If you’ve followed our trip for a long time, you may have wondered if there are any animals in New Zealand.
We never actually published animal pictures, but believe it or not they exist there as well.
The best place to go and find some of these wild creatures is “Otago Peninsula”. Close to Dunedin it’s a short and beautiful drive through nature.
A good area to spot animals is around Sandfly Bay. Planning to stay a few hours, we ended up being on the beach for a whole day.
Right in the begining we encountered these huge sea lions, either sunbathing or chasing each other. They don’t bother if you come closer, but at some point they start rushing towards you. That means, never disturb their privacy and rather photograph with a tele.
Along with sea lions, heaps of seals relaxed on the hot stones. Every now and then a wave cooled them down again. What a life!
But one of them was not so lucky. Laying on the wrong stone, it got hit by big waves over and over again. Relaxing in this condition is a real challenge.
It was a great surprise when we got to watch a yellow-eyed penguin on the dunes. It was a bit confused, because playing kids don’t know anything about the distance you have to keep to penguins and their parents didn’t care. So they got right next to it, shouting and running around. That poor thing wasn’t moving for a few minutes afterwards. I hope it’s better now after that shock!
Next to all that wildlife “Otago Peninsula” has some beautiful landscapes to offer. