The Otago Peninsula and Dunedin

I saw seals today!!! We went on this amazing tour with Nature's Wonders of a private farm and voluntary conservation area on these little eight-wheeled golf carts called Argos around this ruggedly beautiful private farm. The tour was lead by the owner, farmer, and conservationist Perry and the other Argos were driven by his sons. They have a seal colony that lives right on the rocks and all the mommy seals with their little black, fuzzy pups were lounging and playing. It was SO cool. Then we went over to penguin beach and saw these tiny, rare yellow-eyed penguins. They make their nests up in the bush above the beach and they're so cute and tiny! We were much farther from them, but the guide showed me how to take a picture with my camera through the binoculars so you can actually see it. The seals weren't even 5 feet from us and were very fat and awkward until they were in the water.

Fur Seals 1

At the same point Albatrosses nest (the only place on the mainland that this happens) and the huge birds soared around above all of us - they have huge wings and don't even have to flap them. The driver said they mate for life and come here to nest every 2 years. The rest of the time the separate and fly around the world in the Southern hemisphere,

Fur Seals 2

meeting up again at the same nesting spot after two years, often arriving within an hour of each other. Amazing, isn't it?

Dunedin is also the home to the Cadbury factory but unfortunately I won't have time to tour. Maybe fortunate for them since I'd want to taste everything and they'd probably have to pull me out when the tour was over!

Fur Seals 3

Fur Seals 4

Fur Seals 5

The Argo

Yellow-Eyed Penguin