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The New Zealand Expedition

So if you want to find dragons you really have to go travelling. Now I don’t mean just down to the local Subway and keep an eye out whilst you’re walking. I mean real travelling. So that’s why I flew from London to New Zealand.

Ben is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and was absolutely distraught when Dad said he wasn’t allowed to come. So it was just me, Dad and Gray that got on the flight to Auckland. Gray had taken his lead lined suit case with a few extra bits and pieces that should come in useful should we find what we were looking for. The flight was a mere (!) 24 hours which gave me plenty of time to look up some facts on New Zealand in my pocket travel book. There was the awe-inspiring scenery, the unique Maori culture and the city of Auckland defined by the volcanic landscape and lava flows. I knew there was going to be plenty to see when we got there!

The flight was both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. There was time for four in-flight movies, none of them any good. Gray and Dad exchanged very little words during the entire flight and neither of them really spoke to me much about what we were looking for once we got there. You see, it is all still kind of difficult really. I know dragons exist, Dad knows they exist, Gray knows they do too. But the other passengers on the aircraft? No chance. That’s why we never really speak aloud about it all. Especially in public.

Ever since the website www.dragon-zoo.com has gone online I have received no end of emails reporting dragon sightings and encounters. It has proved impossible to respond to all reported sightings but I feel that it really is my responsibility. I found dragon eggs in Wales whilst on a walking trip and ever since one hatched in my bedroom I have found myself inescapably surrounded by them. Battersea Power Station was used as a secret hiding place for the dragons and is now the world famous Dragon Zoo which is all very well and good but I’m now in a pretty tricky situation. I get emails and phone calls accusing me of animal cruelty by keeping the dragons in the zoo, and I get accusations from the UK government about security. What can I do? If we don’t keep the dragons in the zoo where would they go? How many people would get attacked, hurt or even killed if there wasn’t some kind of controlling authority for the dragons. By creating the Dragon Zoo complex and the natural zones in particular, we have provided the dragons with their own natural habitat to survive, to hunt and to live without affecting the modern day world that they now find themselves in.

I’m still not sure why these dragons have re-appeared in our lifetime. I can only speculate that they were last present on this earth in BC times. The Ancient Chinese have a fantastic recorded history of dragon attacks and sightings, the knights of the crusades in the early 11th century were certainly defending themselves from dragons (inc. St. George) and now they’re roaming the earth again. Only this time it is a very different world they now find themselves in. The problem is there is just no space for them anymore, what if we leave them be? Where would they roam? City centres and towns would certainly be in a lot more danger than they are now if it wasn’t for Dragon Zoo looking after them.

This brings me onto another issue that we have. Any reported sighting of a dragon is instantly our problem. That sea-dragon sighting in the Thames recently instantly had the UK military knocking on the door asking us questions. Had it escaped from the zoo? No. Did Dragon Zoo have any record of any more Scottish Sea Dragons in the area? No. Are you sure it’s not your dragon? YES!

After 24 hours of flying with no conversation and only one book to read I certainly had time to reflect on these issues that had become everyday life. That’s why we were on the plane in the first place to be honest. It had started a month ago. We received one report of an extremely large unidentified animal in the Southern Alps. Then a rock climber that had scaled New Zealand’s tallest mountain, Aoraki, e-mailed us to advise of a potential dragon in the area. Apparently he had been climbing a sheer rock face with his friend when the ridge above him started shaking. He lost his grip and fell but fortunately was saved by his climbing rope and his pegs that he’d hammered deep into the rock as he climbed. When recovering from the fall he had looked up just in time to see “a large blue-ish looking tail with red hair at the end of it swoop over the edge of the ridge above before disappearing from view.” This was all very interesting but we were just too busy with the dragons we had to go jumping on a plane to the other side of the world. It wasn’t until the next report that we decided that we really should book our tickets and check it out.

On 15 April 2010 at 18:10 xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.com wrote:
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Name: S Morlon
> > > > > > > > > Email: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.com
> > > > > > > > > Subject: Help!
> > > > > > > > > Message: You need to come to New Zealand straight away. I was
> > > > > > > > > walking with my father in the mountains when we were attacked by
> > > > > > > > > a large blue beast of an animal that looked like a mix between
> > > > > > > > > a giant bat and a troll. I think it was some kind of dragon!
> > > > > > > > > He flew down from a cave about 1000ft above us and landed,
> > > > > > > > > blocking our path. It had huge spikes on its forearms and giant
> > > > > > > > > wings with claws at the top. It roared and blasted us with a
> > > > > > > > > massive jet of air that seemed to come from within it. I managed
> > > > > > > > > to grab hold of a nearby boulder to keep from falling but my Dad
> > > > > > > > > wasn’t so lucky. The blast of air from the beast knocked him over
> > > > > > > over the edge. The blue dragon then leapt from the mountain path and
> > > > > > > > > flew down, spreading its huge wings and flying out of sight.
> > > > > > > > > Once he’d gone I looked down but saw no sign of the huge
> > > > > > > > > beast or my Dad. I called mountain rescue, one of the teams went > > > > > > > > > missing!!!!!
> > > > > > > > > The other team contacted my family to advise they were giving up  > > > > > > > > > the search. Neither the beast, the other team or my Dad have been
> > > > > > > > > found. I don’t know who else to contact. Please help.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Dragon Zoo Contact Form>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Three sightings and people missing. We had a dragon to find!

 

 

Read more from the New Zealand Mountain Dragon story soon!

 

 

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