More penguins!!

It's been a quiet sort of day, I couldn't be bothered doing much and actually there isn't much to do in Oamaru. But what with Nationals and leaving Wellington and everything it was nice to have a day with no cares or concerns.

After a swim in the morning - a nice, clean, modern but shallow pool - I wandered around town a bit. Found the Victorian corner; a couple of streets of original buildings which were very photogenic (see Flickr). After that, the art gallery, which was between exhibitions and what there was was a bit indifferent. Some of the professional stuff I honestly couldn't really tell apart from the school children's art also on display. After that, on to the North Otago museum, which wasn't huge but had some moderately interesting displays of things from Oamaru's past. And a huge album of old photos, which I had fun flicking through for a while.

Then on to the Whitestone cheese factory for a slice of utterly wonderful but very rich cheesecake (felt a tad sick afterwards). I contemplated going to the cinema, but eventually couldn't be bothered, so took grocery shopping back to the hostel and mooched for the afternoon - reading, sorting photos out and uploading them, that sort of thing.

Just got back from blue penguin watching. There's a colony out by the harbour and they've built a viewing gallery with orange lighting - so you can see the penguins coming ashore after a day's fishing. :) It is extremely cute to watch them waddling up the rocky ramp and across the path to their breeding colony. They're quite noisy and a little smelly (not so bad though). Also, lots of rabbits and a lone seal that didn't bother the penguins much. The lady who owns the hostel said I'd see penguins walking back afterwards, but I didn't. I was annoyed about the no-photography rule at the colony however. In the past there's been too many idiots with flashes they couldn't turn off, so they've banned all filming and photography, which frankly is seriously irritating for people who can use their cameras properly. So, no pics of cute little blue penguins unfortunately.

Tomorrow, onward to the Otago Peninsula via the Moeraki Boulders, and more penguins - another yellow-eyed colony.