Anchor Marks the Spot

Hamilton Niwa ecologist Aleki Taumoepeau went to great lengths to retrieve a wedding band which after only three months of marriage slipped from his finger into Wellington harbour while he checked for invasive plant species in March last year. And though there were no evil wizards to battle or violent orcs to slay, Taumoepeau’s 16-month quest for the ring was just as epic and certainly more romantic than anything JRR Tolkien churned out. Moments after losing the ring, Taumoepeau tossed an anchor overboard to mark the spot, noted the position and promised his wife Rachel he would find it. She offered to buy him a new ring. He refused. Undeterred, Taumoepeau returned to the harbour a year later and plunged into the freezing waters armed with new co-ordinates garnered from Google Earth and his day job at Niwa. After an hour in the water, and a little prayer, Taumoepeau saw the anchor, and there, centimetres away, the wedding ring.