Sea lions!

We took it slow in the morning with showers, breakfast and some more research. Machiel managed to get a check up appointment for his returning flight-ear-problem. Since that was gonna be on Wednesday, we needed to stay in the area. With the Otago Peninsula in front of us, we didn't mind.

Our first stop was Allan's Beach. Apparently it was possible to see sea lions here. We weren't too convinced because that's what they say at many beaches in this area and then you might see some seals. This time it turns out we were too pessimistic, because right when we arrived at the beach we saw one rolling back into the ocean. Then further down the beach we saw another one. They're pretty big, and they weren't too impressed by us making some pictures. There were some seals too, and on our way walking back to the car we spotted a sea lion coming out of the ocean onto the beach. They like to roll in sand, we learned. And they're a bit picky and it takes awhile before they find their perfect spot to lie down in.

Right after we drove to the Royal Albatross center up north. Being surrounded by hundreds of seagulls apparently smells like shit, and is very noisy. We didn't know what else we expected. The center had a little free museum which wasn't bad to wander through. We didn't feel like it was worth the money however to go on a King Albatross tour. We had a look around the viewpoints in the area. More loudness and smell.

The campsite in Portobello was nice, and the weather was too, so we spent some time researching in the grass. Our spot for the night was as big as 6 in the previous campsite. So we really enjoyed it here.Read more