Trappin' and trekkin' in Transylvania

Here is a short collection of photographs taken during the 8 weeks I spent in the beautiful Transylvania.  I stole almost every single photograph in this collection from the staff and students on the expedition.  We had some amazing photographers but it was hard to take a bad photo in such a wonderful spot.

Romania 2014 from Niamh Quinn on Vimeo.

Hawaiian Holidays

I recently returned from a four week adventure in Hawaii.  It is hard to describe how amazing this place is so hopefully the video will do it a little bit of justice.

I would highly recommend a visit to the islands but I would bring lots of money with you!  I met a very elderly Japanese lady while I was there and her advice to me was to marry a rich man and not a poor man as they are too much trouble.  When I find that rich man I will be insisting he brings me back to Hawaii :)




Hawaii 2014 from Niamh Quinn on Vimeo.

American Adventures

Here are some video clips and photographs from my trip to Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, California, Oregon and Washington.

I managed to tick New Hampshire off my list too this time but I don't think I have any photos from that state.


American Adventure 2013 from Niamh Quinn on Vimeo.

Please help the Filipino people in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

Dear friends,

My heart is breaking.  I have had to stop watching the news in the wake of the recent disaster in the Philippines.  The scenes on the news are devastating.

As you may or may not know, I have recently returned from 14 months in the Philippines.  The devastating scenes remind me of the beautiful country I worked in, but more importantly, the amazing people I worked with while I was there.

It is hard to describe the spirit of the Filipino people but it is there in such abundance.  The news footage of people begging for water with tears streaming down their faces and pain in their eyes is so far removed from the smiling faces and kind eyes of the people and communities I worked with.

I worked in agriculture in rural parts of the Philippines, where people often lived in houses made of sticks and corrugated iron.  Where people had little but always had genuine smiles on their faces. The farmers I worked with were a pleasure to work with. Even the ones that didn't have any English would still try and converse with us in the paddy fields. Their resilience was beyond reproach.

Not only do the people of Tacloban and other affected areas have to suffer the immediate effects of the the typhoon but research from IRRI (Drs. Nyo Me Thwe and Grant Singleton) has shown that rodent outbreaks are closely linked to extreme climatic events. So the effects of this typhoon will also be potentially devastating in the future with severe rodent outbreaks causing lots of crop damage and disease.

I was hoping you could  help in any way you can? A little goes a long long way in South East Asia.  On the Philippines Red Cross website you can donate as little as 100 pesos (~€1.70) or 200 pesos (~€5.00) and I also heard that other Irish based charities like Oxfam and Concern are running their own campaigns. The cliche "every little helps" is especially true here as in the developing world €5 can buy a lot of clean water and rice to feed devastated families. Please help and share!

Regards

Niamh



  


Here are links two more places to donate to.

€ http://www.mycharity.ie/event/philippines_relief/ 
£ http://www.justgiving.com/PhilippinesRelief

Bags and bags of adventures

Mammy Quinn keeps suggesting that I throw my bag out as she has obviously seen better days. I am so attached to this bag though. It has been with me for holidays, college and several country relocation.  She has lived in three American states and visited a few more. She has been in four continents and crossed the equator at least 8 times.  In the forests, hills and fields of Galway and Mayo and in the orchards and fields of California, she has carried bait stations, traps and almost any other type of field equipment that I couldn't carry in my hands . 

After about 12 years of adventures she is definitely looking a bit worse for wear.  She is still hanging in there though and I am already looking forward to the next adventure.

See you all sooon

Reflections from the paddy in the paddy

It has been quite a journey over the last 14 months. The learning curve is one of the steepest I have ever come across and the challenges were some of the greatest also. I have less than a week left of this incredible journey. Where has the time gone?

When I decided to move from Liverpool to the Philippines I had no idea what was in store for me. I barely knew a thing about the Philippines and knew even less about rice. I used to think that the things I saw on a Saturday night out in Liverpool were some of the most bizarre I would ever see.......I was very wrong! The Philippines is such a wonderfully bizarre place. The weather is rough in the Central Valley in California but it isn't a patch on what we have faced here. Team Daga have struggled through temperatures over 40 °C and 90% humidity. It was extremely tough at times and we have almost all nearly fallen over because of dehydration but we have had some fun. On one of our last weeks in the field, over half the field crew had to lie down before they fell down. I had been seriously dehydrated before but the heat we experienced that week was unbelievable. Our whole bodies were pulsating trying to cool us down and we had spots in front of our eyes. I love a good challenge though and I think the weather and the difficulties that come with working in a paddy made this paddy relish the job that needed to be done even more.

