Oamaru--->ChCh

Hi everyone,

We've just arrived in Christchurch after a long day of travelling. It's hard to believe that this will be our last stop in NZ--but we're definitely ready to move on!

The penguins were either very far away (Yellow-eyed) or too touristy (Little blues). It was still enjoyable to see them, but I wish there would have been a better way. We watched the Yellow-eyed from a cliff high above the beach, which would have been fine, except it was incredibly windy and we didn't last more than a few penguins' worth of time. What we did see was cool: penguins surfing in on the waves, dodging the seals, and then heading up the beach to their nests.

The Little blue colony has become a bonafide tourist attraction, so we sat with 348 other people to watch them arrive in groups and meander up the shore. I felt like a sardine, and I wasn't impressed with the whole set up. As we went to leave, the penguins that naturally nest outside of the tourist area were being hassled by cars, flashlights, and camera flashes. It all left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Otherwise, Oamaru was a charming little place. The gardens were beautiful, and the Victorian white stone never got old. We caught the bus early this morning and arrived in Sumner (beach suburb of ChCh) this afternoon, and are now scoping out a good pub. I fell in love with the Yeastie Boys' Nerdherder beer in Dunedin, and we just might have found it here as well. We'll see.

I'll probably be posting more pictures tomorrow. Until then--take care!

Love,
Ames