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Day 6
Let it be known that I was once fairly tanned, because at the moment it's looking like it won't last until we get home. We've had a succession of overcast days but fortunately most of the rain has held off until the night.
We left a very misty Mt. Cook and headed towards Oamaru, stopping in Twizel on the way for a bite to eat. Oamaru's main attraction is their colony of blue penguins, the smallest penguins in the world. We had a quick look near the visitor centre but were told we'd only see them at dusk, so we bought a couple of tickets to sit on the grandstand (yes, the penguins have a grandstand) and watch them arrive at dusk.
In the meantime, we travelled just out of town to set up camp at a nice DOC site. Before going to see the blue penguins, we stopped somewhere a bit nearer on the coast and saw some yellow eyed penguins in their cliff nests before setting off again.
The atmosphere at the grandstand was reaching fever pitch come nine o'clock. The penguins apparently like to build up the suspense as they were an hour late. Despite everyone freezing their arses off, nobody wanted to leave and miss their arrival.
Finally, the first 'raft' arrived and, in it, about 20 penguins who took their time scampering onto the shore and into their nests. The crowd whooped and hollered... okay, exaggerating a little but they were definitely a crowd pleaser.
One by one, the other rafts arrived with similar numbers in and people began to feel that they could leave. Their job ensuring that these penguins returned home and went to bed had been fulfilled.
Day 7
Next stop was Dunedin, where the Scots (you may have guessed from the name) made settlement. On the way, we made a quick pull in at Moeraki, to see the famous Moeraki Boulders. These enormous pieces of rock are no normal boulders, as they've been shaped into almost perfect spheres and deposited on the beach.
There is a Moari legend as to what these rocks are but I can't remember it and didn't write it down. After a few photos and before the Chinese arrived in their droves, we got going again, keen to reach civilisation.
Dunedin is a beautiful city situated near to and protected by the equally beautiful Otago Peninsula. We found our campsite for the night, paid the extortionate fee and set off to see the albatrosses.
The edge of the Otago Peninsula is apparently the only part of inhabited mainland in the world where there is a colony of Royal Albatrosses, the world's largest birds.
At $40 a head, we were expecting a free albatross to take home, but when we were told that this was not included, we politely declined and opted just for a cup of tea from the cafe instead. We kept our eyes peeled once outside to see if we could see them flying overhead. Luckily, through the swarms of seagulls we saw one. Three or four times the size of a big seagull, it dominated the air. We are thankful it didn't empty its tank over our car like a seagull did otherwise the clean up job would've been much worse!
On the way back, we stopped at Sandfly Bay to see if the sea lions were on the beach. Unfortunately not. The roads on the peninsula are beautiful though, so it was worth it all the same.
Day 8
Following some advice from other campervanners, we made our way in The Catlins, a national park area in the south of the south island.
Stopping for lunch at Nugget point, we saw lots of seals and of course, the Nuggets themselves (rocks out at sea). We also stopped at Purakaunui Falls, a large three tiered waterfall hidden in the undergrowth.
Our destination was Porpoise Bay, where we were told there was a good chance of seeing dolphins. We camped in the campsite at the bay in one of its cool private grassy inlets.
The dolphins they have here are Hectors dolphins, one of the smallest and rarest types in the world. They are also endemic to New Zealand.
Porpoise Bay is unique due to it being the only place where dolphins remain close to the shoreline and within touching distance of humans (although this is forbidden). We managed to see loads of them and even some of them jumping and surfing in the waves.
Day 9
Today started off well with some yummy eggy bread and dolphin sightings for breakfast but then things turned for the worse when we were told we had a flat tyre. What should normally be a simple job of changing the spare tyre was made much more difficult thanks to Spaceships not including half the necessary tools. Thanks Spaceships! At least we weren't miles from civilisation.
A new inner tube and $25 later, and here we are in Invercargill, using free WiFi curtesy of Mr. Ronald McDonald and soon to be setting off for Te Anau and the Fjordlands! Let's hope the weather improves.
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