Dennis left Britain on Thursday, 4th of November. He went to spend some time with Dave Houston, a ranger with the Department of Conservation in Oamaru, New Zealand. Dave is also vice-chaiman of the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony management committee and also holds the banding permit for thatspecies. Dennis was sent on his journey equipped with a disposable camera and a clean set of underwear. His mission was to assist Dave in his work and to build up his own knowledge and understanding of his feathered relatives. Conservation and wildlife protection are very close to Dennis' heart and he wanted to experience the problems faced by the penguins (and other animals) first hand. So far it seems that he's been doing as much socialising as he has work. He's met the ex-president, the mayor of Oamaru and even dragged Dave to a Doobie Brothers concert in Queenstown. Unfortunately it rained but Dave managed to get a break from the non-stop partying much to Dennis' disappointment. At the moment Dennis is testing a new predator-proof fence at Macraes Flats by pretending to be bait. I reckon that Dave is just getting his own back for all the late nights he's had recently!