Sunny Saturday

Yesterday was Dunedin's first sunny Saturday in living memory, or at least in a few months, so we took full advantage of it. At the farmer's market, the poppies were enjoying the sun too, all bobbing brightly on their stems. We bought some fruit and some hot dogs and made fun of the tourists. There are so many of them, and now we've been in Dunedin for nearly six months we've earned our stripes. You can spot them a mile off. Normally they're wearing a backpack larger than Emeline and, if the wind is just right, you can smell their dreadlocks. They're all living the movie of their lives. But they're all boring movies.

Then we headed south in our car, along the scenic southern highway that follows the winding coast. The sea is almost close enough to touch from the car window. Then to the beach at Brighton where we saw dead things; farther south to Kawa Point and Roaring Bay, where we went penguin spotting; and then to the lighthouse at Nugget Point, dome-roofed, white and pretty in the sun.

We now believe:

1. There are only two penguins in New Zealand.
2. We've seen them both before.
3. They were somewhere else today.