Observaciones de aokelly

While staying in Deep Cove, our group spent a considerable amount of time on the docks fishing. Most of the marine species that we caught were bottom-feeders, with the occasional blue cod appearing at the end of a line. It was not until after we returned inside from the pouring rain that Billy, the hostel manger revealed his catch; three large, spiny creatures, which we would later eat for dinner. The crayfish, or rock lobster, as it has been branded in New Zealand swims at depths of 5 to 275 meters. The species that can be found on the South Island are the red crayfish (jasus edwarsii), and green packhorse crayfish (sagmariasus verreauxi). The fish we encountered was the red crayfish. We were able to tell because of the spines that grew on its shell and tail. This variety is also generally more common than its sister species.
The red crayfish, also known as the spiny rock lobster, or spiny lobster for short, can grow to be 45-50 centimeters long and weigh as much as 3 kilograms. It has two long antennae, which it uses to map out its rocky, underwater environment and defend itself from would-be predators. This species hunts at night, which is why it was surprising that Billy caught one during the day, when the rock lobster is usually dormant in caves. This species can live up to 11 years and typically begins its mating cycle in Autumn.
The most interesting thing that I have read about this species is the fact that it migrates extremely long distances walking on the sea floor. It is not uncommon for red crayfish originally tagged in Otago, for example, to turn up in the Fiordlands after they travel almost 850 kilometers! If you have the luck of catching a red crayfish, you are sure to enjoy a meal to remember.

The Southern Alps of New Zealand are graced with many geological features that are a direct result of glacial activity. Morraines line U-shaped valleys which were once home to thick sheets of ice that compressed the ground beneath it. The Fiordlands hold the memory of glaciers that stretched into rainforest, touching the ocean with icy fingertips. The alluvial fan is perhaps one of the easiest glacial features that can be identified. These are fan shaped piles of rocky debris that have been churned down the sides of mountains. Alluvial fans themselves act as transporters for additional debris, with small stream systems, and sometimes larger rivers, carrying boulder, cobblestone, pebble, sand, silt, and clay into vacated glacial valleys. These streams are initially created through precipitation that occurs toward the top of a glacially created incline. During my time at the Mt. Cook Village and Fox Glacier, I have seen these waterways as waterfalls, which eventually slide down the slope of an alluvial fan to form the transport vessel for sediment, which also is a major cause for erosion in this mountain system. The streams may often look dirty or muddy due to the smaller sediment that accumulates as it is being carried away from its initial resting place. Alluvial fan streams have caused the erosion that has formed the Haast and Canturbury plains, with its waters flattening landscape as they stretch farther from the source. The fans are also usually the route that water will take after heavy rain. This means that continuous flooding keeps the plains looking they way that they do, lush and ready to farm.