11/02/2018 - Wild New Zealand

Arrived at the Otago Peninsula! The drive took us from Dunedin along the beautiful Portobello Road to the town of the same name. The road always runs along the sea and offers beautiful views of Dunedin and the coast. On the day of arrival, we visited Allans Beach, which is only a 20-minute drive from the campsite. After safely navigating the gravel road and parking the car, we walked through a sheep pasture to reach the beautiful beach. It didn't take long for us to spot the first residents. A large sea lion mother was comfortably hidden in the sand with her pup. That day, we saw New Zealand sea lions for the first time.

During our trip so far, we have seen New Zealand fur seals quite often. However, these are very different from sea lions. We quickly recognized the most obvious differences between these two species - sea lions are significantly larger and have a flattened snout, while fur seals have a tapered head shape and are slightly smaller in comparison.

Keeping a safe distance from the family, we walked up and down the beach. We kept spotting these impressive animals, well hidden in the sand. As we were heading back to the car, we were treated to some action. Four sea lions playfully fought with each other, bumping their necks together or nipping. We watched the spectacle for about 15 minutes before deciding to drive back to the campsite.

The next day, we visited the only accessible albatross colony in the world. Albatrosses prefer to nest on remote islands where few people go. To protect the albatrosses, a fence was erected, and entry is only allowed with payment. We decided not to pay for the visit. As it was relatively calm, the staff warned visitors at the entrance that the giant birds would only be sitting on their nests. So we opted to explore the area around the colony. In addition to hundreds of seagulls, we also spotted several fur seals playing in the water or lounging lazily on rocks.
Afterwards, we drove to the remote Okia Bay. This beach is a 45-minute walk from the parking lot. It is a good example of what a wild beach in New Zealand looks like. In addition to a few sleeping fur seals, we encountered dead animals on the beach again. For example, we saw a complete seagull skeleton. We also couldn't avoid the sight of a dead seal pup. :(
We took a long walk along the beach. In the end, we even saw a fur seal jumping over and through the waves.
Unfortunately, the return path was rather uncomfortable. The track to the beach is not well developed and was very muddy and overgrown at that time. Since hiking tends to make you hungry, we first went to the campsite. We had delicious apple pancakes for strength – yummy!
The campground in Portobello is the only one on the entire peninsula. Therefore, it was fully booked every day except for the last spot. So we decided to take a shower in the evening, as the facilities are permanently occupied in the morning. But after the shower, we didn't go straight to bed. We went out again and took one last outing on that day. Our destination was Sandfly Bay. We arrived at the parking lot around 7:00 PM. The hiking trail to the beach led us across huge sand dunes this time. We already realized how much of an adventure the later climb would be. It went steeply downhill – over an endless amount of sand. Finally, when we reached the beach, we didn't have much time to catch our breath. Just a few meters in front of us, a yellow-eyed penguin crossed the beach. After searching for food, the penguins return to their nests at sunset. After successfully crossing the beach, they face an even bigger challenge. The nests of this small colony are located in the middle of a steep sand dune. We spotted more penguins that were struggling to climb up. We would have loved to help them because, like humans, they kept sinking in the sand. To our surprise, one of the penguins that had already made it to its nest walked back down the hill to join its fellow penguins. We watched the activity for a long time, occasionally taking photos. As things quieted down, we decided to walk to the other end of the beach. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and slightly rainy that evening. So we can only imagine how beautiful the beach would look in sunlight. On the other side of the beach, we saw some fur seals. One of them was running towards the sea. The appearance of these animals is truly impressive and majestic.
Fortunately, strong gusts of wind joined the already miserable weather, so we headed back home. After the strenuous climb up the sand dune, another shower would definitely have been necessary.

Unfortunately, the weather did not improve the following day, so we extended our stay at the campsite for another night. We spent the day writing on the blog, sleeping, and playing cards – there have to be such days in New Zealand too. :)
Tomorrow, our journey continues towards the Catlins.