Meanwhile, in far away Cherrybrook, a small skink pops his head out from the safe haven of his hole. He looks around cautiously and places his nose in the air. Noticing no canine scent, the skink knows it is safe to come out and play.
Before long, the skink has invited all of his extended family and neighborhood friends over for a raucous lizard party in our backyard.
For when Princess Nishi and Lady Lizzy- the lizard hunters - are away, the lemongrass lizards are safe to play!
The Elusive Galapagos Turtles
Despite their fame, we did not see as many turtles as we may have hoped.
Like the iguanas, there are land and sea turtles which are, essentially, different creatures. The land turtles are much larger than their marine cousins, although we have take our guide's word for that because we only saw one during our travels... And even that one was largely obscured by the bushes it was hiding within.
We did, however, see a number of marine turtles, albeit usually at some distance as they swam slowly in the sea. Typically, we would only be able to see a shell poking above the water-line or a shadowy figure below the waves.
However, once again, I enjoyed the distinct privilege of seeing a turtle up close whilst snorkeling. I was swimming amongst some rocks when I spotted the turtle a few metres away. I ended up quietly hovering above the turtle - hands behind my back - as it made its way through the water below me. I followed the turtle for two or three minutes, watching it move its front and back legs in a breast-stroke fashion, its head bopping up and down with each stroke. It was a very peaceful sight, the memory of which I shall always cherish.
The Even More Elusive Penguins
Galapagos is also famous for its penguins, which have adapted to life on the Equator. Indeed, the Galapagos penguins, we were told, are the only penguins to venture into the northern hemisphere.
Apparently, if you are lucky, you may be able to swim with the penguins. However, my good fortune did not include such a treat. We did, however, see a handful of penguins sitting on the rocks and diving into the water.
That said, the saddest event to occur during our journey involved a baby penguin, which was standing on a beach, just outside the water-line. The poor little blighter seemed to have lost her mother. She was shivering as the sun began to set over the sea. It seemed to us that the little girl was defenseless and was even picked on - at one stage - by a naughty pelican.
Everybody was concerned for the penguin's well-being. However, the naturalists who were with us said there was nothing that they could do. Just as they don't cull aggressive animals, they don't save the weak ones. They let nature take its course.
With those words in our ears, we boarded our zodiacs and headed back to the boat. Everybody was unusually quiet. I saw some wipe tears from their eyes. I like to think that the baby penguin's mother made a hasty return. However, the truth is that we will never know her fate.
Galapagos Birdlife
One of the features of the Galapagos Islands is the birdlife.
I have already mentioned the myriad variety of finches which have adapted, over the centuries, in order to best take advantage of the local conditions.
In addition, there are frigates, which are large, black, vulture-like birds. When trying to attract a female, the male frigate will inflate a large red pouch under his throat. It is unknown how successful this technique is in seducing the wary, female frigate.
One of the more interesting - and prevalent - birds is the blue footed boobie. As the name suggests, these birds have blue feet. Absent a red pouch, those male blue footed boobies which fancy their chances with the ladies dance, tail raised and wings spread, whilst whistling towards the sky. Judging by the number of this species on the islands, this technique is quite successful.
Also present on the islands are a large number of albatrosses. When we toured Dunedin earlier in the year, we visited an albatross colony, but had to stay several hundred metres from where they nested. By contrast, on Galapagos, we were allowed so close to some baby albatrosses that - with five quick steps - we could have touched them. We also saw some adult albatrosses soaring, majestically, across the sky, one of them making a crash landing as he returned to his rock-strewn home.
One of the more interesting bird varieties we saw was the flightless cormorant. Given the absence of any natural predators, these rare birds have forgotten how to fly, developing small, atrophied wings. However, whilst losing the gift of flight, the cormorants have learned the ability to swim. We saw one darting through some shallow water, chasing fish this way and that.
In addition to these birds we also saw some pink flamingoes standing in a lagoon, their heads underwater eating food stirred up by their feet, together with pelicans, mockingbirds, flycatchers, doves and hawks.
A true, life-long, bird lover - like my brother, Murray - would have enjoyed the birdlife on Galapagos far more than novices like Boh and me.
However, there was one event, involving birds, which I shall never forget...On Friday afternoon, whilst preparing to snorkel, we were suddenly invaded by a mass of birdlife overhead. Looking up, there must have been 500 or more blue footed boobies soaring above us, across the beach. Once they had passed, four pelicans flew in hot - albeit futile - pursuit, followed by a lone frigate.
Without warning, all of the birds swarmed around a headland before plunging - en masse - into the ocean, plundering the defenseless school of fish below. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Even our guides were excited by the unexpected spectacle.
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