Oamaru

After a hazy night on Stewart island and an afternoon spent in vain looking for some Kiwis (the bird not the humans) it was time to hightail it back to civilization. I wanted to see Dunedin (Scottish for Edinburgh), but as the England vs. New Zealand match was on two days later there was not a chance in hell of getting a room. So instead I headed for Oamaru, 100km north of Dunedin and the self proclaimed "Penguin capital" of NZ.

This is patently obvious as you arrive in Oamaru as there is a whopping great big statue of a Penguin at the town's entrance. I check in to a hostel and leg it to the penguin colony as it is getting dark and the little shaggers go to bed early. The colony is close to town so I walk there and plonk myself down beside the ocean waiting for some excitement. 30 minutes later and nothing is happening other than icicles are forming on my nose, when suddenly out of the ocean hop 30 miniature penguins one after the other. The species that live in Oamaru are called Fairy penguins and I had visions of the little fellas mincing out of the waves, heads aloof, carrying a handbag and flapping their wings. But these guys were serious. They were penguin commandos on a vicious assault course: Out of the freezing water, up a steep rock ramp towards the cliffs, under a fence and a final dash into their holes. The whole time they would stop, confer with each other (seemingly wondering if they were still going in the right direction) and then sprint off again like they had sticks up their bums. Every so often one penguin would just go for it and race away from his buddies. He would stop a couple of meters later, look around and then wait for the pack. It was hilarious. I think the locals should start some penguin racing competitions as it is really a thrill to guess which one will get to his hole first. 2 minutes after they jumped out of the water the penguins were all tucked up in their holes quacking away contentedly, telling their partners on the nest how their day had been.