THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT

Well, I almost made it!

When time ran out, I was about 17 Followers behind the third place team. Not too bad. I had hoped to make it further of course, but fourth overall is still pretty good.

Congratulations to Lindy, Nicquel, and Craig & Linda who are all waiting to hear who gets to embark on the trip of a lifetime.

I had actually started my own travel blog weeks before I heard about the competition, then promptly abandoned it to focus on this blog. I'm still travelling, and keen to keep sharing insight and information. If anyone wants to stay in touch, visit my personal blog at http://catherinemoores.wordpress.com called exploretainment from everywhere. I can be reached at exploretainment@gmail.com.

Finally, not one to squander any opportunity...

I'm in New Zealand and I need work! I am keen to work in the tourism industry, have my visa, will go anywhere and can start immediately. If anyone knows of an opportunity please let me know.

Thanks again to everyone for your support - looking forward to the next adventure...

Best wishes,

Cat

ONE HOUR LEFT

Hello everyone:

I have one hour to make the top three - it is very close.

If you're wondering what this is all about, I'm competiting for the chance to travel around NZ for three months as a travel blogger. I have less than one hour to make the final three (by attracting the most blog followers) and I NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Please click FOLLOW underneath my picture and support my application. This is now urgent.

More information is available at www.entirelykiwi.com

Cheers everyone!
Cat :)

Just Over Two Hours - ALMOST IN THIRD!

Hello friends:

We have just over two hours to get me into the top three. As it stands, 39 more followers would put me in a tie for third place.

I'm sure these last few hours will be important for us all - I'm almost there and need your help to make it!

Please encourage, cajole, pleasantly harass everyone you know to become a Follower.

This will be close - I know we can do it!

Best wishes,

Cat

The Final Evening

Hello everyone:

It's the final evening of the competition here in NZ and I'm in fourth place.

I'm confident that I can pull through - I just need a bit more support in the final hours.

The first place competitor has just reached 400, and I would like to do the same.

If everyone reading this blog can get one more person to join, that would be wonderful. Can't give up now!

Here's hoping the final hours will be fruitful.

Thanks for all your support!

Cheers,
Cat

Format THIS

I seem to be having formatting 'woes' currently. I'd like to think it's because of all the people trying to access my blog and clicking "FOLLOW" at the same time.

As soon as I can access my posts again without error messages, I'll fix things.

And thanks for all the support so far! I need to reach at least 300 in the next 18 hours to have a real chance at this.

I can make it with your continued support. I think I'll do a great job, and am excited to post fun and interesting information about NZ for you to enjoy. (Visiting Anton and the whale collection was incredible; I hope there will be more experiences like that.)

Not long to go now; I appreciate every effort you're making to help me realize (realise) this dream job!

Best wishes,
Cat

The Other Te Papa

I’m not sure a visit to Wellington would be complete without spending time at the National Museum, Te Papa. The collection is astounding. So far I’ve spent several days there and I haven’t seen everything. And of course visiting the same exhibits again yields new discoveries. I’d like to tell you about a specific collection.

Imagine you’re walking along a beach in New Zealand. You come across a beached whale. You call the Department of Conservation. The Department of Conservation calls Anton.

Anton is Te Papa’s marine mammals collection manager. He knows more about whales than anyone I’ve met. When you visit the marine mammals collection at Te Papa, near the giant squid, you’re looking at Anton’s work. What’s amazing is that the number of whale specimens on display does not give you a sense of the collection’s size. (The collection maintained by Te Papa is one of the largest in the world.) Away from the actual museum there’s another building where most of the collection is kept, along with countless other specimens in rows and rows of jars.

Lately Anton’s been working on unraveling the mysteries of the Spade-toothed whale. This video shows you how excited he is about his work, and the excitement is infectious!

Meeting Anton made me think about all of the effort that goes into museum displays. We see the end product, mostly oblivious to the work taken to create something worth looking at. And the research we see in displays is only part of what Anton does. Learning about whales gives us a greater understanding of life in the oceans, and ultimately our impact on the natural environment.

Next time you visit a museum, spare a quick thought for those dedicated and passionate enough to provide us with this fascinating, critical information.

The skull Anton is measuring is a Gray's beaked whale (Mesoplodon grayi) and the vertebra I'm holding is from an Arnoux's beaked whale (Berardius arnuxii). I know I have a photo of Anton twice, but the photo at the top is a nice one of the skull, and in this one you can see heaps of cool stuff behind him. Science rules, I know.

VOTE FOR CAT!

We're almost at the end of time to gather blog followers. If you're reading this, I hope you've signed on as a follower, and thanks. If not, do it! Now! I've been enjoying working on this blog, and am keen to continue exploring New Zealand and sharing what I discover.

At the moment it looks as if my chance of making the final three will be in a push to make the third spot. I'd like to get 300 followers, and am half way there. This is where you come in.

If you've been enjoying my posts and are excited to see more, I need your help. Ask a friend to follow. Ask two friends. Someone at work, a neighbour, that person you've been wanting to talk to but couldn't think of what to say...

If every one of you is able to get one more person signed on, I think we'll do it.

GO TEAM CAT!

Cheers everyone.