According to the US Census Bureau°, 0.09% of US residents have the first name 'Brent' and 0.0003% have the surname 'Doscher'. The US has around 300 million residents, so we guesstimate there are 1 'Brent Doscher's.

I'm special.

There's things I remember and things I forget
I miss you, I guess that I should
Three thousand, five hundred miles away
But what would you change if you could?

Escape from Owlcatraz

Yesterday I took a journey with Malcolm to Shannon, which is about an hour to an hour and a half north of Wellington. The goal was to get some footage of owls for his documentary. The destination was a place called Owlcatraz.

Warning: The following contains heaps of educational information

We arrived, and after standing around for a little while and being entertained by Joey the Cockatoo and his antics, we headed down into the owl pen. The owners of Owlcatraz have spent mostly their entire life studying owls and have given these owls a safe environment to live in.

So we entered the pen to capture some footage of the Southern Boobook Owl (also called the Ruru by the Māori, and the Morepork for the sound it makes). There were about 6 owls in the pen, which was an octagon that simulated the natural environment of the Boobook, with trees and mist and timed lights.

We spotted one Morepork on a branch about chest height, so we turned on our red-gelled lights and began to film. The little guy instantly woke up and was absolutely intrigued by the light. He turned his head from side to side, and was entranced by the camera for the first couple minutes, staring straight into the lens with his wide eyes. The Morepork wasn't more than 8-10 inches in height when his head was tucked into his body, and he was very cooperative.



Since the lights were on a timer, they turned off at one point. This is supposed to simulate dusk, so once the light drops below a certain brightness level, it means that it's time to wake up and start feeding. Instantly the owl began to stir more, getting ready to fly away. But the owner overrode the lights and turned them up a bit more. It was interesting to see the effect, as the owl relaxed right away, and went back to a calm state.

So we began to talk to the owner while we were filming, and he told us a bit about the Morepork. It is a nocturnal owl, that hunts in complete darkness unlike other owls which hunt at dusk and dawn. It is able to see heat traces of prey, and has the advantage over animals that rely on sight during the night.

The Ruru is a great symbol of luck in Māori society, and when going into battle, if a Ruru was spotted flying the opposite direction of the soldiers, they would retreat. If flying with the soldiers, they would go into battle with the blessing of the Ruru.

At one point the owner told us how many people had wanted to do exactly what we were doing. Video and still cameras are not allowed in the pen because many people are very unintelligent and turn the flash on to photograph the owls. Because their eyes are SO sensitive to light, this literally blinds the owls for months. If done in the wild, it can kill them, as they obviously rely on their sight for hunting. People have done it before and he has to take the birds in and feed and nurture them until they regain their sight, and they are never able to fully recover. He said tears stream down their face because of how much pain their eyes are in.

While the adult Morepork is nocturnal, the young prefer light, and often sleep in a more lit section of the pen. Often times in the wild this causes problems, because they are active during the day. They often times mistake hawks for their mothers, fly to them, and are killed.

The owl sleeps on one foot because that way it magnifies any movement in the tree they are sleeping in by 100 times. It allows them to sense any bugs such as wetas that are scampering around. When the owl is sleeping, they barely have their eyes open but are completely aware of any presence around them. A trick that we were shown is that if you take a stick and lightly push against the feet of the owl while they are sleeping, it will move to the stick while remaining asleep in order to maintain balance. This apparently can be done with any owl, even those in the wild. Very cool.



After about twenty minutes we had to leave because another group was arriving, but not before we walked the perimeter of the pen and saw the young owls flying around. The whole experience was very cool, and it was incredible to have the unique opportunity to film and photograph such rare and beautiful birds.

The flights are booked...

I leave Wellington for Sydney on June 27th. I depart Brisbane for Wellington late on July 13th. I fly up to Auckland on the 15th, arriving at Auckland International Airport at 6:30PM, and board my plane for LAX at 9:30PM. I can already imagine the sadness I'll feel when I board the plane to leave. New Zealand has become my home.

After a slight mishap on my bike which started with my front wheel stopping on a rocky downhill section and ended with the bike on top of me, I have both a bruised face and a cast on my left arm. That's life I guess.

