quick jump to... what & why   ]- proposal   ]- about arizona   ]- about new zealand   ]- about australia   ]- the goods where am i?   ]- by date   ]- in arizona   ]- in new zealand   ]- in australia references   ]- general   ]- techie   ]- for arizona   ]- for new zealand   ]- for australia photos   ]- picks   ]- gear   ]- the hat news   ]- archives   ]- email list

news of the journey

daily accounts, bit by bit

news stand

latest news the most recent dispatch from the field... (more)

archives catch up on previous news postings... (more)

email list Sign up to get email reminders when there is new news... (more)

recent news

sept 18, 2000 Visit to Auckland University of Technology... (more)

sept 17, 2000 Orewa and northland beaches (more)

sept 15, 2000 On stage at UNITEC.. (more)

sept 11, 2000 Rangitoto excursion... (more)

sept 10, 2000 Waitakere Range and Tiritiri Matangi.. (more)

sept 08, 2000 One week a Kiwi... (more)

sept 06, 2000 Workshops at UNITEC.. (more)

september 20, 2000
In the morning I enjoyed meeting for coffee with Sean, who teaches multimedia at the National College of Multimedia & Technology (NCMT) in Auckland. This is a private school that offers certified programs like counterparts in the states. We commiserated over the decline of use of Director in favor of Flash, and traded thoughts on teaching topics from the brain's left side/right side (programming vs graphic design). Can creativity be taught? Can artists be taught how to program (learn logical constructs)? Can programmers learn graphic design (learn visual communication)? Or can the two meet in the middle?

In the afternoon Doctor Dolittle called today and said, "Do little" so I headed off to talk to the animals at the Auckland Zoo, which is about a mile (er 1.6 kilometers) walking distance from UNITEC. it was a very uncrowded day at the zoo, leaving plenty of photo opportunities and time to quietly watch animals.

It is a nicely done zoo, with a good number of larger open enclosure displays in lieu of the old style rows of smallish cages. I was hoping to see a more varied display of New Zealand displays, but the emphasis was on a diverse range of animals from Africa, Asia, and South America.

today's photos

- all photos   o o o o

o o Auckland Zoo

After seeing the birds in their element of Tiritiri Matangi the aviary here seemed tiny and confined. The birds on display were much more docile and let one get rather close to a pair of large Wood Pigeons.

And the resident Tui, perched on the feeder was quite accessible. As they are known for imitating sounds, I could swear that some of this one's calls was modeled after the noise from neighboring monkeys.

I also enjoyed looking at the collection of lizards from Australia, the Water Dragons, and cousins such as the Chameleon.

The small aquarium display had one frog tank that had some floating web footed frogs in a funny state of suspended animation.

The main native exhibit was the Kiwi and Tuatara House, but I have no photos inside since it is kept very dark (so dark you have to stumble through while the eyes struggle to adjust) for these nocturnal creaturess. Flashes from cameras are not wanted. Inside, I caught glimpses of kiwis hobbling in the far corners. They are pretty much endangered in the wilds. The Tuatara is an ancient reptile that dates back to before the dinosaurs.

All in all it was enjoyable to hang out with the animals.

In the evening, I was treated to a fine home cooked meal with Claire from UNITEC and her family. I might be getting spoiled with this treatment!