Yha Oamaru

... you had to pay to go inside to see the penguins, which we didn't want to do. We gave it up for the night and went back to the hostel.<br><br>Oamaru didn't really have anything there; it was a sort of neat little town with plenty of old buildings (our hostel was an old hotel). We took advantage of the lack of activity to see the new G.I. Joe movie, but that was pretty much it for Oamaru.<br>

... br><br>....made it up to Mount Cook, which was just as awe-inspiring as the last time I was here. Luckily we had a gloriously sunny day so we could see the peak. Had lunch at the Hermitage (read NZ's equivalent of Claridges, just with a better view!) then went to the Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre, which was pretty disappointing. Drove back to Tekapo via Lake Pukaki. Then went to the Hot Alpine Springs for a quick soak and to watch the sun go down over the mountains. Awesome!<br><br>

... dies because its really really COLD is here. After Hannah's departure back to the real world I for the last 3 weeks have been spending the bits of my days from 8-3 crawling around on my knee's picking strawberries. They even pay me to do it, not much though I've earned a huge $750 which after rent, going to Dunedin for a weekend and generally eating alot is almost nothing. Highlights of the job though were: * Riding on the back of a ...

... der Welt und bei Sonnenuntergang kommen sie vom Jagen zurueck a Land. Wirklich drollig die Kleinen, wie sie in Gruppen die Rampe hoch zu ihren Nistplaetzen trippeln und sich dabei galant an der im Weg liegenden Robbe vorbeimogeln. :) Dissabte VII -III - MMIX Ens llevem superdhora, aprox 6am. Seran els 7.30 quan sortim del camping. Farem 4 encarregs a la mateixa ciutat. Es prou bonica... i seguirem la Southern Scenic Route ...

... the blubber on the beach had become the batter in the cage. The penguins hung back and regrouped. Eventually the majority of wave two came around it wide to the right. But six hung back in three pairs, the fighting 2-2-2.  This group split 4-2 with two making the journey across the road. Four hung back as wave three came in - Code named Toefler.  After a gathering  themselves on the rocks, this group gradually got around the 'beach obstacle' A ...

... wandering around taking photos. We arrived in Oamaru late afternoon and checked into our hostel. Having been informed that the yellow-eyed penguin colony was a quick walk away, we set off only to find it was up a massive hill and took 45 minutes. And to top it off, we hung around in the cold for an hour and only saw 2 penguins in the distance. Hoping for better luck that night, we paid more than we ...

... lost my sanity for a while and agreed to jump off of a cliff two different ways, free falling for 60 meters and then swinging into a canyon for another 200 meters at 150km/hr. WEEEEEEEE!! On the brochure they quote someone who said "Even my **** was scared!" I would like to admit that that is fairly accurate. I have video proof of my second jump - which was more a shove as I was tied into a chair - and it's hilarious so I will enjoy sharing that with everyone when I get ...

... why it was named shag point--it was named for the bird similar to a commorant. today it's a small neighborhood of about 15 houses that have been there since the mining days in the early 1900's. the rugged point is now a wildlife reserve, protecting mainly bird species and fur seals. we were lucky enough to be the only ones there and as we walked some of the paths to the cliffs, we discovered tons of fur seals, all hanging out in the sun! some were barking and some ...

... small roads and even smaller towns. The first stop was at a fossil site. It was on someone's land (but open to the public) so we had to follow a small path through sheep until we got to the fossils. It was a rib cage and the jaw of an ancient baleen whale from when the area was covered by an ocean.. Pretty cool...it made me think of how many more that were probably buried in the limestone around the area. Next, our map showed us ...

... if they have chicks to feed, they will not come back up if there are any humans near by, so the chicks were starving to death! It's funny though because now he said that there are a couple of penguins who hop up the cliff, waddle to the fence and just stare at it. He says he'd love to know what they are saying to each other "who put this ruddy great big fence here!" hehehe. Another couple of guys came up and sat in the hide. We spotted a penguin come ashore and ...