Last day in my home away from home

It's with mixed emotions I'm having my last day in my home away from home. Here I'm surrounded with friends and comfort at New Heaven Dive School. Have my home at Namhasin House. Asia Mood and Koppee restaurants, Why not bar, people you pass on the road say hello, offers you to give you a lift home.
I know that, as all the other times, that I will miss my home a lot and the wonderful lovely people.
But I also think that it will do me good to go somewhere else, learn how things work at another conservation centre, and also be able to contribute with my knowledge and experience with planning and logistics. Hopefully I can bring something good to my new place to be, make it run effectivly and smoothly so that time and money can be saved. Time that can be used to do more and money to be put back into the project to be used for more conservation efforts.
I'm very glad to know that I will have someone I call a friend at camp, I know that will make a big difference in a positive way.
I know I will have challenges with my new job, but most of them are caused by myself. Need to learn to delegate, and not work to much, but the biggest challenge will be having people around my 24/7, not being able to ever have dinner by myself and no privacy, except for the times when I'm in my tent. I have gotten more movies on my hard drive, thanks to one of the divemasters here, Chris. So when I need my own time I can watch movies in my tent.
Another things that's good about me leaving is that I can go forward from being a little unlucky in love. You know the feeling when you kind of like someone but then realise after a while that that person don't like you back, it was all a scam. I thought that I was to old and experienced for falling for stuff like that, but he played it well. Will be good to get over that in a new environment, instead of being reminded every day :)

TRACC will be interesting and a really good learning experience I think. I also know that what they're doing there is really good. I fully believe in what Professor Oakley is trying to do and the conservation work he and his team does.
http://tracc-borneo.org/
Hope I will be a good and valuable new member to the team.

I know that I will come back here to my home when I have time for a holiday, and once again by part of the New Heaven team, both the conservation and dive school.
http://www.newheavendiveschool.com/
http://www.newheavendiveschool.com/marine-conservation-thailand/
I feel really blessed having been able to come here and be part of the team, meeting some truly amazing people that not only care about you as a person but also have a strong passion for helping our oceans and land.
Who would have thought that my first volonteer holiday over here in August 2011 would lead to this totally new direction in my life.

I got presents from Bee, beautiful earrings, and a wonderful blouse from Vin.
Today I'm just hanging at the dive school, enjoying the pool and being with lovely Bua. At least I know she will be well taken care of. She's looking so healthy now, and she's getting more and more friendly and less shy. I know they have a really cool dog at the camp at TRACC called Monsoon, hopefully he's dog enough to be my Bua-substitute.
And tonight I'm going out with a few friends to Hacienda, I'm gonna eat to much really rare steak, and hopefully end the evening at Why Not Bar for a few Gin&Tonics.
Tomorrow morning Papa at Namhasin House will drive my to the pier where my journey to the next chapter in my life will start.
But a piece of my heart will stay right here on Koh Tao, together with my lovely friends.

I'll end this update with some photos taken on my latest dives.

Next update will be from Borneo!

A boring clam on a Diploastrea coral

Christmas tree worms

One of the domes at Hin Fai, also called Biorock

A discoloration on a Porites coral

Black sea urchin in the much at Sai Nuan. This was taken on my last dive which I did with Chad and Chloe.

Bristle worm, also at Sai Nuan

Carpet sea anemone at Sai Nuan

A cowry at Sai Nuan

A family of Nemo

Nudibrach at Sai Nuan

The Nemo family protecting their home in the anemone

ou also find some wierd creatures when in the much, like these ones

Surgeon fish at Bouyancy world

And this is what NOT to do with a coral.....

Hammering away on the blocks

Thanks to Raph for the video and photo

busy busy

We've had a couple of really busy and fun days.

The most exciting and fun was to be part of the deployment of the new concrete blocks the DMCR has donated to the island.

These blocks will act as storm buffering, create new habitat and protection for many marine organisms and also prevent illegal trawling.

It was a fantastic time being on the barge, taking part of the cermony and then the deployment. It is such a huge operation.

