Expect the unexpected

Mon beaut on the right

Though whale sightings in week one were few and far between, settling into life at the camp was sweet as. Our tents are pitched among the trees behind the lab, a few metres above the shoreline. Take a short gravel path further back and you reach a beautiful log cabin – home to Hermann and his dog Neekas. 

In the trees behind the house there is a small outhouse (or long drop), a hot outdoor shower, and to add to the blissful atmosphere there is an outdoor fire bath overlooking the nearby stony beach. 

The bath

Janie and Cohen (her golden retriever) sleep in the lab so that she can record any whale vocalisations throughout the night. The live feed from the hydrophones (sometimes with orca and humpbacks chatting and singing) fills the entire camp 24/7, and is often accompanied by laughing loons, raspy sealions, screaming eagles and howling wolves.

There was one evening where the wolves were howling and whales were close in the bight. Max, one of the interns, recorded the sounds and if you follow this link to the CetaceaLab blog the recording is available in the post 'Wolves meet Whales'. 

Click here: http://forwhales.org/blog/item/168-wolves-meet-whales

The house and the bear moss

Luckily the house includes a full kitchen in which we have cooked up many a storm with a freezer full of meat, heaps of fruit and veges, the occasional fresh salmon, and many keen to play chef. I’ve even tried a few new things, elk sausages included. It’s quite a strange thing eating meat from an animal you’ve never seen.

Casual scanning with my friend Cohen

We have a fabulous group of interns here from all over the world – Max, Jillan, and Cassie (who has already gone home) from Canada, Claire from England, a lovely Swiss couple Phillip and Katherine, Eric from America, and myself from little old Aotearoa. We rotate out two at a time to the Ulric Point outcamp on Aristazabal Island, with the remaining interns sharing the load on Gil Island. Working in 3 or 4 hour shifts, whale scans are carried out from 6am – 10pm daily. When weather and fuel supply permit, Janie or Hermann head to sea with two interns to carry out surveys in the small research vessel ‘Elemiah’.

The beach in the distance

Week one started with blue skies, light winds, and enough sun to break a sweat sitting on the deck in shorts and a t-shirt (well, in my case anyway). Rain gear? Pfft, more like bikini time. The shoreline is so enticing with clear water, giant purple starfish, huge green sea anemones and sneaky looking kelp beds holding who knows what. Never able to resist a swimming opportunity there have been several moments where I’ve raced down to the water (when there are no whales around) and dived in. Each time I seem to forget how cold it really is and immediately launch back out onto the rocks, spluttering and laughing with prickly, goosebumpy skin. Still, you have to swim. Always. 

New shelves

When we’re not on shift we’re expected to help with cooking and lend a hand with any small jobs. The Swissies have been hard at work building a wood shed and starting a small extension on the back of the house. We also get free time to read, write, hike, canoe, and Kayak (thanks to Katherine and Phillip for bringing them all the way from Switzerland). I spent an afternoon power sanding slabs of cedar wood to be used for shelves, and then varnished the end product. The beach walks are great, and the hike up to ‘The Bog’ is my favourite.  Following a steady incline through dense undergrowth, the wolf track (which is still used by the wolves as we found fresh wolf poo the other day) takes you into an open hillside with scattered trees and patches of boggy marsh. On a clear day the view of the sound is well worth having to hike in gumboots and as an added bonus there is a plentiful supply of huckleberries and blueberries to munch on.

The bog

Canoe time

Fresh wolf poo with bird bones

Claire and I are next on the Ulric shift. Time to play wild child on an island which is even more remote and the whale activity said to be unbelievable. I hope!