31 December 2013: Goat Island Discovery Centre & snorkeling

An early start to New Year's Eve saw us drive about 1.5 hrs north from Auckland to the sleepy seaside town of Leigh.  Today's itinerary included a visit to the Goat Island Discovery Centre, an extension of Auckland University, and the nearby beach for some snorkeling.

On the way to the Discovery Centre, we visited with Kerry at the Goat Island Dive shop (www.goatislanddive.co.nz) to be fitted for our snorkeling gear.  Kerry was instrumental to making our gear 'hire' a super-smooth operation and we extend our sincerest gratitude for her help!  We then drove a little ways down from the gear shop to the Discovery Centre, located immediately up the hillside from the beach we'd later snorkel from.  Peter Crabb was kind enough to introduce our students to marine science and the origins of the Discovery Centre in the 1970s.  Peter, a marine biologist and underwater cameraman and film producer, shared with us some of the factors that impact marine systems, including overharvesting of marine resources and acidification of the oceans.  A newly-minted PhD student, Leo, shared with us the types of graduate research being undertaken at the Discovery Centre and his own experiences as a graduate student.  Leo and Peter described to our students the excitement of conducting research and highlighted some of the potential career paths biology majors might follow after graduation (a good discussion for some of our junior biology majors!).  After a visit at the 'touch table', where students could touch & pick-up sea cucumbers, sea stars, scallops, sponges, and hermit crabs, we headed out to the beach for some snorkeling!

 David Hobbs (Business), Stephen Maccleod (Business), and Kristen Maddock (Natural Sciences) discuss details of one of the information panels in the Goat Island Discovery Centre in Leigh.

Leo (far left) and Peter Crabb, marine biologist at the Discover Centre (sitting in center, back) talk to our group about research taking place at Auckland University.

Chris Lorch (Nursing) handles one of the many sea cucumbers in the 'touch tank'.  Leo, our post0graduate host, conducted research on sea cucumbers and its cultivation as a food source.

The beach where we snorkeled from near the Goat Island Discovery Centre.  Not a bad place to be in the middle of our Northern Hemisphere winter!  The weather was outstanding: 75F, clear, with a slight breeze coming from the sea.  The water was a bit chilly (low 60s F), but long sleeve and pants wet suits minimized the effects of the cold!  We saw ~10 different species of fish during our snorkeling, and also saw a squid, some sea sponges, and a few hermit crabs.  More pictures of our snorkeling adventure will follow soon!