Christchurch and penguins and Hägglunds

May 10! Headed to Christchurch-while we flew into Christchurch, we haven't actually seen anything around town. So we took the Lewis pass over (had driven over Arthur's pass from Christchurch to Westport previously)-got to see new scenery!

Such fun nature made sculptures in the side of the hill.

Evangeline. Before wash.

After wash!

Frankie taking selfies.

Beware driving penguins! The International Antarctic Centre was built in the 1990s to show people why the Antarctic scientific programs and the continent are so important to the world.

It includes a Blue penguin rescue center! The little blue penguins are the world's smallest penguins. The center can hold up to 26 birds that aren't able to live on their own in the wild. We made it or feeding time!

One of these guys could totally live in my bathtub, don't you think? (But holy cow are they stinky.)

Great education time.

4D Antarctica movie!

Frank on both poles.

They had huskies to see! So soft, and cute, and well behaved.

Van just made it. Phew!

Riding in the all-terrain amphibious Antarctic vehicle on a fun obstacle course, up and down steep hills, over crevasse-type thing, through water and over giant rocks!

On to finding little blue penguins in Akaroa! But first some posing.

Magda refused to be in the picture. 'But I'll take a picture of you!' says she.

Gorgeous view!

En route to Flea Bay.

Penguins and sheep! Best day ever.

Feeding friendly sheep!

Getting ready to go check on some penguin nesting boxes and see if we could see any penguins in the bay.

Making sure the binoculars work!

This time of year the penguins are usually out swimming/fishing/etc, but some just decide to stay in their little houses for penguin parties.

So cute! Everyone had so be very still and very quiet when we looked in the nesting boxes-the girls did so well.

The funny little shapes in the center is one of the groups of penguins out in the water. Once it starts getting dark we had to skedaddle out to not disturb any of them.

This was also the crazy aurora weekend-we got to see a beautiful sky!

I may have made Josh stop a few places on the way back to Christchurch.

How could you not??

Headed back to Westport on Mother's day! Happy, happy day to all of our mothers, grandmothers, the mothers in our families, friends who are mothers, stand-in mothers...all the mothers!

Mum doughnuts. The best kind, of course.

Love from all the ladies! ❤️