http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/0,2106,2756987a6004,00.html
Pigeon post
12 December 2003
By SIMON O`ROURKE
Nick Andreef's pigeons are faster than the internet, but no match for falcons.
In October Mr Andreef –- who runs Waitomo Adventures –- began commercial operation of what he reckons is a world first –- using homing pigeons to deliver digital photographs.
Mr Andreef's company runs tours through a network of caves spread across a 20km radius.
A spin-off from the trips is for customers to buy pictures of their adventures.
But by the time tourists were bussed back from their caving adventure to base office, they often did not have time to wait for photos to be downloaded and printed.
Mr Andreef said he rattled his brain to think of a way staff could work on the digital images before the tourists got back.
"We don't have phone lines and telephone exchanges of sufficient quality to transmit the data, so we came up with the pigeon concept."
Caving guides took the memory stick from their cameras and attached it to a velcro pack on the pigeon.
"It only takes the pigeons about six minutes for their journey," said Mr Andreef.
"They can transfer three gigs over 20km faster than the internet."
Some tourists were sceptical –- but the pigeons were 99 per cent reliable, Mr Andreef said. "They also work for peanuts."
The concept had just hit a snag however.
Nesting karearea (native falcons) have attacked and killed some of the pigeons mid-flight.
"A pigeon can fly at a cruising speed of 65km/h, 100km/h when pushed," said Mr Andreef. "But native falcons fly at up to 250km/h."
Once he discovered what was happening to his birds Mr Andreef grounded his 50-pigeon operation.
He expected the falcons' nesting season to finish within the next few weeks.
