So what are we doing here (Part 1: High Peak)

High Peak is one of the main sites we are working. Here there is one of the last fragments of cloud forest on St Helena which is home to many threatened plants and invertebrates. Unfortunately it is ridiculously small, and getting smaller all the time due encroachment by exotic plants. We are weeding (often by hand) selected troublesome weeds and replanting with lots of endemic plants

High Peak. The good bits are the dark areas towards the top. Most of the rest is grass and NZ's own flax

A closer view of a remnant cabbage tree woodland (the "Dell") on High Peak. One of the best patches remaining on the island and also one of the last places where the spiky yellow woodlouse is found (more on these beasties later - hopefully!)

Volunteers planting endemics at High Peak during a recent open day. Checkout the contrast between the green highlands and the arid coastal zone

Some Saints planting endemics

Young Saints planting in a dense grove of the hybrid "rebony" Trochetiopsis x benjamini (T. ebenus cross with T. erythroxylon)

Views from nearby

Recently we both accompanied Marine Unit personnel on a survey of cliff-nesting seabirds. The views of the coastline were simply extraordinary. Mike took nearly 1000 photos during the 4 hour trip on rough seas in a small(ish) boat. After much anguish, the following 17 photos have been selected as the best of the day:

Approaching Jamestown foreshore

St Helena's fishing fleet moored in Jamestown Roads. It's a big sea and an even bigger sky before the next piece of land

St Helena's fishing fleet and coastal cliffs

Munden's Battery and the Bahrain prison perched on cliff near Jamestown

Cliffs underneath Flagstaff in the north of St Helena

Approaching the obviously-named Turks Cap in the east of St Helena. Strangely, when you walk along the coastal slopes it feels a lot steeper than pictured

Shore Island

Shore Island with Great Stone Top in background

George Island with backdrop of Great Stone Top (highest coastal cliff in southern hemisphere)

George Island, an important seabird nesting site

Shore Island

Waves battering a headland at Sandy Bay, in the east of St Helena

The dike swarms in the cliffs of St Helena are renown to geologists worldwide. This is a view of a swarm (the dark lines) under Man O' War Roost in the south-east

Speery Island (in the south). People climb this island to harvest guano for their gardens

Another view of Speery Island

Black noddies (Anous tenuirostris) busy replenishing the guano supply on Speery Island

Man and Horse cliffs. Some areas of the coast have a lovely appearance of crushed velvet. I've heard tale of two fisherman scaling this cliff when the sea became rough and started to swamp their fishing rock. They climbed it in the dark, with their fish

The Wedding

Mike got talked into taking the photos for a wedding and learned a few lessons in the process:

1. Wedding photographers never get paid enough
2. If using 2 cameras, make sure the time is the same on both otherwise when all the photos come together they are out of sequence
3. Its really quite hard when its all in black and white, even more so under a bright tropical sun
4. Don't let guests borrow your camera: the images that come out of it, while entertaining, aren't going to help make your reputation as a talented photographer
5. Wedding photographers never get paid enough

Anyway, to Kosta and Skye - hope you have a blast!

Kosta and Skye

P.S. Some guest have a certain attitude. Take Glen here, holding a knife with a beer in one hand, in a "you'll never take me alive copper" attitude. Disturbingly, in every photo I have of Glen he is holding/drinking/finishing/buying another bottle of beer. Even more disturbing is that Glen is one of the few Mental Health workers on the island. He certainly does wonders for my mental health

Glen

P.P.S. Actually Glen is a really nice guy and fun to have drinks with. Just keep him away from the cutlery and anything sharp

When the Saints March

I had an interesting time today photographing a very rare event: Saints on a protest march. Prices of many basic food items here have increased by around 20% after changes to import duties and taxes. Most of these changes have been under direction from the UK Government. Saints, who earn £5000 a year on average, are afraid that they will no longer be able to support their families. The march was well supported and very good natured. But the police video-taped everything just in case. Governor Gurr received a representation in his office, but refused to speak to the crowd.

protesters on the main street in Jamestown. They're not really about to mow down the 2 small children in the foreground

a delegation from the protest present letters to Governor Gurr under the watchful eye of the police. I claimed free-lance photographer status to get into his office

students start protesting young on St Helena

the police get organised. They weren't that pleased to have a camera literally 20 cm from their shoulder!

As Monty python would say - A Rowdy Bunch of Rabble Rousers: Melvyn, Spooks and Syddy

In the barracks before departure. I'm sure the woman front centre was waiting for a police baton charge at any moment

Saints have a certain style when it comes to protesting

two of the organisers making noise and having fun: Melvyn and Bernice

The (very) occasional big bang

Shooters of large calibre rifles have a hard time on St Helena. The price of ammunition and the difficulty of getting it onto the island means that they shoot only once per year. No practice, 18 shots over 3 distances. If that isn't bad enough, the range is in the open on an exposed spur. Oh and the target butts are downhill. Despite this, there are some very very good shots on St Helena. They practice with small bore .22 and air rifle and then just adapt. Here's a few shots (pun intended) from their recent event. We'll next see them sometime in 2012.

A night at the (pancake) races

Shrove Tuesday has been and gone and the annual St Helena pancake races have been held. Here's a few photos from the night ...

Pre-race briefing. The eyes say it all

Big sisters, you gotta listen to them - especially when they're right in your ear

Only on St Helena would you be able to get curry with your pancakes!

Our friendly local constabulary

Remy, who shouldn't be that surprised that I've got a lens in his face ... again

Prosperous Bay Plain and King & Queen Rock landscapes

Some landscapes from the Prosperous Bay Plain and King & Queen Rocks area of St Helena. Where they're going to build an international airport ...

Oil drum & Mesas

Lichens

Young babies toes seedlings and cracked mud

gecko

Signal station cliffs

Salad plant, looking towards Great Stone Top

King & Queen Rocks. Saints walk down these cliffs to go fishing - in the dark!

Signal station ruins with Barn and Flagstaff in background

How hard could it be??

I was asked to take a photo of the Heart-shaped Waterfall (as the name suggests, the cliff it goes over is in the shape of a heart) as part of a series on the the top scenic spots on St Helena. How hard could that be??

Well for starters it only flows at certain times, when it does flow it is often a dirty brown colour or is being blown around by the wind, and the area is often either cloudy or in bright bright harsh sunshine. To add a bit of a complication - there is only a window of about an hour each day when the light is from the right angle too. After nearly 3 months of waiting I finally got my opportunity. The sky is not fantastic, but the rest of the photo came out ok.

Photo taken while standing on the safety wall on the outside of a blind hairpin on one of the main roads into Jamestown. Luckily everyone here is pretty relaxed about things and even if they thought I was a bit mad they kept that opinion to themselves