This time next week I'll be in the air wondering how I can possibly
move all my stuff around the world without engineering a herniated
disk. It would be easy if I was on vacation, even if I was just
measuring stuff in museums. My Dutch family can confirm how much my
measuring equipment weighed...and I toted it up their stairs! They
made me lay down and take a heart aspirin and considered calling the
morgue (I showed them my passport and they realized I always looked
that way). Now I have a professional microscope and video equipment,
the measuring stuff from before, even more measuring stuff to take
precise craniofacial measurements of living ferrets, two shipping
crates of consumable supplies, field equipment, bottles of pain
relievers, and I think a partridge in a pear tree. Oh, cameras, film,
and a computer. How does that song go? On the fifth day of New Zealand,
Bob reported to me: 5 herniated disks, 4 pulled intercostals, 3 avulsed
tendons, 2 pulled hamstrings, and a hern-ee-ah in Bobby's belly.

North Island New Zealand friends: I'll be emailing you this weekend. I
will arrive in Auckland at 5:10 am, Saturday March 15. No one needs to
meet me at the airport; I'll shuttle to the hotel. I plan to stay at
the Quality Inn Manukau for the weekend so I can acclimate and recover
from jet lag. Since I have more-or-less shifted my sleep schedule to
New Zealand time, I hope to have little problem and would love to visit
with ferret people and entertain them at my hotel either Saturday or
Sunday. You are invited to call me at the hotel. I have a New Zealand
phone SIM, but won't get a number until I get there. I would like to
visit the Auckland Zoo sometime that weekend and would welcome a tour
guide or at least some company. On Monday the 17th, I will travel to
Hamilton. During the week, my time will be spent on the project, but
evenings could be made available for visits. I will visit every person
who emailed me at least once or more. I plan to stalk feral ferrets
during weekends (for photos) and local "guides" or just good advice
would be greatly appreciated.

I will leave for the South Island on or around April 5 and will post
more details about a week prior.

I thank all of you in advance. I can think of no better place to start
the Ferret Project than in New Zealand. What a great kick off!

Bob C
[log in to unmask]

[Posted in FML 5906]