It's been a tiring last few days, but I'm finally back at UQ and have internet (yay!). On Tuesday the 12th, I was on my own in Chch (as the locals call Christchurch). I walked downtown in the rain and explored the aquarium and kiwi house next to the information center. The displays were great; the long and shortfin eels are my favorite. These fellows were about 4 feet long and easily 50 kilos (100 pounds), and at least 40 years old. They were very impressive, and I loved watching them cruise around their big tank. There was also a good display of local fauna, including geckos, local and introduced fish, and tuatara (which look like lizards but aren't; they're actually the ancestors of dinosaurs!), and kiwi. The kiwi house had two kiwis, which are kept
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