I took a video showing how one section of blocks is deployed, just need to figure out how to get it uploaded here :)

We have, of course, also been diving in different locations. We also for the first time ever for the whole team went to Lighthouse divesite. It was a beautiful site, the diversity of different coral species was pretty outstanding and there were a big amount of different species of fish in all sizes. Came really close to a trigger fish, but he didn't even react, just chilled there.

Batfish

A well camouflagued big grouper

RCP's boat King Kong II left and New Heaven's King Kong I

more photos

Had a lazy weekend just enjoying the weather and relaxing.
This week's been a mix of landwork and diving, it's a hard life :)

Only 2,5 weeks til Borneo, exciting, but I know I'm gonna mix Koh Tao very much.

Having a lazy Sunday at Koppee

Don't think it's possible to get tired of this view

A fish resting in a coral in Chalok Bay

Flatworm in Chalok Bay

Giant clam

Sometimes you just need Western food. Chicken Cordon Blue

Marbled seacucumber at Hin Fai/Biorock

Seaslug

Diving and flues :)

Been a fantastic week so far with diving at different beautiful sites.
We've repaired mooring lines, maintaining the artificial reefs, sinking new bottle nurseries, planting corals, collecting the coral predator Drupella snails (in one dive we collected over 3800 snails in Chalok, and we we'll have to go for more collection soon) and the Crown of Thorns starfish.
We've been doing beach- and underwater clean-ups.

Monday this week I had the opportunity to take one of our new volonteers and teach him how to do the invertebrates EMP (Ecological Monitoring Program). It was the first time I took a student with me on an EMP-dive, it was really educational for me to.

Monday evening we went to the Blue Heaven Restaurant, the view and the food was spectacular. The price was a bit on the expensive sidem but it was really worth it.
My next must-go-for-food-place is the Hacienda, they say that thety do really good steak there, and I am really really craving a really rare steak :)

The weather's been hot and humid, no rain since I got here. The mosquitoes are increasing in numbers so I alwaqys make sure a spray myself with repellant and always has a mosquito-coil lit when I sit on my balcony.
There's also two flues going around, one is a stomach thing and the other is a cold flue. Today I have a bit of a sore throat and a little cought, so I'm being sensible and not diving today. Also bought vitamin C tablets and are drinking loads of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Don't have a fever so I'm feeling pretty alright.
Some say that tthe things going around is due to the weather.

I had the best of news a couple of days ago. My friend Felicity who I first met on Pom Pom with TRACC will be going to Borneo! She's arriving one week before I do. How amazing is that?
She's promised me bug spray and a really good tent :)
Feels pretty good knowing that she's there when I arrive, nice to know that you have a good trustworthy friend there to talk about everything with.

I do miss my family and friends back home but not as bad as before, I'm sure the homesickness will come and go for a while.
I do miss my sister and best friend Cizzi a lot though, that hasn't changed. Every time something happens I want to tell her all about it :)
There are of course some wonderful people here, like Rahul, Kirsty, Ploy, who are both caring and nice, but its not the same as people you really know and been through things with. But they are lovely people, and also I'm not the easiest person to got to know :)

Anyway, all good here, and here's some more photos for you to enjoy:

Cement, mixed smooth as butter. Let me tell you it's hard work getting it mixed :)

A whole days work at Save Koh Tao gives you really dirty legs

A steel structure the team has built which was put in the ocean last week

This is how it looks after welding 

The wire make sure that the steel bars are touching so they melt together when welded.

View from Blue Heaven restaurant

Another view from Blue Heaven restaurant, pretty awesome.

Diving at Shark Island. One of the most beautiful sites around Koh Tao

Shark Island has an abundance of fish

...and corals

Table Coral Shark Island, provides a habitat for small fish and other critters.

A pair of Weibels Butterflyfish and a lonely Longfin Bannerfish at Shark Island

Big ass Jenkins Ray resting in the blocks at Aow Leuk

Under all these corals, a steel structure is hiding. A steel structure made by these fantastic dedicated people at New Heaven Reef Conservation Program

Jenkins Ray Aow Leuk

There are a lot of different species of fish hanging around and in the blocks at Aow Leuk.
These blocks acts as shore protection, habitat for fish and invertabrates, provides substrate for corals, protects from trawling.