Our Adventure

It's beginning to sink in more that we have left and that this is the time we need to spend doing what we set out to do. Today we had a penguin tour booked for the evening so we spent the day exploring Akoroa town again which started with some lovely Crepes for breakfast in the town. Akaroa was first settled by the French so it has a strong French style of architecture so it was nice to see this has been carried through into the cafe we visited. We went to all the shops around town and although we'd done this before we still enjoyed strolling around together. After 4 months of working with only last Tuesday and Saturday off together it's lovely to just be in each others company again. We headed back to the campsite to make an early tea so we would be ready in time for our tour. After a quick easy pasta meal we met up with the tour operators back in town. We were divided into two small groups so their was actually only 8 of us in our mini bus. The drive to the site took us up and over the hills which gave some lovely views out over Akaroa. We ended up at a house right near the coast of Flea Bay. We discovered that the Little Penguins use to nest on the peninsula but after the introduction of predators they pretty much disappeared. The couple who built the house here discovered a couple of penguins nesting under their house and decided to help encourage the population to come back through building nest boxes and predator trapping. They now have over 1000 successful breeding pairs of penguins on their land which is just incredible. All the farm lands nearby have also helped with this process. The land is also private so no one can turn up with torches and disturb the penguin's natural behaviours. When we arrived we were greeted by the local sheep who help keep the grass between the nesting boxes and the shore short, making it easier for the penguins but also harder for predators to follow their tracks. As an added bonus we were able to feed the sheep before being given camouflage overjackets and binoculars to wear. As we walked up to the view points we saw many nesting boxes, some with chicks or an adult peering out from inside. We moved as quietly as possible to not disturb them too much. From the lookouts we could see the penguins bobbing on the water waiting for the cover of darkness to come ashore. It was amazing watching these little penguins jump out the water and on to the rocks. Our guide was very worried about not disturbing them so as soon as it looked like the penguins were going to climb up the bank to their boxes we retreated back to the house so nothing would be in their way. It was an amazing, informative tour and it feels good knowing some of the money we spent is going to continue to fund this great project. The best thing we learnt is that the penguins here are a much lighter blue colour on top compared to the ones in Dunedin down the coast. This is because the sea here is fed by glacier water so is much lighter in colour and amazingly overtime the penguins who arrived here changed colour to adapt to this colour change. How cool is that?!Läs mer

It's quite hard to believe that there is only one week left until we leave the farm. It's exciting, nerve wracking and sad all at the same time. I've been trying to do as much as possible with the girls this week which isn't the easiest with Cassidy at preschool most of the time. We still try to fit in at least a walk if there's time in the afternoon. We've had a lot of rain so that means it's also been harder to get out and about. While we were travelling I bought a puzzle for Cassidy that was quite advanced and this week she managed to complete it without the picture for help within 45 minutes which was pretty good going. Admittedly I was falling asleep on the floor but I was still rather impressed everytime Eliza said "wakey wakey Charlotte" and I saw how many more pieces she'd put in. Eliza was also very kind and got off the rocking horse and came right up to me and crouched down so our faces were almost touching and said "Charlotte, turn?" She's getting so considerate now a days and is definitely much better at sharing. After I said I was okay she hopped back on and started rocking again. I'm realising more and more how much I love these girlies and how hard next Sunday will be. Cassidy keeps telling me not to worry and that she will get her mum to save me some of her birthday cake for when I come back. It's become quite impossible to hide any more that we won't be back and I do think she's suspecting that this is more of a major goodbye than last year. I've also come to realise how much I appreciate Tika. She's helped me get over a fear of dogs and I couldn't have asked for a noisier dog to do that. I've learnt to accept the barking and am now fully comfortable with her being around me. We definitely have a bond that I will miss. I got a bit experimental this week and made ginger flavoured cupcakes with a cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg butter cream icing. They went down so well at the shed which meant it was a success. In RD1 this week Eliza saw the picture in the photos on the wall and said "Nick?!" which was followed by "Cheryl?" who is her auntie. I do hope she's thinking the guy who looks about 30 is Nick rather than the old chap in the photo! After visiting this shop 2-3 times a week it's weird to realise that I will miss the people in there as well. The lady I made the baby box for had a boy in the end so I'm glad I made it very unisex despite Bruce saying he was adamant that she was having a girl. Eliza has now started telling me she loves me when I leave in the evening, almost as if she can tell that there is only a week left. It's utterly adorable and so natural to tell her I love her too.Läs mer