I've returned to the city of wind. 

Before I came back, I had a lovely conclusion to my South Island excursion.  During my last day in Queenstown, Joey and I went to the Kiwi Wildlife Sanctuary.  We got to see some really neat animals including a tuatara up close and some geckos and a falcon and other native birds.  But the best part was seeing the lovely kiwis!  They are quite cute looking animals, with a plump, rounded body and long nose that allows them to dig deep into the ground for yummy insects.  Unfortunately, we could not take pictures of kiwis as they are very shy.  Apparently they don't care for humans very much.

Also that day, Joey and I had the great pleasure of encountering some really neat people.  We went to a chocolate shop because they have free internet, but only after Joey bought his cup of coffee with six shots of espresso in a soup bowl did we discover that there were no power outlets in which to plug our computers.  So, stuck with a bowl of coffee, we made friends with the 60-something couple visiting from England. Afterwards, we went to the crafts market they had on the waterfront, which had some really neat stuff.  One guy was a painter with some fabulous work and we talked to him for quite a while.  He was so neat because he just lives his life according to whatever he pleases, and that's a philosophy that I admire.  Even his name, Tainui Ward-Holmes, is memorable.

After taking a lengthy bus back to Dunedin, Joey and I cooked a luxurious dinner in our hostel and enjoyed the spectacular company of Gizmo the cat, who was the selling factor in our choosing to stay at Central Backpackers.  Gizmo is playful and loving and made our trip so enjoyable.

On Sunday in Dunedin, Joey and I were priveleged with one of the greatest opportunities ever.  We took a 6 hour wildlife tour, which entailed seeing the New Zealand albatross (a truly fascinating and rare bird), sea lions, fur seals, AND............penguins.  Apparently, we had more luck than any tour group has ever had--the penguins are extremely shy towards humans, but one happened to walk towards us and stood within 10 feet of us.  We also saw the penguins emerging from the water and hiking up the mountain on their way home.  What an incredible trip that was...  I have also posted pictures and hope to post videos, and if you are on my e-mail listserv, I will send you the links.  If not, e-mail me and I will let you know.

On Monday in Dunedin, we went to the Otago Museum, which had a Discovery Centre much like a small science center which was really neat.  But the best part was a large indoor butterfly sanctuary with a waterfall and natural greenery throughout.  The butterflies were stunningly beautiful.  Although we made sure to check that none flew out with us (as the had fun landing on us), we saw a butterfly in the Japanese restaurant we visited over 30 minutes later.  We think it was a very tricky one, having snuck into the small opening in Joey's backpack.  But  best part of the Otago Museum, apart from the Discovery Center was the toilets.  They were incredible.  You must check my photo exposition of the toilet seats if you are to understand what I mean.

Our flight back to Wellington was rather pleasant.  But get this: there are absolutely NO security checks or scanners in the entire Dunedin airport.  NOT ANY.  They simply don't exist! What a trusting city.  Very interesting.

Since our return, I have primarily been working on a philosophy essay, and I am glad I had Joey around because he gave me so many ideas to use.  One night, we went to this cafe/bar place to study because they have comfy chairs, wireless internet, and something we've come to find rare in public places: power outlets.  All was going well and my work was progressing until... quiz night.  It seems like the thing to do around here!  So Joey decided to go join a team, because he was unsurprisingly able to use his large amounts of knowledge to answer random trivia questions.  By the end of the night, Joey's team emerged victorious by a margin of only 1 point.  The team of 8 was gifted with a $50 gift card to the restaurant, which they spent instantaneously on celebratory drinks.  We should go to quiz night more often!

So here's a fun story. The power went out yesterday. In all of Wellingon.  For 70 minutes.  No storm, no rain, no inclimate anything!  Just some fallen wire at a power plant.  So elevators froze, electric trolley cars got stuck in the middle of the road, and the cable car stalled midway down the mountain.  Besides the crazy thought that an entire city lost power (which happens much more rarely in the US), here's a fun one: we had a scheduled power outage to fix the problems caused by the power outage.  So the gym closed 6 hours early because a power outage was expected to occur.  I've never had the privelege of planning for a power outage before.  I find the whole thing rather amusing.  Is it just me?

And, just for the record, as I'm sure you were desperately wondering, I've finally said "cheers." It was tough, but I did it!  And today I almost said it but I'm just not that ambitious yet.  It takes a while to get used to such a funny word!

So that's what's been going on with me lately.  Just to keep you intrigued, my plan for the weekend involves waking up for a 5:45am Anzac Day parade.  Keep posted for the revealing details!  Also, I would love it and appreciate it if you e-mailed me to fill me in on what's going on in your lives!  Cheers!