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Good bye Australian Museum!!!

Hey there! Tomorrow is my last day at the Australian Museum! It was a good time, I met a lot of wonderful people and got a lot of work done! Thanks everybody! Hopefully, see you soon!

The Research and Collection Building of the Australian Museum. In the 2nd floor was my office.

Torben, Buz and Sue (f.l.t.r.) in the SEM lab. Scanning Electron Microscopy is a powerful technique to get images of the smallest structures of any object, be it crystals or deep-sea isopods. Magnification of several thousand times is no problem. Unfortunately, my isopods are often very dirty and beautiful pictures are then not quite possible.

The old part of the Australian Museum. It is the first Museum in Sydney and located directly in the center of the city.

Lord Nelson

It was already last Friday after our small sailing cruise that we had a small gathering in an old brewery, called Lord Nelson. It is a pub and hotel as well. As Mariella had promised, it was the original pub experience. The beer was good. The names of the beers are better: Victory Bitter, Old Admiral and Nelson's Blood. Tomorrow, Gerald will come for a visit. Nelson: beware!

Diving with whales

Saturday was amazing! The boat ride alone was great, which took us through the heads out of Port Jackson and into the Tasman Sea. Some miles off Dee Why we were diving at a small reef with nice kelp beds, fields of sponges and ascidians, caves and crevices. We saw Port-Jackson Sharks, Wobbegong Sharks, Giant Cuttlefish, a ginormous Octopus and loads of other animals. But what was even better: In about 25 m depth, Jasmin could hear the songs of Humpback Whales migrating north where they will give birth to the next generation. After the second dive, a goup of four whales was approaching. As we were still in our suits, we tried to see them under water. Unfortunately, the visibility was less than the ~20 m distance in which the Humpbacks passed by. Still, it was the best experience ever!!!!
Further sightings of that day: Shy Albatross, Little Shearwater, div. Petrels and Gannets. What a day already. Coming home, Mariella, Lucille and Maja were already preparing some Barbie and Lucille got some nice wines out of her cellar. Puhh.. couldn't wish for more!

Sailing Port Jackson: 01st July, 2011

We took the Friday off because Rohan, a fish taxonomist at the Australian Museum, invited us to a cruise on his yacht! I simply couldn't resist! And though the day was rainy, it was great! To go off sailing is really a dream of mine and so I think that I was smiling all the day. Rohan taught me some basics about to handle the sails, about the rules of traffic in Port Jackson. Can't wait to go again!

Heute ist Geburtstag: June 30th, 2011

Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! On the occasion of my birthday, Jasmin and I went SCUBA diving in Chowder Bay Port Jackson.

Größere Kartenansicht

A dive shop is located right at the bay so a car isn't needed to transport the heavy gear. The bay has some nice wrecks and heavy chains that are overgrown with diverse flora and fauna and provide good orientation amidst the wide sand plain. When we went into the water, a Little Penguin rushed through the place, right behind my back. Jasmin was happy enough to see it but I didn't. We also saw sea horses, Anglerfish, small cuttlefish, beautiful nudibranchs and lots more. The bay is a nice place for relaxed diving and fauna observations. Orientation is easy and maximum dive depth is about 20 m. A cool place to go! We enjoyed it a lot!

Isopod group 2011 at full strength

Only some weeks before I have to leave again, Tae-yoon arrived to complete the AustMus Isopod Group 2011. Welcome Tae-yoon! He will work on fossil isopods from Korea, which is where he is from.

Isopod Crustacean Researchers at the Australian Museum: Tim Lee (Hons, Univ. Sydney; Oniscidea; Armadillidae); Torben Riehl (Ph.D. Hamburg University, Germany; Asellota, Macrostylidae), Buz Wilson (Scientist, Australian Museum; Isopoda, deep-sea biodiversity); Luana Lins (Ph.D. Univ. Sydney; Asellota, Desmosomatidae); Tae-yoon Park (Endeavour Scholar, Australian Museum; Trilobita & Sphaeromatidea, Archaeoniscidae).