I FINALLY have an idea for my photo tech paper (course) that I'm really excited about. Now I need to be able to pull it off in a month while simultaneously working on a documentary book on triathletes (which is a year long project that I have to complete in a semester) and heavily researching advertising/fashion photography. These last 5 weeks of classes are going to be hard as.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow-lines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

-Mark Twain

Three Amazing Things

1) Spaced is an amazing show. I recently was clued into it from a guy from England that was in our hostel in Queenstown. The entire series is on Youtube, and it is pure genius. Simon Pegg, comedic mastermind, is behind the show and is the main actor, accompanied by none other than Nick Frost and a collection of other hilarious actors and actresses. Overall it's a very goofy show, and the comedy parallels that of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

A small hilarious clip about how men's minds can all work on the same wavelength much like women's, but in a very very different (and cooler) way.



2) The greatest burger chain in the world is reopening its location in Wellington. Anyone who has talked to me since I've been here or spent any time with me obviously knows how much I love Burger Fuel, as I'm always trying to locate one, and usually failing to do so. But the Wellington branch burned down a few months ago, and walking past yesterday I caught glimpse of a new sign, one saying that they're opening soon. Yesssssssssssssssssssssss..

3) Scrubs returns this Thursday for those of you in the U.S. While we're still a couple seasons behind over here, any progress in the U.S. is good in my book. BUT that's not the real good news. Since the writer's strike seriously messed up the entire final season, it has been officially announced that there will be another season, the 8th, that will air on ABC next year. That means scrubs will end the way it should, and won't be forced off the air without a real conclusion.

And with that, I'm outta here.

The Dolphin Swim

So if you read my previous post first, then you're probably wondering what all the fuss is about. Let me tell you. This past Friday, I had the amazing opportunity to swim with dolphins. It was one of the best experiences I've had in my entire life. So here's the story.

Wednesday I headed from Christchurch towards Kaikoura for the single purpose of doing the dolphin swim. I arrived Wednesday evening and was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. So I hung out for a day, and did all of that good stuff in Kaikoura. The next day I arrived and was told because it was windy, there were some very big swells. But they were still going out, and hoped the conditions would calm down a bit. So I donned my wetsuit, snorkling gear, flippers, all of that good stuff.

We headed out into the Pacific Ocean. After seeing a bunch of Albatross, we started to head over to the area where they had spotted the dolphins earlier that day. You see, these are completely wild dolphins, so they're never sure where they are going to be. It's not even a guarantee that they can always find them. But on our way over to the cove, all of a sudden we saw a flash, and there were about 5 dolphins surfing alongside the boat. They use the boat's slipstream to go faster, which is why dolphins are always alongside boats.

The dolphins swam by our boat for a while, but then it was announced that we couldn't go swimming because the water was far too choppy and dangerous. The skipper turned the boat around and headed back to the marina. Since we hadn't gone out very far, they didn't even charge us an operational cost. When we got back to encounter headquarters, I asked if instead of getting a full refund I could simply book for the next day, since I would still be around. They had one seat left on the 6AM tour. Oof! 6AM was early, but I decided I could do it.

So I was up at 5:30AM the next morning, pumped and ready to go (though a bit cold). I got to the HQ and went through the same process, got to watch the exciting training video again. Then we headed out.


When we got on the water it was absolutely beautiful. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the sky was glowing orange and blue. I obviously grabbed my camera and snapped some off. We headed straight over to the spot where the dolphin sometimes congregate, and all of a sudden we started seeing some fins popping out of the water, just as the sun was rising. What a way to start the day. If you can think of a way you'd rather spend your morning than watching dolphins jumping out of the water in front of a sunrise, I'd love to hear it.



At that point there were probably 10-20 dolphins around us. We kept going a little farther into a bigger group, and the skipper told us to get our gear on. He let us into the water, and instantly the dolphins were flying past and around us. Literally within a foot of my body, just swimming playfully past. And they kept coming. They are incredible animals, so slick in the water, and so curious as well. I was in the water for about 10 minutes that first time. Our skipper sounded the horn and we all got back on board. We went a couple more times, both times being about 5 minutes. Those second and third swims were cool, but nothing like the first one.

