>Oamaru - Penguin Colony, you can get to within feet of a wild penguin -
>there is a fee to get that close though, about US$ 15 each if I remember
>rightly.

>From Dunedin there is a nice day trip out to see the penguin and albatross 
colonies that exist around the south side of the Dunedin harbour. My 
understanding is that the albatross colony is the only one on any mainland 
anywhere in the world, and there is always some chicks to see either 
directly or via closed circuit TV, as they take around 18 months to grow to 
a point where they can leave the next.

Also at the headland is a disappearing gun, one of several built around NZ 
during the 'Russian Invasion' scare that spread around the south pacific 
after the trans-Siberian railroad was completed, giving Russia an easy means 
to get men and materials to Vladivostok, their main pacific port. The gun 
has been restored, and test fired since restoration. A similar gun is on 
Victoria Heads in Auckland.

On the way back from the headland you visit one of the farms that have 
penguin colonies on them. It pays to visit last thing in the day as the 
penguins come back from spending the day at sea. The nesting area has a set 
of tranches through it, covered with camouflage netting, allowing you to get 
very close to the penguins with minimal distance of them. You can easily get 
within 10 feet of several nests.

On the way out to the headland you can visit NZs only 'castle', which is 
still a private residence.

You can arrange tickets to all these at the Tourist Information centre in 
Dunedin. As you intend to hitch hike, they can probably fill you in on how 
to get out there. They can also provide you with information on visiting 
Speights Brewery, where you get to do a tour, finishing in the board room 
where there is a bunch of taps and a heap of glasses .... Also note as you 
go through the yard of the brewery the tap on the wall with the listing of 
minerals in the water. The tap comes straight from the spring somewhere 
under the building, and is the reputed reason for the brewery being built 
right there. People come and fill containers with the water to take home for 
their home brewing, as the water is supposed to make the brew 'just so'.

If you further south, from Clutha don't take the main road, instead follow 
route 92 through the Catlins Forest Park. This is a very pleasant area, 
though you may need to walk most of it, as the traffic volume is very low. 
You can walk through the most southern railway tunnel (now disused) 
somewhere down here.

Other things to do, take the day train trip from Christchurch to Greymouth. 
Forget its name, but it has some nice large windowed coaches for looking at 
the scenery, and you get to spend an hour or two in Greymouth. It goes 
through, what was at one stage, the longest tunnel in the world through the 
Southern Alps.

If travelling the west coast you can check out the Franz Joseph and Fox 
Glaciers. There is a spot out on the plain from Fox Glacier called 'Glacier 
View', and if you go out there as the sun is setting, it shines directly up 
the Fox glacier valley, giving some excellent photo opportunities. You will 
need a long telephoto lens to maximise the shots of the glacier though. You 
can walk right up to the base of both glaciers. Use the town of Franz 
Joseph, south of Greymouth, as a base for doing these. While in the area, 
there is also a pleasant walk around Lake Matheson, again a spot with much 
photography potential.

Do go to Queenstown. While it is expensive, there is a YHA hostel there, and 
there are a number of things to do. Go up in the cable lift above the town. 
The view is worth it. Do take a jet boat ride up Skippers canyon - part of 
the excitement is the trip up the canyon. make sure you get a photo of the 
warning boards where they turn off the road to take the canyon track. 
Skippers Canyon is where NZs Gold Rush started, and you will probably get 
the opportunity to try panning for gold as part of the trip. You can also do 
a Bungee Jump up here. but the original AJ Hackett Bungee is elsewhere in 
Queenstown.

For travelling and places to stay, there is a reasonable network of YHA 
hostels, as well as other private hostels. There is the Kiwi Bus for 
travelling, and they tend to travel between hostels. Technically hitch 
hiking is frowned on, and you may find rides few and far between, just 
attempting to 'thumb a lift'. You may have more luck chatting up people at 
stops.

Anyway, must get back to work ...

have a good trip.


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