Robben & Robben

From Dunedin we continue to Portobello, on a peninsula with very beautiful but typical landscapes. Here we are planning an 11 kilometer hike with the highlight “Seals on the Beach”. The first two kilometers are downhill, through bushes and on a sandy path. This quickly becomes too stupid for us and we run down the path as fast as we can. At times at a pace of 3.5 min/km. On the beach we first walk to the left, to the rocks and see a few seals lying on them. Then we discover a clear seal track in the sand. Maren says what a shame it is that we are unlucky and don't see the seal on the beach. We continue walking and I'm completely distraught for a moment because we're not sure whether the seal lying there is dying. She doesn't move at all and we only see her breathing a little. I'm already thinking about how best to help her. False alarm! She's just sleeping. We now repeatedly see seals throwing sand onto their bodies with their fins. There are even some in the water. And the fattest of them all sits in the middle and monitors the whole spectacle! We observe the fascinating, cute animals from a respectful distance. Then we have to go up the sand mountain again on the other side of the beach. And from there (thanks dear KomootIdiot) we have to spend the remaining 7 kilometers of our hike on the road. But the view was still nice.

After a morning jog, we drive to the end of the peninsula for breakfast. In addition to tens of millions of seagulls, albatrosses and penguins at night, you can see them. I walk down a few steps and look at seals again before we head back into town. Today is big Willi washing day there. Tomorrow we want to go surfing and book a campsite for the night. In the afternoon we want to take a look at the surf spot and find ourselves in the middle of a contest. Very exciting and a bit like in the movies. The next day there is still a contest and we go into the water next door. However, today is somehow not our day. We don't have that much fun and break off after an hour. After a refreshment with coffee, we drive along the coastal road all the way to the south.