erin, etc.

Left Otago and headed North towards Christchurch. We headed along the coast, stopping in Dunedin, risking a parking ticket for a free art museum and some yummy kebabs. Took a long drive up the coast, stopping to check out the Moeraki Boulders and getting a sweet double twin room (that I’m pretty sure had bed bugs) in an old converted hotel turned backpackers in Oamaru. Justin had had enough tourist attractions for the day but I couldn’t give up another chance to see penguins, this time little blues or fairy penguins. I paid the $20 and sat in stadium seating with 300 other people to watch these little tiny penguins come ashore in the dark and waddle back to their nests. The Oamaru Penguin Colony also works hard to protect the penguins and supports a small hospital as well. These little guys have a colony of about 30 pairs and a few were already moulting. They swim 10-20km out into the ocean to feed each day and then return just as the sun goes down. They arrive on the shore, swimming in rafts- groups of about 10-15 penguins. Regardless of the circus atmosphere, it was still totally great. They use yellow lights since the penguins can only see blues and greens. This lets you see the whole fiasco easily but prohibits the use of any cameras. There was a huge fur seal sitting in the way of their little entrance ramp, which totally freaked them out and slowed down their return to their nests. They pop up out of the surf onto the rocks and ‘socialize’ with each other a bit before heading up a rocky ramp, crossing a dirt path, squeezing through a fence and socializing again for a while before heading into their little nest boxes. The seal was riduculous- the little penguins would start to sneak past him and he would lift his head or slap his flipper and they’d all go scurrying back down to the ocean. Eventually a bunch of them would get started past him and would end up pushing one poor little penguin first and then they’d all rocket past (clumsily since they’re not all that graceful on land), running into their little colony. Then they’d hang out a little before going into the nests. The moulting ones even come out since they know they’re safe for some socializing too. These penguins don’t get as stressed as their Yellow-Eyed Penguins. It was totally worth it!

From South Island