Super Team Daga

Last day of field work for the dry season

Our farmer group with myself, Clare and Renee in front with our driver Igly and Mouth, the puppy.

Working with the Filipino farmers has been a pleasure. I think that farmers the world over all have their similarities. Despite their lack of english, the farmers in the Philippines have been as welcoming as the farmers that I have worked with in the hills in Connemara and the orchards and alfalfa fields of central and northern California. They were always happy to see us coming and very helpful and cooperative. Our last farmer group were particularly helpful and friendly and Renee is currently helping them to run their own TBS (trap barrier system) which should help the farmer to manage their rats effectively without the use of rodenticides. Clare and Renee will also return to the sites to collect rats for their next research projects. 

I had no idea how beautiful the Philippines was before I moved here. Considering the high level of spoken english among the Filipinos, it is difficult to understand why its profile as a tourist destination in Asia is so low. I have seen some amazing places since I came here and there are so many more that I may never get to see. I have been diving on ship wrecks from WWII, seen beautiful rice terraces and relaxed in some amazing island paradises. I am just back from a few days in Puerto Galera, Mindoro. The weather was amazing, the water was warm and crystal clear and the fresh mango daquiris were so delicious.  We managed to get two dives in too. The current during our first dive to a place called "Hole in the Wall" was really strong and we actually missed going ino the hole in the wall. Our guide was too slow to point out the entrance and Sara had floated off in the current. I managed to hook my heel into a lump of coral but I couldn't even turn round to see where my buddy had gone. In the end we moved on with the guide since the current was just so strong and explored the coral reefs.

Getting to travel to Sumatra was also a highlight of my time here. It truly was a very different experience that I don't think many people will ever have. Although many people will have trekked the jungles of
Sumatra as part of their travels, very few will have eaten strange birds caught by the farmer in the rice field or have the chance to release monitor lizards or snakes or be offered sauteed chicken hearts for breakfast!

My Indonesian family

I have struggled a lot here more than anywhere I have lived before. My health has not been good for over a year now. The weather is rough and the field work has been even rougher but boy have I enjoyed myself. I moved here to work with Grant Singleton and gain some more experience.  I got that and so much more.

Who knows when and where the next adventure will be. I am looking forward to spending some time at home with friends and family. I hope the sun will still be there when I return.



Adventures Down Under.

Diving at the Great Barrier Reef

This paddy left the paddy for a trip to the southern hemisphere. What a trip it turned out to be. I met up with the girls in Cairns and the Australian adventure began.

Cairns was beautiful.  The weather was just right and the town itself was lovely and parts of it reminded  me of the vibe in Galway. We rented a convertible and Maher and Byrnsey drove us up the coast where we saw crocs and excitedly watched out for kangaroos. We also went diving and snorkeling on the great barrier  reef. It certainly was eventful with Byrsney losing her mask and knocking her reg out of her mouth while we were under! There were four of us in our group and I turned around and suddenly all there was to see was Gal. I looked at her and looked around and saw no one. I looked again as it is easy to miss someone while diving as they could be under or over or beside you. However, Gal was the only one I could see. We finally saw two pairs of legs dangling above us. Byrnsey had swallowed too much water to continue but managed to swim back to the boat on her own while me and Gal hung out with Nemo. On the way back to the boat we saw a massive barramundi.  Gal was quickly reminded by our guide to keep her hands close by her side in case the fish bit them off!!

Next stop was Coolum beach and Fraser Island.  The bus to Fraser Island was so ridiculously bumpy I felt like I needed a sports bra! It was a nice trip though and we met some really cool people.

Proof that I managed to stay in the kayak !

