Blogs from Oamaru, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

Phew! We've had a whirlwind of a week! Back to Picton, to Greymouth, to Hokitika, to Haast, to Wanaka/Queenstown, to Omarama, to Oamaru! Just 2 more nights until we have to bid farewell to our sweet campervan :( We don't have time to post much (or photos), but needless to say, we're still having a great time! We've seen some amazing sights - mountains, glaciers, farmland, rainforest, beech forest, glacial rivers and lakes, rain, sun, double rainbow!, penguins, birds, pounamu... We're just about ready to cook dinner for the night, then we're going to head over to the yellow-eyed penguin colony. The penguins feed during the day, but return to their burrows around dusk. It's supposed to be a great time of year to see lots of penguins because they're raising chicks now - they have ... read more

De eerste enge nacht hebben we overleefd. Oef! Op dat moment dacht ik wel dat er iets ging gebeuren. Jan bleef onder alles kalm, zoals altijd! We vonden in Oamaru nergens geen free camping spot , en zo reden we de stad uit. We gingen op een parking staan waar er wandelingen naar het strand waren. De avond viel..een mooie zonsondergang, en onder ons het geruis van de zee. Toen we in ons bed lagen begon het, het geruis werd harder en harder. Harde windstoten deden onze auto vreselijk wiebelen. Jan sliep door alles heen , behalve om kwart voor 2 's nachts werd ook hij wakker door de enorme windstoten. We besloten , zeker omdat we daar als enige auto stonden, in het pik pikdonker terug te rijden naar het dorp Kakanui en ons daar ... read more

Last night, I went out about 9 p.m. to see if I really could see Little Penguins coming ashore right into town. I couldn't, though I could hear them. I did see a freight train (I like trains!) and a pretty good sunset, so the excursion was not wasted, though the south wind was bitterly cold. Almost as soon as I got back to my room, about 9:45, a dreadful din arose outside. At first I thought it was another train; then I realized it couldn't be, or, if it was, that the unfortunate train must be having a wreck. I rushed to the window of the lounge to see what was really going on. It turned out that the rocket-train I had admired so much earlier in the day had been wired for sound. It ... read more

Yellow-Eyed Penguin Blues I actually had another chance to see yellow-eyed penguins, but I've given it up. At least for now, and probably for good. For $50 I could catch a tour bus that would take me to the public viewing area for yellow-eyed penguins (which is a little farther away than the blue-penguin viewing area), and then on to view the blue penguins again. The I-site employees assure me that the slope at the yellow-eyed penguin viewing area is nothing to worry about, though photos of it on the Web do suggest otherwise. But they also say that there are only ~20 yellow-eyed penguins living there and that no more than a few are likely to appear. I get the impression that the tour survives on the huge success of the Little Blue Penguin ... read more

Photos for Christchurch, Rakaia Huts, Rakaia and Lake Tekapo.... read more