Recent News

Hiking the Chatham Islands

We're just back from a mini expedition to the Chatham Islands (including Pitt Island), located 800 kilometres east of the South Island of New Zealand. It's about as close as we can get to an "overseas" expedition right now. The islands do feel distinctively different ...

Six hours, three quakes, three tsunami warnings

Wow, what a day here in New Zealand! At 2.27am, I was abruptly woken by a deep rolling quake that lasted over a minute. Normally, noticing such quakes in Auckland means a much larger earthquake has struck somewhere within the usual seismic hotspots of New Zealand. ...

Forecasting a bioluminescent light show

I often marvel when something happens that’s out of the ordinary. Being treated to blooms of bioluminescent algae which turn the ocean into a dazzling neon light show is otherworldly. Marine bioluminescence is a chemical reaction manifesting in the form of light that occurs when single-celled ...

How to see bioluminescence in the ocean

Ten years ago, I was out paddling in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand when I noticed a distinctive sparkle emitting from the ocean. I later learned that this was a microalgae that emits a bioluminescent blue glow when disturbed at night. I later witnessed ...

Ruapehu Volcanic Alert Level lifted to Level 2

GNS has raised the alert level of Ruapehu to Level 2 after a combination of crater lake heating, seismicity and gas emissions. Crater lake heating to 43 °C The crater lake regularly goes through a heating and cooling cycle. Since 2003, the lake's temperature has risen above ...

Expedition to the Arctic

The Arctic Circle, Alaska / January 2020 After our expedition to Antarctica, we found ourselves compelled to visit the Arctic also. A land of beauty, desolation and frigid cold. Cold of -40 degrees C and below. And with a desire to push north was a far ...

White Island Eruption

White Island, New Zealand / December 2019 At exactly 2.11pm on Dec 9, an unforeseen phreatic eruption occurred on White Island. Tragically, a number of tourists were in the direct impact zone at the time of the eruption. At present, eight people have died, a further ...

Expedition to Krakatau, post Tsunami

In October 2018, we made our very first expedition to Anak Krakatau, Indonesia. During this expedition, we witnessed impressive vulcanian eruptions, often throwing lava bombs skyward. We made multiple landings and ventured far too close (as usual!). Two months later, a large part of the south-western ...

Expedition Guatemala

Guatemala / August 2019 Guatemala, you put on an out-of-this-world show for us! Eruptions, lava flows and a spine-chilling electrical storm. A couple weeks back, we arrived in Guatemala to explore the volcanoes of Fuego and Pacaya. We ended up getting caught up in a massive electrical ...

Classic South Island Snow Storm

Lewis Pass, New Zealand / June 2019 This season's winter has been particularly mild, but with a South Island snow storm on the way, we jumped on a plane bound for Christchurch, picked up a 4x4 and headed towards the Lewis Pass where we hunkered down ...
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