attending the opening of the park in New Plymouth. Worried that we would arrive on Friday to find the camp full signs I had agreed with Dave that we would arrive on Thursday and there where already 8 vans here when we arrived.

Needless to say my fears were groundless the camp is huge (over 6000 square metres) with space for plenty of vans but actually only around 20 where expected. Mostly from the areas around the Cape.

The following day we set out for our morning constitutional heading towards the nearby beach for a bit of an explore. just after we left the camp we came across the three little pigs in a nearby paddock, they were so excited to see us but in reality they were just waiting to be fed.

The beach is a rather rocky windswept affair with a huge amount of driftwood at the top of the tideline. Not very inviting for a swim on this day but maybe the fishing would have been good.

Te Araroa is really nothing more than a small village with buildings that used to house the Bank, Theatre, Post office etc now either sitting idle or like the post office re-purposed as the local RSA/Community Centre. These days the village has a 4 Square store a Coffee shop a fuel pump and not much else.

What they do have though is the electric vehicle charging station for when all of you upgrade to electric motorhomes. Very forward thinking!

There are some things in each town that make that own unique and here in Te Araroa it was these flower planters that dotted the main street of the town. They certainly added some colour to the street.

Sarah and I wander through the town towards the road leading out to the lighthouse at East Cape and grabbed this photo looking back at the town. I think it captures just how remote this place is.

Back at the Park Dave and Nita suggested that we might like to get the bikes out and head off for an explore. First visit was the Manuka Honey factory about 2kms down the road from the Park where Nita purchased some of the local product. Everywhere you go on the coast you can see beehives, it is apparently a major industry here.

Sadly the heavens opened up again shortly after that and it was a rapid retreat back to the motorhomes.

That evening a large number of campers chose to visit the local hunting and fishing club where meals are available. Although we didn’t attend this we did hear stories of huge plates of food being served up as well as drinks at $5 regardless of what you ordered. It might be worth checking this place out if you come to stay here. Its within easy walking distance of the Park. The place is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and serves all the usual. Fish n Chips, Steak etc.

I took these photos the following morning to try and show just how wet it was the morning of the official Park opening. Sadly it was just going to get worse as the day progressed.

One thing I will say is the huge amount of river sand and stones they used from the local river to create a base here really has made it an all weather surface with the water doing a great job of draining away into the water drain by the road fairly rapidly.

As 1.30pm approached the local Iwi representatives started to arrive for the opening ceremony as everyone prayed for the rain to stop. Sadly it only appeared to get stronger and the wind began to pick up with Dave just one of a couple of people having their umbrellas blown inside out.

Unlike when we attended the opening of the Park at Motueka this time all of us were asked to make our way outside the gate for the first part of the blessing. Due to the number of umbrellas in front of me it was rather hard to get any decent photos. But I did manage to sneak to the front to grab a photo of the elders cutting the ribbon.

With the ribbon cut we were all invited back into the camp to walk all four corners where a prayer would be said at each to lift any Tapu that may exist at the camp. It was a matter of trying to dodge the ever increasing puddles as we made our way around the camp.

In the far eastern corner two Puriri trees where planted by Ferg and Brian who were instrumental in bringing this park into the NZMCA fold. I think the person I felt sorriest for was Cameron the Pastor who despite the adversity provided by the weather maintained a sunny disposition throughout reading from his prayer book to provide the blessing for the camp. A real “trooper” for the cause.

Once all four corners had been blessed it was back to the main gate for a final blessing and the park officially declared open. At this point I must apologise for the quality of the photos but everything was just getting so wet. From here it was time to retire to the warmth and dryness of the local RSA to conclude the ceremonies.

No NZMCA Park can be opened or so it would seem without a cake cutting ceremony and with much hilarity here when the cake almost fell off the stand whilst being cut the final act in opening the park had been completed.

We counted 21 vans at the opening and including the invited locals a total of 54 people attended the opening of the new NZMCA Park in Te Araroa a small turnout compared to a couple of recent openings but it is in a fairly remote part of the country and the weather for the weekend was absolutely atrocious so maybe all in all not a bad effort.

This opening brings to 43 the number of Parks that the NZMCA have opened and staying there brings to 30 the number we have stayed at. How are you getting on taking advantage of this fantastic resource.

