Dunedin: Part 4 - Day 5: Otago University, Royal Albatross Center

Day 5

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 5.

12/5 Day 5: Otago University --> Royal Albatross Centre

Costs

Day 5

(1) Lunch at Famosa Delight - Beef mince wth rice $11.80, Chive parcel $10.80 (treated by my sister's friend), Coffee latte $5

(2) Ticket to see blue penguins at Royal Albatross Centre - $45

The Story

120523: Today, my sister collected her graduation robe from Otago University. It has been a long time since I stepped into a university. I took a picture next to my sister's department of studies - Science Communication. She completed her masters and did a thesis on kauri's dieback disease. If you want to see her video, here is the link which is also published on the Auckland city council's website. I am very proud of her that she is making a difference by educating the public. I got to meet her friend who treated us to a parcel chive for lunch. How kind of her! 

I had minced beef with rice for lunch. The portion is huge. I am very pleased with my coffee latte because it is sprinkled with cinnamon. Smells so lovely!

This is how Dunedin monitor the cars' parking time. The parking attendant use a chalk to mark on the tyre. Different colours mark different allocated hours. Yellow colour is for 1 hour. Quite creative but very manual and one can erase the chalk away. Not to mention, one needs to buy chalk. 

In the evening, we drove along the coast to Royal Albatross Centre to see the blue penguins. It is the smallest penguin in the world. It is not a blue colour but sort of blue-gray colour. I have not seen a penguin from a near distance so I thought the penguin was big when I saw it but my sister said that a normal-sized penguin is way bigger. The place was really windy and cold! Thankfully, I had my buff to cover my mouth and a beanie hat. I even had my fleece sweater and a ski jacket! I usually wear this setup during winter in Stockholm. The activity started at 5pm and the staff gave a brief explanation on the penguins. We caught sight of the first group of penguins at 6pm when it got dark. During this season, the penguins come back to shore to check on their burrows. When they are satisfied, they go back to sea. The penguins look for food and sleep in the sea by tucking their head under their wings, facing downwards. 

I was so excited when I caught sight of the penguins. We stood on a platform so we got a good sight of the penguins coming out of the waters, waddling up to the shore and right beneath us. SO CUTE!