Otago Peninsula

I arrived yesterday afternoon, through pouring rain from Milford Sound. Sylvia was my Airbnb host and luckily for me, she was as happy for my company as I was for hers, so we played scrabble and drank elderflower tea all evening. I'll always remember her as the lady who cared enough to try and fix my cough, taught me how to Wordle and had the most encouraging words on finding love and happiness later in life. 

Pity she is about to be overshadowed. LOL  Because today my heart and lens were to be filled with glorious wildlife experiences and honestly there is nothing I like more!

Driving out to the far reaches of Otago Peninsula, I went in search of Sandfly Bay. Here, rumor had it, was the place to find sealions. And I did!

The trail down the cliff and over the dunes is breathtaking. And worth it. Before I even reached the bottom there was a lazy sealion sleeping in the middle of my path, causing detours. On the beach 2 younger (or 2 females?) were cavorting. A photographers dream.

The arrival of an older male made it even better. So I spent another hour just "being" and watching them.

I had booked a Little Blue penguin tour for the after-dark portion of today and this afternoon went looking for where the meeting point would be later. Turns out it meets at the same place you'd go for a Royal Albatross experience ... so I booked that for 6pm. (Note: Albatross' with their giant wing span are more active when the wind kicks up and that is later in the day.)

Just enough time to go in search of cell reception and get my daily call with Scott! :-)

No sooner had I hung up from that call, parked randomly on the side of the bay, when a lady pulled up in her car and began tooting the horn to get my attention. She told that my van gave me away as a tourist and as such, she thought I might want to see the WHALE that was out there!!! Yes Ma'am!!!

I grabbed my big lens and pointed in the direction she said it was moving. Before long, the sound of tail-slapping got my attention and low and behold; evidence of an orca was intermittant. What was pure luck was the very second I had my camera focused out there, the orca breached and I shot one of my more priceless series of pictures. I was giddy with joy!

It was hard to believe my day could or would get any better but off I went to the head of the peninsular to learn about the albatross and the little blue penguin... and my day did get better.

Who doesnt love the sight of a penguin emerging from the ocean and waddling up the bank? They are adorable!

I drove out of Dunedin at 10:30pm, climbing the hills in dense fog and eventually unable to drive any further, coming to a rest at what I thought was a quiet parking area just off the highway. Turns out I slept at the bus stop for the Evansdale Cheese Factory! Whatever!