Sandfly Bay

I went for a wander, and found myself in Sandfly Bay, which is on the other side of the hill that was on the other side of the bay. A hike was in order.

If you go straight over that horizon, the next landmass you hit will be Antartica. The wind is so very, very cold when it blows in from the south. 

 Stunning ocean, rising landmass, and sheep. New Zealand in a nutshell.

The bay! Quite a few sand dunes below me. Somehow, this didn't deter me.

This beach is closed at night, as yellow-eyed penguins come in to nest in the sand dunes. 

You'll note how far in the sand comes. The wind here, she does not mess around.

The path was pretty easy going for awhile.

Tramping down that path, I heard a noise and looked to my left.

Sure enough, it was a seal. Possibly preparing to give birth, as seals will come quite far up into the hills here to do so. I was amazed at how far up and inland she was. And then I beat a hasty retreat, as seals are not particularly cuddly.

For reference, in this picture I am not yet all of the way down the beach. The seal was farther up than where the sand ends.

I had a nice wander along the beach. Despite the fact that this was high summer, I had the place almost completely to myself. It also wasn't exactly what you might call warm, but it was lovely.

Somewhat indistinguishable in this picture, but there were a couple of fur seals lounging on the rocks on the other end of the bay.

The box at the top of the dune is a viewing place for people to watch the yellow-eyed penguins come in at night.

I took my shoes off and walked in the surf on the way back. And then, of course, it was time to scrabble back up the sand dune to head on home. If you're imagining that any part of this endeavor was graceful, bless you.

It was lovely afternoon!