But then the fourth swim came. We headed right into the area where a lot of dolphins were playing, jumping, flipping, doing all of the crazy stuff dusky dolphins do. We got in the water amidst HUNDREDS of dolphins. The guide estimated there were about 400-500 dolphins in the small area we were in. I would dive down and they would be surrounding me, just swimming past. Numerous times, if you could catch the attention of the dolphins, they would start swimming circles around you in the water to see if you could keep up with them. I saw some go by that had seaweed hanging from their fins, some playfully fighting a few meters below me, being surrounded by 5+ at the same time, all just swimming about having fun. We were in the water for a good 15 minutes, and even when we were called back to the ship the dolphins were streaking by under us.

We got back in the boat and had some hot chocolate and biscuits (cookies). We then watched the dolphins perform, like they are known for. The Dusky dolphin is one of the most jovial and acrobatic dolphins in the world. They were jumping straight out of the water, swimming by in groups, doing backflips, frontflips, side flops, everything imaginable. There would be specific dolphins that were just going crazy, flip after flip after flip. Within meters of the boat too. I wish I were able to catch some photos, but they were so fast and sporadic, things were happening everywhere around the boat.

By that time, we had been on the water longer than normal, because the conditions had been so perfect, and there had been so many dolphins. So the skipper said it was time to head back and we turned the boat around and headed back, with some dolphins surfing on our current.

The Dolphin Swim was easily one of the best things I have ever done in my life. It was so incredible, and such an amazing opportunity. They are absolutely stunning animals. Hats off to Dolphin Encounter at Kaikoura, I can't say enough positive things about it. Simply Incredible.

Holy Update Batman!

"If you ever find yourself lost in the woods, build a house. 'Well, I was lost, but now I live here -- I have severely improved my predicament.'"

-Mitch Hedberg

Back from spring autumn break! Oh, it was pretty crazy. Lots of traveling, lots of money spent, and lots of fun had. It was me traveling with Ashley and three of her friends from Uni for the first week, then me traveling alone for the second week. It was really good to drive all around the south island. Besides Abel Tasman, I have now been to visited every part of the south island that I wanted to.

In order to best tell the tale of my entire journey, I'll recap day by day, with a picture for every day. A couple are borrowed.

Saturday, March 22nd: I saved most of my packing until the morning of my flight, which was a pretty bad idea. I ended up leaving out a few important things including the Lonely Planet, anything to write in, a book besides The Life of Pi, water bottle, and heaps of other small things that would have been helpful. Caught my flight around noon, then got into Christchurch and met up with Ashley and Jess at Cathedral Square. We walked around town and got some food that evening, then stayed in Cokers backpackers.

Sunday: I picked up the car early morning. Half expecting a crappy car, I was surprised with a Holden Commodore. We headed out from Christchurch, drove through Arthur's Pass, and ended up in Franz Josef that night, after driving down a nice section of coast.

Monday: We took a guided tour of the Franz Josef glacier. While it wasn't very entertaining per-say, it was interesting. Hiking on a giant glacier is quite the experience. We stayed at the same backpackers in Franz Josef that night, and I slept in the lounge because one of our roommates wouldn't stop snoring. I only remember two nights my entire trip that there wasn't someone who snored loudly in my room.

Tuesday: We got an early start, and headed to Queenstown. Not a very exciting day, minus the misjudging of the petrol gauge, and almost running out of fuel. We got into Queenstown in the afternoon, checked into the Hippo Lodge, and checked out the town.

Wednesday: We were up at 3:30AM! We booked the 9AM boat tour at Milford Sound, which is conveniently a 4 hour drive away from Queenstown. So when 4AM rolled around, we were already in the car on the way. We saw plenty of wildlife, including rabbits, possum, hedgehogs, keas, and maybe a kiwi. We saw far more animals than cars, encountering less than 20 autos on the road during the four hour ride. The Milford Cruise was very scenic. We saw seal pups and got sprayed with giant waterfalls. The Milford Sound is also located in a giant canyon, which was very cool. Drove back afterwards and stopped in Ta Anau for lunch. After we got back, it was a pretty lazy day.

Thursday: This was my lazy day. I didn't really do anything besides poorly planning the rest of my trip, going to the underwater observatory to see diving ducks and giant fish, and finishing The Life of Pi. What a miraculous book. I suggest you read it.