To view the places we have visited click here to see them on Google maps. You can click the links to read the blog about that area. [cardoza_facebook_like_box] To view the Ratings we have done for other camps click here [jetpack_subscription_form]

A Very Wet Park Opening @ Te Araroa Leaving the wonderful camping area of Maraenui vowing to return sooner rather than later we headed off in our convoy of three towards Te Araroa and the reason for our trip the opening of the new NZMCA Park there.

#campervan holiday New Zealand #Motorhome #NZMCA Camps

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jorgerbastos · 7 years

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After 4 weeks in Thailand we decided to explore Laos! We entered the country overland in Huay Xai and went all the way south to 4000 islands into Cambodia. It took us almost 3 weeks with stops in Huay Xai, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Kong Lor and Pakse. We didn’t know much about the country. It was almost a “learn as you go experience”! We have to say that Laos is fascinating, both because of its natural setting and because of its people. If you want to learn more about Laos these 50 facts about traveling in Laos were made for you.

The Locals

1. Lao people aren’t tourist ready. Most of the times they don’t seem to know what to do with the tourists… :)

2. In most places they don’t have any commercial or social abilities (with tourists!). They don’t show any initiative to make a sell or make attempts to have a service to sell the tourists and earn money from it.

3. In general their English is really basic, even in tourist related public services like, tourist agencies, hotels or restaurants. They know a few words and sentences related to their job, but if you want to have a conversation you notice they don’t understand.

4. Laos was a French colony, but today only some old people speak french. Furthermore, even most of these only speak a few words.

5. It’s a rural country! Most of the population The capital Vientiane (and biggest city) only has a population of 200 000 and Luang Prabang, the main tourist center is the 4th biggest city with… 50 000 people!

6. Laos is very scarcely populated, particularly when compared with most of their neighbors. It has only 6.5 Million people and a 28 people per Km². The 7th least in Asia.

7. They are honest. Twice we lost things and they returned it. In Luang Prabang we forgot our sunglasses in a restaurant and then came back only one hour later and they saved them for us. Another time we forgot the wallet in a cafe in Vientiane and the waiter came running after us to return it!

8. Learn how to say “hello” – sabadie (sába̖ai-di̖i) and “thank you” – kop chai (khàwp ja̖i). They will appreciate it very much. In the more remote areas the children will have a blast hearing you saying them!

9. Don’t forget that Lao are mainly Buddhists! They are usually very patient with tourists but please respect their culture, religion and habits.

Travel and tourists

10. Laos has an astonishing natural beauty. While the north is very mountainous, the south is flatter but also scenic. However northern Laos is something else…

11. Luang Prabang lived up to the expectations! It’s easily the cutest town in South East Asia we have been to. And after this trip we have been to quite a few… :) Yes, it’s a bit crowded but after Thailand we were much more indulgent to the presence of tourists!

12. Forget everything you read about Vang Vieng! it’s clean of happy shakes, special brownies or moon cakes…

13. However you can still have a blast tubing in Vang Vieng…

14. Despite this, the best activity we did in Laos was easily Kong Lor cave! A river that goes 7 km into a huge cave that you can navigate a long tail boat through it… In our book, that’s as cool as it gets!

15. There many beautiful and impressive waterfalls in Laos! Our favorites are Kuang si falls near Luang Prabang. It’s a great place for sightseeing, relax and swimming. You can easily spend a full day there.

16. At times it looked like everyone in France was in Laos! French people were everywhere!

17. Northern Laos is full of South Koreans… particularly in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. Apparently it’s something to do with a TV show… Does anyone know what TV show is?

18. Unfortunately Laos is dirty! There’s plastic and trash almost everywhere. They really need to work on this if they want to keep their country as beautiful as it is. Afterwards we discovered that Cambodia is even worse, but at the time we were a bit shocked by it!

Food and eating

19. Lao food is heavily influenced by Thai food. Furthermore, almost every restaurant serves Thai food.

20. However, they were also influenced by the French colonization which means they have bread, pastries, cookies and so on…

21. Arriving in Luang Prabang, after one month barely eating bread and seeing those amazing baguette sandwiches was unreal… They felt like the best sandwiches ever! TIP: Try the ones by the market with chicken, avocado and egg! There’s also a “Lao sandwich” that mixes the French baguette with the Lao ingredients like Tofu, Egg and a spicy sauce.

22. Restaurant menus are huge… I have no idea how their cooks can manage so many different dishes… We are talking about 100+ available dishes.

