14.3.2009 (Saturday)
Saturday we got up early and had breakfast, looking forward to spending the day in Dunedin. After looking over our options we decided to go to the farmer’s market at the Railway Station and then drive out to the Otago Peninsula to see the Yellow-eyed Penguins. Sadly the Cadbury Chocolate factory was closed on Saturday, and we chose penguins over the Speitz Brewery.
It was an incredible day. The Railway Station is beautiful and the market offered many culinary delights as well as a great cup a coffee. We wandered about and really enjoyed ourselves.
After walking around town, visiting a few shops, and peaking in the chocolate factory, Mark and I drove out to Penguin Place on the Otago Peninsula. It was amazing—couldn’t believe how big it was—we drove for 45 minutes, winding along the water. The tide was out, so once again we wondered at the ‘beached’ boats lying on their sides in the sand.
Penguin Place was on a large sheep ranch, and they were excited to have 23 roosting pairs of penguins. Our tour guide was great and we had him all to ourselves. He talked briefly about the life cycle of the penguin and then took us out to the coast where they lived. We learned that the yellow-eyed penguin is a forest penguin which likes to roost under trees. They have pink feet that turn red when they’re over heated and they mate for life (usually!) We were fortunate to see several on our tour.
After spending time with the penguins, Mark and I started our drive north and headed to Christchurch. We stopped at several spots along the way—my favorite being Moeraki to see the spherical shaped rocks. They were amazing. We took some really cool photos and had a lot of fun.
Saturday we got up early and had breakfast, looking forward to spending the day in Dunedin. After looking over our options we decided to go to the farmer’s market at the Railway Station and then drive out to the Otago Peninsula to see the Yellow-eyed Penguins. Sadly the Cadbury Chocolate factory was closed on Saturday, and we chose penguins over the Speitz Brewery.
It was an incredible day. The Railway Station is beautiful and the market offered many culinary delights as well as a great cup a coffee. We wandered about and really enjoyed ourselves.
After walking around town, visiting a few shops, and peaking in the chocolate factory, Mark and I drove out to Penguin Place on the Otago Peninsula. It was amazing—couldn’t believe how big it was—we drove for 45 minutes, winding along the water. The tide was out, so once again we wondered at the ‘beached’ boats lying on their sides in the sand.
Penguin Place was on a large sheep ranch, and they were excited to have 23 roosting pairs of penguins. Our tour guide was great and we had him all to ourselves. He talked briefly about the life cycle of the penguin and then took us out to the coast where they lived. We learned that the yellow-eyed penguin is a forest penguin which likes to roost under trees. They have pink feet that turn red when they’re over heated and they mate for life (usually!) We were fortunate to see several on our tour.
After spending time with the penguins, Mark and I started our drive north and headed to Christchurch. We stopped at several spots along the way—my favorite being Moeraki to see the spherical shaped rocks. They were amazing. We took some really cool photos and had a lot of fun.
We drove through several towns today, including Omaru where we hoped to see the blue penguins, but they were not giving tours until that night, so we decided to keep driving. Omaru is a beautiful city, with spectacular buildings out of limestone. We read that they were built at a time where the city wanted to show that agricultural buildings could be as beautiful as churches and other municipal buildings. Quite stunning.
I got to drive today—pretty cool driving on the “wrong” side of the road, but after awhile you get the hang of it. The only ‘scary’ part was coming into Christchurch at dusk; Mark was giving directions, there was traffic and lights and turns—oh my! So much to keep straight all at the same time! But I got us there safe and sound.
Tonight we’re staying in our first Top 10 Holiday Park, and despite the more expensive cost, it was really nice; we particularly enjoyed the large inflated jumping pillow!
I got to drive today—pretty cool driving on the “wrong” side of the road, but after awhile you get the hang of it. The only ‘scary’ part was coming into Christchurch at dusk; Mark was giving directions, there was traffic and lights and turns—oh my! So much to keep straight all at the same time! But I got us there safe and sound.
Tonight we’re staying in our first Top 10 Holiday Park, and despite the more expensive cost, it was really nice; we particularly enjoyed the large inflated jumping pillow!
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