{"id":2022,"date":"2024-02-23T20:24:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T07:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=2022"},"modified":"2024-02-24T20:24:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T07:24:58","slug":"clay-cliffs-and-elephants-and-penguins-oh-my","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/23\/clay-cliffs-and-elephants-and-penguins-oh-my\/","title":{"rendered":"Clay Cliffs and Elephants and Penguins, Oh My!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February 23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clay Cliffs<\/a> in Omarama was our first stop of the day. These tall pinnacles of gravel and silt were formed millions of years ago by, you guessed it, glaciers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mitch scaled the backside of the cliffs through a very narrow tunnel archway that another tourist suggested was safe to climb even though it was extremely steep. It was probably easier to go up the passageway than down as I watched him carefully maneuver his way back to where I safely remained \u2014 at the base of the cliffs. He said the views of the cliffs up high were really cool. We also realized we probably should have worn our hiking boots on this trail instead of sneakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the cliffs, we drove another hour to Elephant Rocks<\/a> in Waitaki. These weathered limestone boulders, resembling elephants, were formed 23-25 million years ago. For those of you who are Narnia<\/a> fans, the site has been used to film The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We captured some fun shots from atop the rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our evening activity was learning about penguins at the Blue Penguin Colony<\/a> in Oamaru. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These are not just any penguin though. The blue penguin is the world\u2019s smallest and can be found only in NZ and Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We sat in the viewing stands and watched as 83 penguins arrived home in different flotillas from their day at sea to return to their nesting boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Making it home alive though is no easy feat with predators such as leopard seals, sea lions, orcas and sharks just waiting for a blue penguin as their snack. I wanted to cheer every time I saw one waddle up from the shore and climb the steep bank to be reunited with his\/her family. We were not allowed to take photos or videos or even have our phones visible as the light is very distracting to the penguins. So we\u2019ve included a few photos from the Internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the night, the guide cautioned us to look for penguins under our cars before driving off as some penguins can get lost in the parking lot and hide under cars. She said those signs on the road aren\u2019t made for Instagram, they\u2019re warning signs so you don\u2019t drive off and accidentally make a little blue penguin pancake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not a sign just for Insta, people!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Our current location
Oamaru<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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February 23 Clay Cliffs in Omarama was our first stop of the day. These tall pinnacles of gravel and silt were formed millions of years ago by, you guessed it, glaciers. Mitch scaled the backside of the cliffs through a very narrow tunnel archway that another tourist suggested was safe to climb even though it … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-new-zealand-south-island"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_0288-1.jpg?fit=1500%2C2000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2578,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/26\/there-is-light-at-the-end-of-every-tunnel-to-get-there-just-follow-the-silver-lining\/","url_meta":{"origin":2022,"position":0},"title":"\u201cThere is light at the end of every tunnel. To get there just follow the silver lining.\u201d","author":"Victoria","date":"26 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 26 Our BIG hike is one week from today. Yikes! To get some steps and elevation in, we took a relatively short but steep hike at Tunnel Beach Walk. There were beautiful coastal views and a really cool sandstone archway jutting out into the ocean. We walked through an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11210,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/29\/all-aboard-the-driving-creek-railway\/","url_meta":{"origin":2022,"position":1},"title":"All Aboard The Driving Creek Railway","author":"Mitch","date":"29 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"April 29 We quickly packed up and said sayonara to the Harborview Motel. We drove to town and had a great breakfast and equally great coffee at UMU Reataurant and Cafe. Last night we decided to book a two-hour train journey on the Coromandel Driving Creek Railway. Let\u2019s just say\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Zealand South Island"","block_context":{"text":"New Zealand South Island","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/new-zealand-south-island\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_5449-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_5449-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_5449-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_5449-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5139,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/05\/the-climb-milford-track-day-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":2022,"position":2},"title":"The Climb (Milford Track, Day 3)","author":"Mitch","date":"5 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 5 At last night\u2019s briefing, the guides shared that this 9 mile day up McKinnon Pass from Pompolona Lodge to Quintin Lodge would be a challenge. It could take up to nine hours or more to reach our destination. The weather report called for snow, wind and more rain,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_0669-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_0669-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_0669-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_0669-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10107,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/16\/the-time-you-enjoy-wasting-is-not-time-wasted-bertrand-russell\/","url_meta":{"origin":2022,"position":3},"title":"\u201cThe time you enjoy wasting is not time wasted.\u201d Bertrand Russell (RV (Day 3)","author":"Victoria","date":"16 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"April 16 Whangarei (pronounced Fuhng\u2022uh\u2022ray) is the gateway city to the Bay of Islands, our next stop. 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It was comfortable and super quiet at the campsite. We awoke to lots of birds, some new ones again for us that we haven\u2019t yet seen. Kelp Gull We got a late check out from the park and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_1690-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_1690-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_1690-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_1690-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11508,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/02\/coromandel-from-the-sea\/","url_meta":{"origin":2022,"position":5},"title":"Coromandel From The Sea","author":"Victoria","date":"2 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"May 2 It was a go for our Ocean Leopard boat tour today. 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