23. Although the dishes are very similar, in Laos there’s much fewer street food than in Thailand. And it’s usually about the referred baguettes.

24. The other big difference is that the Lao version of the dishes is usually less spicy.

Money & expenses

25. Overall, we spent 1024 Euros, in 17 full days in Laos, averaging 30 Euros per person. This includes everything, from food accommodation to bank expenses and visa costs. It also includes transportation from Laos to Siem Reap and everything else. It’s 5 Euros more than in Thailand but we also were there less time which makes some average costs higher.

26. Most activities are very cheap. In Kong Lor we even extra tipped our guide because we felt we paid too little for the great experience we had! We are Portuguese we don’t do that a lot… :)

27. Accommodation is also inexpensive, but more expensive than Thailand and Malaysia.

28. Apart from the sandwiches which are fairly cheap, food is probably the most expensive thing in Laos. It’s just slightly more expensive than Cambodia but much more expensive than Thailand or Malaysia for example.

29. As in Thailand and Cambodia, every time you withdraw money with a foreign card you get a ATM charge up to 20 000 kips (2.3 Euros).

30. Very few stores/restaurants/guest houses accept you credit card, and those who do will charge you up to 5% to pay directly with it.

31. Be aware that Bank notes are very similar to each other and will cause mistakes if you don’t pay attention to it.

Transportation

32. Very slow travelling. You don’t know what slow travel is if you didn’t travel overland in Laos. Nevertheless, don’t misunderstand us, it is still worth it and the best way to do it!

33. A Bus ride in Laos can quickly become a new experience and something you won’t ever forget. At least we won’t!

Forms

34. Every time you need to move from one town to another it will take the full day. A simple 200 km bus ride can take all day! The buses are slow and the roads won’t allow them to go faster than 60 km/h, however most of the times, particularly in the north they go at 15 / 20 km/h.

35. Another thing that makes the trip take so long is that the bus driver stops everywhere to take passengers! Anywhere and everywhere is a bus stop! :) at least, until the bus is full.

36. However, do you know what a full bus is? Well, we didn’t until our trip from Kong Lor to Pakse. In Laos even the corridor is a seating place. If all the other seats are taken they get you a small plastic bank and ask you to seat in it. That was definitely something new…!

37. In Laos buses transport everything! From motorbikes in the top of the bus to live animals in the luggage compartment… We have seen it all :)

38. But the coolest thing is: every time the bus stops in a village or small town a few street vendors come in the bus and try to sell food. Hot, Fresh, Warm, smelly food, any kind of street food can be found in Laotian buses.

39. The coolest way to get to Luang Prabang is by boat… by slow boat from Huay Xai. It takes 2 days (I told you it was slow) but it is relaxing, much smother than bus, and you get to see the views… the amazing views of northern Laos and the Mekong.

40. There are no trains in Laos! Well, there’s a 3.5 km train from the border of Thailand, close to Vientiane… but that really doesn’t count, does it?

Other travel stuff and useful information

41. Internet is bad! It’s slow and unreliable. We couldn’t do much of our online work while in Laos,and failed a few deadlines because of it.

42. As in every other South east Asia country bathrooms don’t have shower stalls… It’s all together and all very wet…

43. In Vientiane there’s a Zumba party every night in the park by the Mekong… This is globalization at its finest. It was fun to watch and way to go LAOS!

44. There’s many cassava production in the south, which we found interesting because they barely use it in their cooking! Apparently it’s mostly exported to Thailand. Seeing the cassava being dried under the sun made us remember of Angola. It was a very familiar sight…

45. There are bears is Laos… we even went to a bear conservation park near kuang si waterfalls!

46. Laos is the most bombed country per capita in history! During the Vietnam war Laos was heavily bombed using cluster bomblets – Lao call these “bombies”.

47. The U.S. military dropped more than 2 million tons of explosive ordinance, including an estimated 260 million cluster munitions!

48. It’s estimated that 30% of the “bombies” didn’t explode. 40 years later, they are still searching for unexploded devices in the floor and people still die because of it!

49. Laos is a very slow paced country! The very opposite of the friends in Thailand.

50. It is safe. We always felt welcomed, comfortable and never in danger.

In conclusion, if you are at least a little adventurous and like travelling. our advise is: GO TO LAOS!

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50 things you need to know about travel in Laos After 4 weeks in Thailand we decided to explore Laos! We entered the country overland in Huay Xai and went all the way south to 4000 islands into Cambodia.