The dogs were right of course! It’s chilly but fabulous down at the beach.


Is that an island right off the beach? Have you been?

@odd That's Kāpiti Island, about 20 Km away. We visited in February 2020: Weather willing, our weekend destination and After a weekend of wandering the trails and The takahē and I don’t go tramping. It's a bird sanctuary.

Thank you for the links! That island sounds like a great experience. It’s good that the takahē has increased in numbers. It seems very impressive, but sadly no match for foxes and such. The beak looks a bit menacing though!

@odd Before Europeans arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand the only land mammal was a bat. Otherwise the fauna was all birds, lizards and tuatara, insects. Europeans brought all manner of animals that destroy native wildlife, including rats, mice, stoats, possums, cats, dogs etc, but fortunately not foxes. Also we have no snakes.

I didn’t know that. I guess I have always assumed that the situation was more or less the same as Australia. I like the no snakes part! It’s fortunate that there are islands, however small, that can be predator free, and that more countries join the efforts to preserve the endangered species. All creatures should be given a fair chance. Even snakes.

At a rough guess, ANZ is anti-podal to Ireland, which also has no snakes (mythically, at least). Maybe there was a space ray that punched through the globe and killed them all at the intersection points?

@odd Oh no! Nothing like Australia! As I understand it, everything in Australia is out to kill you. 🤣 We have one native poisonous spider, the katipo (I've never seen one). Everything else is pretty benign.

@JMaxB That occurred to me after I posted. Glad you checked my work.

@JMaxB @cliffordbeshers earth isn’t an absolute and pure mathematical sphere … I don’t have enough knowledge to produce proof - but I think the original statement has more potential than less 😀

@JohnPhilpin @JMaxB For the movie there will be a mysterious substance released into the atmosphere that will form eddies in those two locations, concetrating enough to do damage to the snakes' DNA.

@JMaxB @cliffordbeshers I expect the space ray was deflected a little by the earth's core…