1.12.2017: Once around the Otago Peninsula

Today I want to show Eric the picturesque Otago Peninsula. First on the agenda is Larnach Castle, New Zealand's only castle. But before we can make eye contact, a ticket booth blocks our way. Too bad, because we would have had to pay $15 just to look at it from the outside, and in my opinion, it's not worth it.

So we turn around and continue our drive, always keeping the stunning coastline to our left, until we reach the Royal Albatross Visitor Centre. Unfortunately, you can only see the huge birds on a guided tour, which would cost us $50 per person. So we just look at the information boards and walk around a bit in the accessible part of the area, where hundreds of seagulls live and seals can be observed dozing or swimming.

A few kilometers further, the active part of the day begins. On my list is the 3 km long Sandymount Loop Track. The gravel road ends at a parking lot with a spectacular view and two picnic benches, which we choose for our lunch before starting the track. In the middle of a sheep pasture is the first viewing point, and a few minutes later, there is a new one, a sea-battered rock arch. Each of our photos is a postcard motif. Only the way back is tough, as the footpath is steep and leads from one sand dune to the next, meaning two steps forward and three-quarters sliding back.

Fortunately, the Sandfly Beach, which we visit last, did not get its name from the sand flies that inhabit the South Island and whose bites itch like hell, but rather from the sand stirred up by the wind. The path to the beach is steep, so steep that we even see people with boogie boards sliding down the dunes. The white sandy beach is a dream, at the end of which is a yellow-eyed penguin colony. To reach the established lookout point, behind which you can hide from the penguins (they only come ashore when no one is visible), you have to scramble over some rocks. Back then I was lucky; today, however, sea lions guard this section of the beach. We watch them together with another couple for a while from a safe distance until a bull gets too close to Eric and me. We definitely don't mess with a sea lion, and gladly give up the chance to see the penguins up close for a greater safety distance between us. Maybe it will work out somewhere else. From a ranger, we learn that only 3-4 penguins land here as well. The same sad picture as everywhere else. We slowly heave ourselves up the steep sand dunes to the parking lot. The only thing left for today is to refuel and do some small shopping before we make ourselves comfortable in the hostel to end the evening.