Christmas road trip

Oh, I'll be along! I've always wanted to go to New Zealand. It's such a beautiful place.

When are we leaving for New Zealand? I'm anxious to get there! Most of the others are still at the picnic, it was very elaborate and I think some of our group are sleeping it off...
Jim, I did enjoy your New Year's Eve party! You dragons really can dance!!!!:LOL:

When will we arrive? Soon I hope! I'm sure my family has given up on ever seeing me again. I love whales and can't wait to see this gathering!

Thank you for reviving this thread! Well, I guess we're about to arrive at New Zealand. I don't know what's become of the rest of our colleagues, nor have I seen Jim lately. *is worried*



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Oh, I'm so glad to get out of the ice and snow in PA! It was nice for our trip around the world with Santa, but enough is enough. What's on the agenda? I'm sure Lorie and the others will be along soon.

I saw Jim and Thirtysilver at the local pub the other night. I should be seeing them again tonight, so I'll let them know that we will be leaving soon.
I think they thought that the trip was cancelled so I know that they will be glad to hear that the itinerary is still on! Are the others on their way? Maybe we should send out a scout and try to gather them together.

**out of breath**
I came running as soon as I heard our trip to New Zealand was on again. Where is everyone else??????

Im right here!
Everything is prepared for our New Zealand trip!

Alright! I'm ready to fly. All's aboard that's comin' aboard!

One last look back at beautiful Easter Island . . .


Such a beautiful day, perfect weather for flying.

. . . Or sailing.

Ahh . . . the beauty of the ocean.

I'll tell you a little about whale song while we fly.
No one knows why, or even how whales sing. Whales don' have vocal chords, so many have assumed that whalesong comes from air being compressed through the animals' massive sinuses and respiratory system. However, no bubbles are produced when whales sing.
Only male humpbacks sing. This leads some to believe that the singing attracts mates; others believe that the singing is a way of establishing territory. Like a whale saying, "Stay away, I swim here."
Whale songs are not random sounds, they are long and complicated compositions with repeating themes that can go for hours . . . even years. Some whales have been heard, in their mating grounds near Hawaii, singing songs they sung there five years before.

Look! We're appraoching the gathering!








Amazing to think that these massive creatures feed on such small animals.

Krill are what balleen whals eat. They biggest are only 6 cm long!

http://dkd.net/whales/wsounds.html
You can go here to hear some amazing humpback whale sounds! Just click the second yellow button!

That whale concert was most impressive, ThirtySilver! Thanks to you and Jim for bringing us here. (I really like those low-frequency notes, rather like lions growling.)



It's great to see everyone coming together again! I'm happy Kiwideus is with us, so we can learn about New Zealand. So, where shall we go now that we're here? A bit of night life, perhaps?



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If we wish to try out the night life in New Zealand, then I recommend we go to Auckland, where its always hopping!

I had to return to real life for a while. It's not as much fun there as I once thought it would be. Glad I got here in time for the whales, they are amazing creatures. Once again, I'm off to real life, and a stack of papers to grade.

Kiwideus, lead on! Bren.1, why not come with us and bring that stack of papers? Whilst we have a good time, you can sit in the corner grading away! Maybe Jim can help you, too.



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My favorite whale sounds are the long, mournful howls.
Whalesong is, in my opinion, the most beautiful sound in nature.

Bren1. -Jim would be happy to help grade some papers!

That's great! I know Bren.1 will join us now! Jim is a regular handydragon, isn't he?

Say, perhaps we'd best check with Kiwideus to see if Jim needs any licenses for flying or otherwise being at large here in New Zealand. Might you be required to obtain a Dragon Permit? Mind, it's discourteous to mention such things in front of Jim; but I wouldn't want him inconvenienced because of some bureaucratic oversight on our part.



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Well, I checked it with the New Zealand Embassy, and as long Jim does not have any nuclear power as NZ is nuclear free, then he will be okay. Otherwise he will need to contact the Prime Minister, Helen Clark and discuss what we need to do.

Mr. Cat -Yes, Jim's a jack-of-all-trades. You should see his cross-stitching!

Kiwi -I'm pretty sure that Jim's fueled by all natural energy.
I know there's no ban on magic in New Zealand.

Is Aukland named for the bird, the auk?


The Great Auk . . . hunted to extinction.

I am not sure where Auckland got its name from, but I will find out.

No ban on magic in New Zealand. Actually we used to have a wizard in New Zealand. He retired and moved to Australia.

Here is the Wizard

This is a beautiful city. I'm going to give Jim a break from grading all those papers by taking a walk around the countryside...
I hope he doesn't scare any of the locals.
Lisa

here is a sketch of us taking in the sites

no one seemed to be surprised to see a girl walking a dragon....