We decided to meet in the lobby of our hotel at 9 am so we could all get breakfast and have enough time to go to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony (ecosystem) as well as get back to our hotel so we can fly out tomorrow and get back to Auckland. As we are getting into a cab we realize that we are all very hungry and ask the driver to take us to his favorite restaurant in the direction of our final destination. Our driver takes us on a roughly 40 minute drive to the Ida Valley Kitchen, upon arrival Jill looked up reviews and this restaurant was rated 5 stars! Therefore we were very excited to eat here and taste the raved about dish. Once our waiter come to our table we all ordered the same thing, a “Bacon, Parmesan and Crouton Salad” but Jill ordered it without the bacon considering she is vegetarian. While we were eating we discussed our favorite activity the Glowworm caves which we all loved so much and wished we could return. After eating our delicious salads we were heading out of the restaurant and saw that they had chocolate cake so we decided to treat yourself and get a couple slices for us to split in the car ride to the Penguins. Although it may seem weird to have a salad and cake as our breakfast we all enjoyed it very much and complimented our driver on his choice, we were lucky enough that he was willing to not only stop at the Ida Valley Kitchen but also take us to the Oamaru Penguin Colony which was another hour and a half drive away. We left the restaurant around 10:50 am and because of the traffic we didn’t arrive to the Penguin Colony until 1 pm. Yet as we pulled up the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony we were extremely surprised at how long the walkway was and how tiny the penguins were. We started walking towards the penguins and could hear their squeaking from down the parking lot which we all thought was extremely cute, mainly because we all just love animals so much. While entering the long walkway we saw all of the penguins swimming and going back to their nests to feed their children and then head back out to get more food. As we approached a tour guide we asked when the next tour would start and luckily it was in 5 minutes so we had a little bit of time to just walk around before we go out on the group tour. While we walked round for these 5 minutes John and Jill caught some cute photos of the penguins and posted about them all over social media. Once our tour started we were all ecstatic to be able to see and feed the smallest penguins in the world. As we walked towards a big cluster of penguins they were very happy to see us, although it was probably only because they knew we would be giving them food. John reached into the bucket of cut up fish with a glove on and handed on the the cute little penguins a piece of fish and he nearly got pecked because the penguin was so excited to grab some food. While we were handing out some fish to the cute creatures one of the started making a deep loud noise and a few of us started getting concerned but our tour guide told us it was just a territorial call that the male penguin was making to protect his family and nest. We were also informed that the typically blue penguin lives about 8-10 years and only grows to be about 30 centimeters tall which is not even a foot tall! 
Their small height, which makes them the smallest penguins, is one of the reasons why the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony is such a popular tourist attraction. While the tour guide took us around we noticed that some of the penguins started digging into the dirt and sand which is because that is how the make their nest but because they are normally flooded or ruined their are man made nests for the penguins so that their nests last longer, yet some penguins don't use them. We kept seeing all of the penguins dive in and out of the water so Jackson asked how often do they normally go into the water and our tour guide said roughly 800 times a day! Which shocked everybody because we couldn't understand how the smallest penguin could have the energy to jump in and out of the water 800 times a day. We decided to walk up and down the entire colony a few times after our tour to take more pictures and enjoy the penguins and the environment. After Rachel got tired and asked if we could head out we decided that we had enough time with the cute little penguins and that we needed to head out and go back to the hotel so we took a few more pictures and then called a cab to come pick us up. As we were walking out John saw a gift shop and decided to go into the gift shop and buy some souvenirs, we all ended up getting some shirts, sweatshirts, and stuffed animals. We were very sad to leave but decided it was best because if we stayed any longer Jill and John may have started crying because of the cuteness and love they felt towards the penguins. While we were driving we passed the Richmond mall and Jill pointed it out so we told our driver to turn around and drop us off at the mall so we could go shopping. John came up with the idea that we all buy another person a gift like secret Santa, and everyone agreed so we downloaded a randomize app and had everyone get a person and then we split up and started shopping. John and Jill went into The Body Shop to see if there was anything that they wanted to buy in there, which they both got 2 bottles of lotion, shower gel, and lip balm. John decided to get a candle for Jill because that is who he got in the gift exchange and Jill decided to get a bottle of lotion for Rachel which she got.
While John and Jill where in The Body Shop Rachel, Jackson, and Alyssa went into Jay Jay's which had a lot of athletic wear which was perfect for the flight home because they would have very comfortable clothes for the flight home. Alyssa found some cute joggers for John which she got in her exchange and also got a pair for herself as well as a few shirts. Rachel had Jill and decided to get her a headband because she always complains about her hair being in her face, but she didn't get anything for herself. Yet Jackson got Alyssa in the gift exchange and decided to get her a pair of pants that she decided against getting because of the price but didn't get himself anything because nothing there was really "his style". After we all met up in the mall food court we exchanged gifts and everyone was extremely happy with their purchases and decided that it was time for dinner since it was around 5 pm and everyone was extremely hungry. We decided to have McDonald's once again because we all knew we would enjoy the food and it wouldn't be too hard to order, so we all got our usual order and enjoyed the food very much. After eating we decided to head back to the hotel so we called a cab and walked around the mall until it arrived to take us back to the hotel. Once we got into the cab we all took a nap and didn't wake up until we arrived back at our hotel around 8:30pm and we immediately got into our rooms and watched TV until we feel asleep ready for our flight back the next day.
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