THE French seductress has changed a lot from when I last saw her, as a child watching French movies.
We saw her in downtown Auckland, at the beautiful marina. She was in town only for a short period.
I'm talking about the Sea Shepherd, however, and not the outspoken actress the boat is named after because of her support for anti-whaling and cruelty to seals. She took a trip in 1977 with the founder of the Sea Shepherd and, presumably impressed, he had her image painted on the side of the boat named after her. Interestingly, the original painting had her wearing leggings, but she insisted they be removed so she looked more skimpy!
We all took a tour of the vessel, to find out more about what they do and bought a T-shirt and a few other items as a way of lending support. There's not a lot of space on board, so you got an idea of the conditions the crew deal with, especially as they can be at sea for months at a time.
But when you think about the amount of whales still being harpooned and the reluctance of governments (with the exception of Chile) to become properly involved, thank goodness there are individuals like those who operate for Sea Shepherd and care for these wonderful, enormous creatures.
Sea Shepherd is a non-profit marine wildlife conservation organization. They are protecting not only whales, but also dolphins and other sea creatures being hunted close to extinction.
Yegods!Dont know about hats, but that bit about following sonmoee down the alley . When I was in AUS I came into the Alice expecting to stay two nights, as this was party city in OZ. Booked into a hotel that had three bars. One for the natives, (aboriginals) one for the workers, and one for the clientele (me) Crossed the line and met MEL' who was back to work after a week off for a broken arm. In the US, this is eight weeks off. (I need to interject: This hotel had a spiral staircase, brass everywhere, two king size beds totally out of sight of each other, two showers etc. etc. $36 US) Anyway, Mel and I struck up a conversation and I admitted to having booked a dij' lesson the at the Aboriginal Education Center at Uluru the next day. Mel avowed he could get me better as he knew a pro. We were to go to this guy's house and do the dij' thing. Follow me, mate Mixed emotions abounding! Visions of a slow trip to China. All for naught. Mel's mate was indeed a pro recording under a false name (to escape taxes) and had about thiry dijs leaning against the wall. He found one in a true Gmaj and we did Amazing Grace, with Mel on the Guitar, me on the harp, and this amazing musician (who had, evidently, spent a number of years with the natives learning and practicing) on the dij. It was musically good but moreso, it was emotionally inspiring. Had I been just a bit more cautious, I would have missed the whole experience. (sure wish I had that on tape!!)I agree with Avery: We need a foto of y'all in them hats! Love, B&B
Posted by: Madalin | 09 November 2013 at 03:14 AM