NOT HER FINEST HANDIWORK -
To support a young girl fundraising for her international school trip, we allowed her to give us henna tattoos. This turned out to be an extraordinarily bad idea as I asked for a daisy chain around my right wrist and it didn't come out incredibly but she was only a kid. Amy's heart and squiggle design was not botched up one bit!
As it was another resplendent day, we checked off another water-based activity of kayaking; something I've not done in a while! We got quite drenched from steering with the oars as we'd experienced technical difficulties in our double kayak. My leg cramped up and I was dubious of the kayak's stability and safety which made for a hellacious two thirds of an hour.
The lake was a bit wavy and splashy, so we didn't stray out too far from the shore. I wasn't keen to stay out for our designated 45 minutes thinking we'd capsize but we stuck it out for close to 40 and didn't topple in. I rather liked it eventually but Amy did all the grunt work as I'm no budding kayaker and I hindered more than I could ever have helped.
I'm now like a professional bird chaser of Queenstown's demon seagulls; these birds be mean and gluttinous!! After drying off in the sun, we grabbed a bite at Caribe. Their chicken and avocado salad arepas (popular, maize dough Latin eats) left me the good kind of speechless. However, they were mediocre to Amy as she knew the real deal. We'd enjoyed Jazz Fest so much that we went back to see a school band perform. It wasn't the dork fest it could have been but it was fun singing along to the tunes we knew. I will also say that the children were really committed to their brass instruments and it's nice to see youth use their talents.
Such is my devotion to GREAT gelato, that I can barely go a day without it in wonderful weather. I can't name a single thing I didn't like about my black forest and coconut sorbet. Cheerio Queenstown, you've been perfect and you know it! We'll try not to stay away too long :( We caught our bus to travel the four hours to Dunedin, resting and watching a weepie on Netflix on the way. By the time we'd checked in at Geeky Geckos, it was getting on for 9pm and most of the restaurants weren't open so we resorted to a Maccas. We were displeased with our abysmal abode! The only window we had didn't let in natural light from outdoors but from the corridor; that light was left on all night and since our window didn't have curtains it prohibited me from sleeping soundly.
On our first full day in Dunedin, we started out with a Perc Café brunch which ended up as something of a gastro-trophe. The Snickers smoothie was BLEURGHRK as a) it was warm and b) it has banana in it! Amy sacrificed her taste buds and her hot chocolate so that I wouldn't have to drink the smoothie; I can only diss this as a DUD. My avocado, tomato and basil oil bagel wasn't a bagel fit for a queen but it was a treat good enough to eat and an above average one at that.
Crazier things happen in our family than at the Extravaganza Fair at the Oval. It was overrun with hippy dippy, hooey fooey in the shape of tea readings, crystals and dreamcatchers. There were also all the usual fairground faves: ring toss, coconut shy and kissing booth. A magic show by the silent but dramatic, rainbow ballerina kid was cheery. Candy-flossing satiated my hankering for sweetness although it contained less than a teaspoon of sugar -- or so the sign said. I was the only person applauding the warbling of the Pirate man.
The heavens opened like in the biblical sense of Noah's Ark with an incessant downpour so we sought out indoor sites. Inside the Railway Station is an Art Studio showcasing the many accomplished hands which have created some epic pieces. I think the banana mushed with my brain and I just had to annoy Amy with my I-MUST-EMBARRASS-YOU-MUSICALLY stage show, jazzy dance as we traipsed down the road. I shan't stop finding ways to amuse her in the ways that she hates.
Another place we escaped the rainstorm was at The Otago Museum which has over 1.5 million items. No me gusta stuffed creatures or animal bones, so this visit didn't make for the best 60 minutes of our lives together. The mummified 30-40 year old woman from 2700+ years ago was donated over a century ago. It is not a beautiful sight and freaked me out irrationally. Amy and I bantered back and forth childishly through the whisper dishes outside - the parabolic discs bounce clear messages from one dish to the other many feet away. Its curved form enables sound waves to be collected and amplified, reflecting the noise from one dish to the other, in the same way a mirror reflects light.
A hunt for sustenance proved trickier than it oughta have been with lots of cafes and restaurants closed for Labour Day weekend. Jitsu was recommended to us and they saved us from hunger with their Japanese cuisine. The chicken teriyaki donburi rice bowl was topped with mushrooms and so filling and OISHI!! (sources tell me this is 'tasty' in Japanese)
Once we'd picked up provisions from a Mini Mart and layered up at our Backpackers for warmth, we awaited our shuttle at the I-Site, ever worrying it would forget us. Aileen, a sweet Filipina drove us an hour along the windy, waterside roads of the Peninsula up to the Royal Albatross Colony at Pilots Beach. She had us in hysterics en-route as she took us to the penguins.
It does cost an arm and a leg for a night tour if transport is required as money is reinvested to protect the penguins and preserve the colony. In the stands, we were as cold as being submersed in a slushie while waiting on the guests of honour. We had front row standing positions thinking we had a prime spot but twas not; luckily we were allowed to switch around for fairness! Before the headliners took the 'stage', I originally mistook a seal for a rock and was the first to spy it with my eye; as they are predators to penguins, I had to point it out to a member of staff so they could keep tabs on it.
Dunedin isn't exactly on a dream travel wishlist for those exploring NZ but to see Penguin 'Highway' is wonderful as they waddle up the beach in the wild. The world's smallest are known as Kororu in Maori and during our evening of miracles, we saw 126 in total. Wow, so *this* is what all the fuss is about!!
It was ironic that the penguins are loud as lions seeing how they're tincy wincy in physical size. I have a compulsive desire to rescue every last one of them! They swim out at sea all day about 50-70kms and then call out to their partners to find their chicks at the beach, before returning to roost in their sandy burrows. Little Blue Penguins breed here; we were stunned to gaze out at the rafts in their natural habitat.
We were given the go ahead to take pics and video record without using flash as that can blind or kill them. It was cutesy how some of the Lil Blues slipped down rocks and couldn't pull themselves back up - lacking the strength and stature while others hop over them effortlessly. Under the moonlight run ins with dearest fluffos was GRAND and I was glowing for days wanting to hug them all.
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