Saturday 9th May: Cold but dry. Today we spent all day in Timaru. First we went to a pre-season ski sale to get Edward new boots and helmets for Steve and I. Then we did some shopping for winter trousers for the boys and a coat for Edward and enjoyed lunch at Subway.
At 2pm we went to the circus (www.loritzcircus.com) in Timaru. The show was nearly 2 hours long and was a mix of Kenyan tumbling and fire-eating, Chinese acrobats, clowns, ponies and Americus the 6 year old hula hoop girl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjZPKEpELaI&feature=related). Unfortunately the cold weather and wet field meant the elephant could not come into the big top, but we did get to see her "parked" outside in the field. We thought it was funny that she was on the side of the road where cars are driving along. We have only seen elephants in animal parks or zoos (okay, on safari in Kenya as well!) but never on the side of a main road munching grass!
Tea was toad in the hole and Anzac biscuits for pudding.
Later in the evening it began raining....
The photo is of the elephant in Timaru. She is 36 years old and has been in NZ for 31 years. She lives in a trailer with occasional access to an outside area. There are protests about this, and some towns have refused her within their boundaries, but attempts to find someone appropriate for her to retire have failed. She costs $200 per day in food, and enjoys 30 cabbages a day and 45 gallons of water!
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