A long, long way from home

Courtney Linnecar, from the Discover the World team, keeps us up to date with an important event that took place in New Zealand this week...

An unexpected visitor has arrived on the shores of the Kapiti Coast, which is near Wellington New Zealand. A local resident by the name of Christine Walton was out walking her dog when she saw a ‘glistening white thing’ on the sand. It was in fact an Antarctic emperor penguin.

It is only the second emperor penguin ever to reach the shores of New Zealand, the last one arriving at Southland’s Oreti Beach in 1967 – so this particular penguin must be an Olympic swimmer of some sort as he is very, very far from home!

Emperor penguins are the largest penguins and feed on fish, krill and squid – maybe he was chasing his next meal, but why these animals visit the shores of New Zealand is unknown. You can see emperor and other types of penguins when visiting Antarctica, for more information on our epic Antarctic voyages, click here.

To watch a fantastic video capturing the penguin on the Kapiti Coast, click here.

I've got the Paua

The Paua shell is a tourist must-have. I bet you've got a piece somewhere in the form of a piece of jewellery, a paperweight for the study or an ashtray for the front room.  This sparkly abalone souvenir can be found around the New Zealand waters and shines all the colours you could possibly want it to. Just like a hologram card the paua shell gleams different hues when viewed from different angles. Beware, this can be very mesmerizing. The Maori sometimes use Paua shell pieces to decorate the eyes of their warrior carvings. I think this gives them life - and a haunting psychedelic presence..just me? I have a little model one which sits on my dresser and watches me while i sleep.

There was a time in New Zealand when Paua jewellery was considered cheap and 'tacky' but times they are a changing and there is now a booming Paua shell business. I myself have an over sized paua ring, which i like to flash on the tube, like my 'I'm-a-Kiwi' calling card. A little piece of home.