Big Trip

Such is the haze of adrenalin wround Queenstown that we thought we'd better try something out of the ordinary. Having calmed myself down after repeated failures to upload photos to blogger, we pottered up to the Kiwi Sanctuary, as we've been in this country for a couple of weeks without even attempting to see one. The kiwis were in a nocturnal house, being strictly night birds, and it took a fair while for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. However, as we acclimatised, we could see a strange form working its way along the glass right in front of us. There were a couple of kiwis poking about in the leaf litter on the bottom of their enclosure, completely oblivious of our presence. I'm sure I don't really need to describe them, apart from to say that they're about 30cm high, and a bit like a cross between a bird and an ant-eater, with their long, curved beak. A bit like a small ant-eater walking on its hind legs, with its hands behind its back, perhaps. If you see what I mean. Ahem. Anyway, I thought they were really cute.
We followed that up with a round of indoor mini-golf at Caddyshack City. I can honestly say that it was the most ludicrous round of mini golf I've ever played. It's clearly an outlet for someone's desperate desire to make big electro-mechanical models, and you have to admire the talent and dedication that have gone into it. Never before has my golf ball triggered a volcanic eruption, or gone up in a chair lift, through a saw mill, or an oil pipeline. Best of all, of course, the last hole is a sweet factory, and when your ball is consumed, in return you get a free lollipop delivered straight from the factory door into the waiting truck. Top entertainment for the under-10s and over-40s.