First day we went to Pleasant Point where we were hosted by Tony Howey, an NZ Scholar who grows carrots, black current and onions amongst other things.  He is trying to sell of some of his land that overlooks his deer farm with a great view of the mountains in the background. There are 12 empty 2,000m² blocks selling @ $200k and they come with a share of the deer and 5yr membership to the golf course next door!  If I was house hunting in Canterbury, this would be high on my list!  See www.meadowlinks.co.nz

Tony showed us round the Timaru area, including the port where he has cold storage for his black currents.  Here the other scholars were lucky enough to see their first toothfishing vessel, the San Aspiring, owned by NZ company, Sanford – it must have just unloaded its product from the Ross Sea.  A good way to end the day and the troops were on a high after seeing it!

Day two was hosted by Craige MacKenzie near Methven who specialises in precision farming. He grows wheat and carrot seed amongst other things.  We had a good discussion about research organisations in NZ and how they differ from Australia’s RDCs.  We took the scenic route to Christchurch to finish the day.  In the evening I caught up with one of our toothfish skippers, Yuri, as I wouldn’t be seeing him until after I finish my study tour so thought it would be a good opportunity to consolidate some potting information before I see my contacts in Europe and the Americas.

Finally, today was a sobering experience, but very valuable.  We visited the city of Christchurch and saw some of the damage done by the quakes.  It probably was a bit hard to comprehend as a lot of the damage has been cleaned up but there are still many abandoned buildings and houses with lots of structural damage that will have to be taken down in time. We were lucky enough to be spoken to by the newly awarded Young NZer of the Year for 2012, Sam Johnson, who played a major role in the clean up of Christchurch.  He was the person behind the Student Army which amassed some 7000 facebook members and organised help and cleanups for the average home owner who was affected by the quake.  A very inspiring story and at only 23, shows the positive influence that can come from a single person/idea.

Well we are off to the Netherlands tomorrow morning for the Contemporary Scholars Conference with over fifty 2012 scholars from around the world.  Think we are going to Lone Star tonight… Looking forward to some cheesey fries!

Today we saw some intensive crop farming in some beautiful countryside just below Mt Hutt. We learnt about irrigation in NZ and had a talk from a local Maori woman that gave us an insight into the change in landscape since European settlement some 150 years ago.  Finished up seeing another farm that was in the process of converting some of their land to a dairy, which is becoming more apparent here in the South Island.  It seems that the Government here is much more supportive to farmers than back home.

We finished the night with a generous invitation to the Grasshopper Farmers Club, which is a prestigious invite only club of about 40 members of the farming community in the Christchurch / Canterbury Plains area.  This was set up by some Nuffield Scholars some years ago and they meet once a month to discuss issues on farming and the general Canterbury area.  We had a guest speaker, Bruce Irvine, who talked about his immediate 2 days after the Christchurch earthquake – a very moving story.  He is a Director on many Boards around the ChCh area and played an important role during the rescue at the CTV Building.  Very fortunate to be invited into this Club and mingle with people and hear the many stories that were told.

Yesterday we heard from representatives from DAFF (Aust Dept of Agriculture, Forests & Fisheries), USA Dept Agriculture and EU delegate to Australia.  These guys focused on international trade and policy and gave us their perspectives from their respective nations.

Followed then with an afternoon of social profiling getting an idea of the types of people we are: Dominant, Influential, Steady, Conscientious, or a combination of these.  What do you think I am?

Today was a great start to the Global Focus Tour – I think it will set things up for the weeks to come.  Lots to take in and lots of new things to see.  We took the day to take in a lot of what Canberra has to offer.  Started early and got to the top of Mt Ainsley to get a view of the Berra from above.  We then went on to the National Museum of Australia, National Art Gallery, High Court, Old Parliament House and War Memorial.  We also got to meet the board of the National Farmers Foundation.

I must say that today’s highlight for me was Parliament House.  We were lucky enough to sit in on Question Time where the nations’ MPs discuss major talking points.  To describe it in one word: Entertaining!  This then was followed by dinner at the MPs dining area where we were hosted by the very generous Senator Chris Back and wife Linda.  Here we got a rare view of the inside of Parliament House which the average member of public is unable to access.

The end of the evening leaving Parliament House I saw probably my only linkage to seafood for the trip – a fossilised shrimp in the marble on the stairs!

Another big day tomorrow then next stop NZ on Saturday…

I just want to take this opportunity to thank Nuffield Australia for giving me this rare opportunity, as well as my sponsors, the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation and Woolworths.  Finally, a big thank you to the team at Austral Fisheries who have supported me and encouraged me to undertake the Nuffield experience.

Starting next week I’m sure there’ll be a lot more action here on Toothfish Tales!

There is also Trapped, Trapped II and Trawled in this series!

Click here to view.

I managed to find a great piece of video footage of a Sperm whale taking a Sablefish off a longline in Alaska. Sablefish are much like the Northern Hemisphere equivalent of a Toothfish. This was the ever first footage taken of sperm whale depredation and I am hoping to visit the scientists involved in this study next year on my Nuffield travels.