Next we moved onto Byron Bay. The beach was spectacular and the town was nice and small. We went kayaking with the dolphins.  Our guide was a bit of a fruit loop and said things like "happy happy joy joy. Tra la la la la" and "peace and love, love and peace". Maher had the misfortune to be paired with me in the kayak. The brains were supposed to be in the front and the strength at the back. I was in the front so our brains and strength were well and truly in the back seat! The first big wave picked me up and unceremoniously dumped me out of the kayak. The unbalanced kayak then flipped over and dumped Maher out with the kayak landing on her head. Our happy happy guide Dougie pulled us back in and we were on our way again. Until the next big wave hit and dumped me out of the kayak again.  I tried to ask Dougie a question. His response was "There are no time for questions in nature! ". We finally made it past the breaking waves. It was quite the adventure even before we started!

We moved onto Surfer's Paradise then. It was a bit of a concrete jungle but the beach was lovely. We attempted to go surfing but ended up being kind of rescued by the lifeguards.  We didn't even realise we were in danger. We were just hanging out chatting. The waves were a bit rough but sure we felt like pros after our Byron bay shenanigans!

It was finally time for the first test so we headed to Brisbane. The city wasn't the nicest and the rugby was kind of pants to be honest but the craic was mighty.  

We headed to Melbourne then for the second test. Melbourne was a really nice city with buckets more culture to be found in comparison to Brisbane. The rugby was kind of crap again but I can't even begin to describe the atmosphere in the stadium. It was just electric! We visited the immigration museum since they had an exhibit called Leaving Dublin. It wasn't the best but they had a booth where you could record your own immigration story and listen to others. My favourite was the guy who had been in Australia for about a year. He put his head in his hands and start to stutter. I miss, I miss, I miss. He seemed a little distressed and paused and then looked at the camera and said so sincerely " I just miss Brennan's bread". Well I almost wet myself laughing! 

On the great ocean road

We picked up another UCG rugger here and rented a car and drove the great ocean road. The views from the twisty coastal road were spectacular and the craic in the car was unreal. Well until the spectacular ocean road went on and on and got twistier and twistier. We finally made it to the Twelve Apostles just before the sun set and the journey proved to be worth it. The views were breathtaking.

I was responsible for the return leg and so we headed for dinner. We headed for the nearest town as we were starving since we hadn't eaten since we left Melbourne over six hours ago. The town was smaller than any pokie village in Ireland. The town's only cafe slash shop slash hostel was open and so we went it. We all ordered something different and yet we all got the same thing. We got three versions of chicken schnitzel with different types of "gravy" on top. And by gravy I mean semi solid pile of goo! My stomach still turns slightly when I think of my chicken satay.  Gross! We had a good laugh about but I could taste it the whole way home! It only took about three hours to get home but since I am not used to driving anymore it seriously felt like forever.  All the kids were asleep in the back but my wonderful co-pilot Byrnsey kept me on the right road and entertained my moaning the whole way home!

Sydney was the next port of call and the craic continued there. We stayed with Maher's friend Sarah in Cronulla and went to Summer Bay and met some fine fella Heath who I had never heard of but not adverse to saying hello to. Sarah and her sister Tara and her friend Kirwan were also along for the ride. Sarah drove the new family around in a people carrier and it was like we were all old friends.  We all got on like a house on fire. We a spent the next day in Cronulla eating and drinking and listen to hilarious stories from Tara

The gang in Cronulla

We moved to Sasha and wills place in Bondi next and it seriously felt like Sasha had just moved out from the house in Rosan Glas yesterday and not four years ago. It was the first time I met Will and we all got on famously.  We walked the feet of ourselves in Sydney.  We went to the botanical gardens and Circular Quay, the rocks, the big observation tower and the paddy markets. The markets in Sydney weren't a patch on Victoria Market in Melbourne though.  

The view from Sasha and Willy's apartment

The final test was the icing on the cake. We moaned and moaned about the selection and the decision to leave BOD out of the squad and other selections that that eejit Gatland made but it seemed to work on  the day and players that hadn't really shown up all tour gave very good performances.  I didn't want to leave the stadium.  I stayed until almost the majority had left and soaked it all in!

It was an amazing experience that I would love to repeat. I had some much craic with the girls and all the people we met along the way.

New Zealand 2017 anyone?

The shenanigans!