Having overheard some girls on our campsite talking about the blue penguins at Oamaru we excitedly headed off in search of them.� What we actually found was a information centre and "grandstand" seating area where you sat at dusk to watch them come back to their nests.� Seeing as though it was only midday we didn't fancy the wait - or entry fee.� Instead we looked around the visitors centre and left.�

It was along SH1 that Richard suddenly turned off - I'd been busy studying the map (?!) and missed why - boulders was why!� At a place called Moeraki there is a beach with giant spherical boulders.� Now I appreciate they don't sound all that interesting but when you've been sat on yet another perfectly straight highway you'll turn off for anything!� As it happens they were actually quite intriguing as they looked like giant golf balls.� On closer inspection they were also covered in tiny�mussels.� There must have been 20+ of them and we did the dutiful tourist thing and snapped away!

Once back in the car I looked them up in the trusty lonely planet - nowhere had it said why�or how they got there - the reason itself was pretty dull, but what it lead to was much more interesting - yellow eyed penguins!� We came across a huge and winding gravel road that lead us down a path to a hide.� From here you had a perfect view of a small secluded bay full of returning penguins.� We sat in wonder for easily an hour, probably more.� They are truly facinating and the hide was full of information on them and their behaviour - their greeting of each other for example was to raise their head, open their beak and then extend their wings!� Having taken full advantage of the digital camera (loaded with over 80 photos!) we dragged ourselves back to the van, happy to have seen so many of the rarest penguins naturally, not from a grandstand.