> So the whole day was spent lounging around on the boat at various locations, soaking up sunshine and chasing penguins. There were penguins by the truckload - they like warm days with a calm sea, or maybe it's just that they're easier to spot on such days.

OK, at least one person has gone "penguins? wha? huh?" to me since I mentioned this. In New Zealand we find copious amounts of the Little Blue penguin (also called the Fairy penguin), which is possibly the world's cutest sea bird. They're little tiny things about 20 cm long, and on the water you normally see them in ones or twos. Here's a picture of them. If you go to the main gallery at this site, you can find gannets too.