Circus time!

 Went to the circus this weekend - thanks to work :-) Circus Aotearoa is currently in town, apparently one of New Zealand's newest ones. It was nothing like what I got to see as a child in Germany. We had lions and tigers and elephants and all these wild animals. While there is no official ban on circus animals in New Zealand it seems all circuses have agreed not to use them anymore. I think Animal Rights Petitioners have been pretty active here in the past. The last circus elephant was "retired" in 2009 according to a newspaper article I read the other day.

Anyway... so the circus here is animal free. Instead the artists enchant you with amazing acrobatic acts, funny clowns, juggling and more. It was pretty cool to watch and the kids loved it! The circus is rather small - the crew on stage only consists of 7 or 8 people, all of them quite young. They did a wonderful job, though! Check out this guy balancing on a pile of chairs...

The prices for snacks and drinks were reasonable, too, I'd say. There was candy floss (the proper one that gets made right in front of your eyes!) and popcorn in different sizes, lolly bags and soft drinks. I was able to take my own water bottle in, nobody said a thing. If Circus Aotearoa comes into your town and you have a bit of time (shows run for 1.5 hours) - go and see for yourself :-)