There’s been a special fella hiding out at Wellington Zoo. He was rescued from a beach on the Kapiti Coast. Poor chap had swam all the way from Antarctica and found himself in a temperate climate with no ice to eat, just a beach full of sand. In a desperate attempt to cool himself down he ate the sand (penguins eat ice when they are hot, to cool down). After a few days he was looking a very poorly chap and the good people at DOC and Wellington Zoo decided to intervene and give nature a helping hand.
Happy Feet (as he’s been affectionately called) has made world headlines as he recoups at the wonderful ‘Nest’ at Wellington Zoo.
He’s been mostly in hiding, in a temperature controlled room, but with a rare storm of Antarctic proportions sweeping New Zealand he was allowed out for a swim!
Sophie, Alice and I grabbed the opportunity to see an Emperor Penguin with our own eyes! AND, in the snow! Real, real, white, fluffy snow! He is such a handsome chap and we really feel very lucky to have seen him before he’s released back into the wild at the end of August.
Meanwhile, Charlotte was happy at school, seeing history in the making, as snow fell at her school – a very, very rare event to see snow in central Wellington!
By night fall the storm intensified and with lightening, thunder and flickering lights, Charlotte and Sophie donned their ski-suits (thanks Grandma and Granddad) and braved the elements in a determined (and slightly crazy!) effort to build a snowman! They even bought the snowman up to visit Alice and I in the bath in a large laundry tub! Dan joined them, but it wasn’t long before they ditched their wet clothes and climbed in the warm, bubbly bath.
Now we’re tucked up in bed, warm and cosy. The wind is howling outside and we await the morning. The forecast is yet more cold weather, straight from Antarctica, described by the Met Service as a one in 50 year event. Perhaps the weather is calling Happy Feet home? He was certainly looking pleased to sniff the fresh air and the scent of snow!
And our garden looked ever so pretty…
And Sophie’s home schooling for the day took a little detour. We’ll be focusing on Antarctica, penguins and snow this week 🙂 It’s so wonderful to be flexible and tie our learning in with our natural environment. Read Sophie’s account of our day here!
