One of the great predators, they are visious and will even take other birds on in flight!
Skua!! 
Look how the mom (or dad) is hugging this one. They are very difficult to know apart...even the scientists struggle to know male from female
That skua seems to be sitting on a cycad (broodboom)?
Nice experience which you seem to be use to, Tom. I know that South Africa has a lease agreement regarding Gough and part of our commitment is to do the run to Tristan. That is one of the reasons why they get preferential treatment. Many years ago when I started in Foreign Affairs I was the desk officer dealing with, among others, Antarctica which included the islands. All your activities brong back fond memories. Ironically, my dealings with Antarctica took me much further north than I ever travelled south (visited Svalbard during an Antarctic Treaty meeting in Norway with the officials from the Antarctic management team). Anything green and ecological are very high on the agenda of these programmes and the countries are doing their best to out do each other. It is also a matter of prestige, apart from the scientific reasons.
Enjoy your stay and with all those yellow tails and snoek you will have no shortage of omega 3 fatty acids. Good for the ticker...
Hello Copernicus
It is indeed a cicad; 'Blechnum palmiforme bog fern'
Yes the original lease between SA and Tristand was a peppercorn a year, but the bookkeepers found it difficult and then the agreement of the assistance to haul cargo on the SA Agulhas as well as passangers to and through SA.
Indeed a very interesting history and you know what I said after reaching Tristan da Cunha Island in 2008 and then a few days later Gough Island? I said; 'No I have lived'
I felt so contend and everything was just sort of complete. However, one mans Paradise is the next man hell as many hate and regret signing up. That is however people who just cant deal with isolation. Come to think of it; no cars, taxis, trucks or bikes, no strangers, no shops and no rush.......what you can't do today can wait for tomorrow (except now your work which really is not that hard - takeovers and month ends are a bit rough, but the rest is just plain sailing)
Clean air, breathtaking scenery....fishing if you love doing that like me (only on Gough though)
Not all Moonlight and Roses though!
The only challenge (and quite a burden) can be team members which are not 'team players'. Now take this from me; every team will at least have one that either try to make life difficult for the team or that will withdraw. No matter how hard they try to filter this out and try to prevent this from happening you will always have that 'one' and then the challenge of 'that one spreading his venom to another team member'
Being a team leader you have to be strong, very neutral and open minded. Slow to react in a judgement and if you ever feel the need of reporting any misbehavior you can type out the e-mail but 'sleep over it' before you hit the send button. It is just a lot harder to deal with conflict and poor discipline on the remote site. The isolation takes its toll on the team members as well, some have serious behavioral change over the extend of the expedition.
If I can change one thing today to help the Department of Environmental affairs I would help them to draw up an all new alcohol policy as this is the root of most uncomfortable issues on the remote site. Alcohol tend to give some people (speaking in general) a lot of courage to speak their minds and to do stupid things. The other thorn in the flesh is 'old team members' who have done an expedition or two and who think they are the hardcore (shit) of the past expeditions. They will then offer 'advice' to youngsters or first time team members and even worse stay in contact throughout the year on e-mail or phone and instigate from outside.
Just think of it; you put 9 team members from different backgrounds (Provinces, cultures and ethnic) in a team and leave them in isolation for 12 months. The whole journey adds up to be 13 months including time on the ship. You will therefore always get regardless of how good a team leader you might have been a 'a group within the team' that will become like brothers. Years later you will still have contact with the once that bonded within the team, and others will just fade away.
Why do I share this today? Just to give you the bigger picture. Someone out there on the forum might be interested in applying for a trip, but it is important to know that there are also a number of hurdles along the way!
However, I love it although this is probably my last trip because of my love for Africa. I need to get a job somewhere up there.....a bonus would be Uganda
Topic: TVB op vakansie na Gough Eiland (Read 373870 times)
