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I went to a Show N Shine last Wednesday at the local Tastee Freeze. There were quite a few nice cars! Click on the photo to check out the pics…

Here’s a link to a great video which was shot and edited by Chris LeBlanc. This is a nighttime Manta dive two weeks ago in Kona, Hawaii (click on the photo for movie — warning - it’s big and will take awhile to download):

We had such a fabulous time on our 2007 tour of the campgrounds of New Zealand that we finally splurged on a 2008 Fleetwood popup camper. It’s a Cobalt, the smallest of the Evolution series, with the essentials: pump sink, heater, propane stove, electricity (battery or plug-in), and comfortable sleeping for 4 friendly people. It’s really easy to assemble and tow (so John tells me; I haven’t learned yet). As soon as we signed the papers, we headed home, pitched camp right in front of our house and tested the nap potential (excellent — with the windows unzipped a lovely breeze flows through the interior). Our first camping trip is less than a week away, when we visit the Florissant Fossil Beds not far from here. Stay tuned for answers to questions like, “how cold does it get at night in the foothills?” and “what essential item will we forget?”

Angie

We went to Crested Butte to ski at the end of February - it was the most snow I have seen at a ski area in at least 20 years. The piled up snow on main street from plowing was over 10 feet high in places. Great skiing, great weather.

I installed a new feature to my blog - it’s a Photo Gallery section which allows viewing photos without going to Picasaweb. For those who care about such things, it’s a Wordpress plug-in called “Lightbox”.

See my Best of New Zealand Photographs

Wellington - A New Zealand man risked life and limb by dangling upside-down in the sea to take close-up pictures of a circling Great White shark, reports said on Monday.

Read the whole article here. Wow.

Distance Traveled by Plane: 15662 miles

Miles traveled in Campervan: 1567 miles

Gallons of Diesel Used: 75 gallons

Mpg average: 20.9 per gallon

Camperparks stayed at: 9

Photos Taken: 2063

Sperm whales spotted: 3

Kiwis spotted: 4

Penguins spotted: A bunch!!

Bottles of wine purchased: 7

Meat pies consumed: 10

Mussels consumed: All we could eat without getting ill…

Saturday: Oamaru. Yesterday John and I traveled the short distance from Dunedin to Oamaru. Dunedin wasn’t really of much interest to us; it’s a lively, hilly town close to the sea, but it seemed like the usual college spot. I’ll remember it for crowds, traffic, and not-so-friendly people. We did have a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant in the town centre, where several boisterous Christmas parties were being held. Later, though, we got lost in the circular layout of the town. Funny thing: even though a Kiwi Christmas is mid-summer and usually involves a barbecue, decorations still include snowflakes, snowmen, sleighs, and such. We even heard “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” playing!

Oamaru, however, we loved. A small, quiet little town a couple of hours south of Christchurch, Oamaru is a little piece of history come to life. The warehouses and shops in the old business district were built of the famous creamy white local limestone during the Victorian era when the town was a thriving port. Years later, after the gold rush failed (I think), the town was abandoned. Nothing was modified or modernized in the early 20th century. In the late 20th century, the town was resurrected and now all the gorgeous old buildings are in the process of being restored. Entire blocks look like a page out of Victorian history. I wish we had another day or two here to explore; it’s really interesting. The limestone quarries still produce stone and an artist was working on the grounds of our holiday park, chiseling huge blocks of rock into round and shapely female figures.

The real highlight of Oamaru, however, is the penguin colonies! We booked a tour as soon as we checked into our Top 10 Holiday Park (one of our favorites, by the way. Not the newest or best-appointed, but one of the coziest). First we visited the yellow-eyed penguin colony. Our guide clued us into the habits of the birds, so we were able to find (by sight, sound, and smell) several nests up on the cliffs. It’s amazing how high the little guys will climb to get a nice cool nest under the brush (they like the cool breezes up where the sea winds pass over the hillside). We heard this season’s brood of chicks peeping and saw some adults basking and posing for John’s camera (see pictures!). We learned about the life cycles of these rare birds.

As dusk approached (maybe 8:30 or so), we visited the Little Blue Penguin Colony. One of the highlights of the trip! After entering the site, we walked past some burrows that were mostly empty. A small grandstand faces the sea and a section of rocky beach. We took our seats in the chilly misty evening and watched.

Soon groups of penguins zipped in from open sea — first small groups of 5 or 10; then larger groups of maybe 30 or so birds. They swam up to the shore and onto the gravelly beach. The surf pounded them and sloshed them around, pulling some birds back out to deeper water. Eventually they jumped up on their little webbed feet and start climbing the rocky slope up to the level ground. Even at low tide they had quite a workout!

A narrow dirt road lay between the shore and their burrows; each group of penguins clustered together and waited for a critical mass to gather. Finally someone gave the signal to make a dash across the road. There really was no danger; only staff members have access to the track. Once on the other side of the road, the penguins scattered and rushed to their respective burrows in the brush. The sight of all those little chubby blue penguins wobbling across the road and heading for their nice cozy homes was unforgettable.

Their burrows were constructed by penguin enthusiasts and conservationists: wooden boxes buried in mounds of dirt and obviously very attractive to the couples looking for nests. As each group of penguins arrives from the days hunt, the ones already at home create a loud ruckus. Some wander around visiting neighbors. We even identified some chicks waiting for mom and pop to get home with the food. November-December is a great time to visit the south island of NZ; we’ve seen many babies and juveniles.

As we left the colony, we were able to see some of the penguins at close range (even in the dark). All cameras are strictly prohibited for the protection of the penguins, so we didn’t get any photos. We did get some at the Antarctic Centre, though. When I return to NZ, I will stop again at Oamaru and visit the penguins and explore the quaint town.

Sunday: Christchurch This morning we reluctantly left Oamaru and headed for Christchurch. It was an easy drive; we checked into our Holiday Park and then headed for the Antarctic Centre. Lots of interesting info about the research stations there; also about the animal and plant life. They have an exhibit of live blue penguins which is fine, but not so exciting after seeing the wild animals in their natural environment. To the Centre’s credit, the animals in the exhibit were injured animals that were unsuitable to return to the wild. They are so fun to watch; now I have a soft spot for penguin and kiwi species.

Tomorrow we are going to turn our camper van in. I really miss my kitties and I’m looking forward to hugging them, but I will miss traveling around in our pokey little mobile home. It’s been great fun. When we come back, we will rent a camper van again and allow more time in some of the quiet little areas, like Franz Josef, Te Anau, Oamaru, Stewart Island, the Catlins, Akaroa, and others I can’t remember at the moment. The food has been so good that I won’t even aspire to cook dinners the next time. I have been eating seafood and lamb daily; I love all the delicious fish and mussels. I’m in no hurry to get back to land-locked Denver!