Sandfly Bay

The name misleads twice: there are no sandflies to speak of, and the bay is named for sand blowing off the dunes. From the Seal Point Road car park a track drops steeply through marram and then down a large sand dune to the beach - fifteen minutes down, considerably longer and harder back up. New Zealand sea lions haul out here regularly, often lying well up the beach where they look like driftwood until they move. They are not fur seals: adults are much larger, they can move fast over sand, and the required distance is twenty metres. Yellow-eyed penguins, hoiho, come ashore in the evening and there is a DOC hide at the far end, though numbers of this critically endangered species have fallen sharply. Do not linger between penguins and the sea at dusk; if birds are waiting offshore, back away.

The landscape

• The dune descent - fifteen minutes down soft sand, harder back up.
• New Zealand sea lions - hauled out on the beach, often well up it.
• The penguin hide - at the far end, for evening hoiho landings.
• The wild beach - surf, dunes and no development.

When to go

October to April. Late afternoon for penguins, but leave before it is too dark to climb back. Sea lions are present year round.

Things to know

The climb back up the dune is genuinely hard work. Sea lions are large, fast and dangerous at close range - twenty metres, and never between one and the sea. Penguin numbers are low and sightings are not guaranteed. Swimming is unsafe with strong rips.

Nearby

Taiaroa Head and the albatross colony are at the peninsula tip; Dunedin is west.

Key facts