Whale spotting

Whale spotting

It’s now day 18 on board the RV Tangaroa and spirits are as high as ever. After seven days of amazing weather and a lot of successes with the blue whale work in the northern Ross Sea we have decided to put the last three days allocated to this scientific objective on...
Balleny Islands

Balleny Islands

It’s now day 8 at sea and day 3 at the Balleny Islands. The Balleny Islands are a group of volcanic Antarctic Islands situated at 67 degrees south. They are mostly barren rock, with steep cliff faces and covered by massive glaciers, but they are also home to some...
Day 3 at Sea

Day 3 at Sea

It’s now day three at sea and things are all humming along nicely. We’ve just passed 50 degrees south and any faint sighting of the mainland is long gone. The next time we will see land will probably be the Balleny Island in a couple of days. The weather was...
Beginning of a 42 day adventure

Beginning of a 42 day adventure

Our 42 day adventure to Antarctica aboard NIWA’s RV Tangaroa is just beginning! My name is Blake Hornblow and I am a 2014 Blake NIWA Science Ambassador. I will be joining 40 crew and scientists from around the globe to study blue and humpback whales and Antarctic...
Halfway There

Halfway There

Today marks the halfway point in our journey and we have started the demersal trawling part of the voyage. Each day has been full-on with excitement and new things to learn and see. The highlight of the last few days was holding one of the biggest fish in the Southern...
New Zealand Sea Lion pup tagging

New Zealand Sea Lion pup tagging

On one of our final days on the Otago Peninsula we got the incredible experience of being part of a team that was tagging New Zealand sea lion pups. This team was made up from Shaun and Steve from the Sea Lion Trust, Mel from DOC, Lisa Argilla from Wellington Zoo, a...