Friday: I returned the rental car in the morning, then hung out until it was time to Bungy Jump at the Nevis. The Nevis is a 134 meter jump, which is currently the third highest in the world. It was an incredible rush. The feeling as you are free falling towards the bottom of a canyon is pretty unrivaled. Click the picture for a bigger version. That evening the girls and I went into town for gourmet pizza and dessert since it was their last night it Queenstown.

Saturday: The girls left and I was left wondering what to do. I decided to hike the hill that the Gondolas run up. It was a good hike, but I could barely bend my knee when I finally reached the top. I took the gondola down for free, then spent the rest of the day heating and icing my knee. How enthralling, I know.



Sunday: I picked up my next rental car from Jucy and realized I forgot one of my shirts at the Hippo Lodge. I went back to find one of the housekeepers trying to pocket it as their own, but I grabbed it away from them and left. I then drove from Queenstown to Dunedin, picking up a hitch-hiker on the way for company. He was from Chile, and a nice guy who had been working in Queenstown and was starting to travel. When we reached Dunedin after a long drive, I checked into On Top Backpackers and hung out for the rest of the night. I started a new book, Overload, that I picked up in Queenstown for $2. Sorry, no photo here. I'll put two up for tomorrow.

Monday: I spent the day in Dunedin, doing two different types of tours. The first tour of the day was the Speights Brewery tour, which was very interesting and a great deal, as we were given about 20 minutes in the bar at the end, able to have any Speight's beer we wanted. I felt it necessary to try all the different kinds, and 6 glasses later I had done so. The apricot beer was really quite interesting, and didn't even really taste like beer, more like a soft drink. The second tour was the Elm Wildlife tour, which was very interesting. We left around 3, and first visited the Albatross watching area. After seeing a few Albatross and being amazed by their enormous wingspan, we traveled to a wildlife conservation area, where we viewed wild fur seals. There was a colony of a few hundred, who were doing everything from lying around lazily to playing in small pools. After the seal viewing, we walked over to the beach, where on the way down we saw a yellow eyed penguin standing in one spot, guarding his path. On the beach I got within a few meters of adult male sea lions, and watched them flop around lazily. We then walked over to a hide where we observed a group of yellow eyed penguins on the hillside, then watched as a penguin came in from his day at sea. All very funny, and entertaining. The coolest thing is that they were all completely wild animals, not like those you'd see in a zoo. We got back to the backpackers around 9PM, leaving the trip duration at 6 hours. Not bad at all. The picture doesn't look too interesting at small size, so click on it and look a little closer, you may notice something.

Tuesday: I left Dunedin, but not before walking up the steepest street in the world, Baldwin Street (I’m not exaggerating, it’s in the Guinness Book of World Records). Yep, it’s a steep street. Not a whole lot else to say. After that I headed towards Christchurch, stopping in Oamaru to see the blue penguin colony but about 8 hours too early. The colony comes back in the evening, at dusk. After spending many hours on the road and listening to stations labeled as classic that were straight up pop music, I arrived in Christchurch again. I stayed in Cokers again that night, had sushi for dinner, and watched a bunch of movies with some Canadians.

Wednesday: I left Christchurch for Kaikoura after having a nice conversation with a couple from England about traveling NZ. Stopping only once at St. Anne’s Lagoon for lunch, I got to Kaikoura in a few hours. I booked myself in for two nights at the Dusky Lodge, and chilled out for the night after visiting the seal colony and getting growled at by them. The next two days were the big days.

Thursday: Thursday began the experience that is just too absolutely incredible to be explained in little detail. So I am warranting an entire post to it. Look to the next post for details.

Friday: Same deal for the beginning of the day, then I drove back to Christchurch, where I returned the car. I stayed with a friend at the University of Canterbury for the night instead of sleeping in the airport, and had a good time.

Saturday, April 5th: I made my way back to the airport, worrying whether I was going to make my flight or not. I did, and the flight back was no fun. But I arrived in Wellington around 12:30, and my journey was over. Kind of a bland end, but I’m alright with it.


So after going out to dinner with my sister, editing photos for hours upon hours, and sort of unpacking, I am now writing this. Reflecting on my break, I think that even though I now have about 10 cents in my bank account, the vacation was well worth it.