Update from “Keenn” and “Leenda”

Saturday, we went to Dunedin, a town fairly to the south part of the island (about 5 hours south of Christchurch). It was a rainy morning, but we walked around the downtown a bit and took a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory (ok, we had a few chocolates. Shoot us.). Then, we headed to the Otaga Peninsula (VERY narrow and windy road along the coast – one slip and you fall into the water! Kenn was driving and needed valium). We went to the Royal Albatross Centre where the winds were so strong that we literally (really, literally) could hardly keep our balance (but perfect conditions for albatrosses). We were able to see a number of albatrosses flying and three chicks, all from an enclosed (thank God) viewing center on top of a bluff. The adolescent/adult albatross has a wing span of 3 meters (that’s about 9 feet for you Yanks). We’re talking huge! Then, we went over to the yellow-eyed penguin colony centre. We saw some penguins in hospital and then went out into the wild in camouflaged bunkers to see some in the wild up close and personal (Jess, Bob…). We also got to see one “peen-gion” waddle in from the ocean. But, the weirdest thing was seeing, in one area, sheep, seals, and penguins all next to one another (see pix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117889@N08/?saved=1) . Just goes to show you, we can all get along! After spending the night in a Victorian-ish B&B (and trying Vegemite during breakfast ---oh my gosh, beyond disgusting!), we headed home, but saw a) the steepest street in the world (Kenn drove that, too. He REALLY needs drugs!), b) the Moeraki Boulders and c) a few little fruit and/or crafts places along the way. As you will see in the pictures, the Moeraki Boulders are almost perfectly round, jutting out of the sand. They’re big stone spheres (we were going to write “big stone balls” but we know how some of you think!). We’re home now, cold (52 degrees – what can we say, we are still weather wimps!), and ready to work hard this week so we can enjoy our last weekend adventure (next weekend: Picton). Hope you all are doing well. Cheers!