When I was in Oamaru, a city in the pacific coast of South Island of New Zealand, I found out a road sign that I think is not something that you can see everyday, it was a caution sign for penguin crossing. Like any other road sign it painted in yellow to get people's attention, but this one with 2 penguins depicted walking. Despite the fact that Oamaru is a very unique city with so many old victorian style buildings that transform the landscape of the city into a very photogenic site, it hosted the world smallest penguin called Blue penguin or the Little penguin (Eudyptula Minor).
(image of baby penguin)
Blue penguin is a 24-45 cm height and 1 Kg weight (average) penguin. Normally when you see a penguin you might imagine a big penguin like the one you have seen on Tv. This type of penguin is so small like young duck with flippers and in New Zealand they are protected by the conservation law. Not only physically short, the life of this penguin also short. The average age of this penguin is 7 years, but the oldest ever encountered is 25 years.
If you happened to visit Oamaru, you don't want to miss the chance to watch this penguin come back from their daily hunting in the sea. There is a conservation area where you can see them, this area is very easy to access by car; but if walk you'll take few minutes to get there. The place is called Oamaru blue penguin colony, there are many options of the timing you can choose, I have chosen to visit this place in the evening because during the summer time you can easily spot the penguin and not feeling hot. There are also variety of venues you can choose depend on your budget, for me $35 is enough just to watch penguin from a not very distance venue. But if you want to get closer to the penguins route, you might want to spend a little more, anyway, it worth the money. so don't hesitate.
Few tips:
Enjoy watching penguin :)
