Penguins & Chocolate

More photos of Dunedin and Penguin Place are here.
When the Owens Family emigrated from Ashland to Australia six or seven years ago, we said we'd come visit. Who would have known that Katie and Sarah would be at Otago University in Dunedin, NZ when we finally got down under? How fun to meet the little girls we knew, as delightful and engaging women. Over Italian food, we learned about the Australian and NZ education system and how complex and competitive it is to attend college.

While waiting for Katie and Sarah to finish classes, we donned hair nets and toured the chocolate plant at Cadbury World; sampling raw cocoa beans was the highlight. There are no oompa-loompas here; give it a miss if you come to town. The front desk staff, however, were over-the-top helpful when I said we were keen to see penguins on the Otago Peninsula, she booked us with a naturalist guide for the next day.

There are 4,000 yellow-eyed penguins left in the wild and surprising to this family, their natural habitat is forest (and sea of course). 19 nesting pairs inhabit the a private reserve called Penguin Place, set in an ocean cove and rolling hills. Humans can trespass into penguin habitat here without making a mess of things by using the system of covered trenches and camouflaged hides. The private landowners are committed to reestablishing a penguin colony and tree planting is the first order of business. Who is the Jane Goodall of penguins? If the position isn't taken, Michelle wants to apply. One can easily lose a day or a week gazing at these shy, solitary creatures. We sited two moulting penguins, Brian and Doug under trees and bushes. We imagined their head shakes and weight shifting motions to be shivers against the Antarctic winds. We left the penguins to continue our drive north along the first straight road we've seen in New Zealand.