Up early today in order to speak to everybody :-)
The weather is perfect but it has brought out my hay fever. Just as well I brought my pills with me.
We have been surprised at how hilly Dunedin is so it was no surprise to find that it has the steepest street in the world. The gradient is 1 in 2.86
After another hearty breakfast we set off for the Penguin Place which is on the Otago penninsula and is home to yellow eyed penguins and blue furry penguins, which are the smallest of the species. The yellow eyed penguins are endangered and there are only 700 left on mainland NZ. The Penguin Place does it's best to rid their part of the penninsula of predators, stoats, weasels, hedgehogs, possums and rabbits by setting traps. Unfortunately today, all the adults were off on an away day to catch fish for the chicks who were lying low in their shelters. We did get to see a number in the hospital though and they were very cute.
A blue penguin chick
A yellow eyed chick.
Yellow eyed adults
Chicks looking very sad in hospital
After seeing the penguins we walked a little further along the sanctuary coast and saw the seals who were all busy playing and swimming.
What a lovely place to call home. We wouldn't have minded settling down for the day on this beach but unfortunately the penguins get sole use.
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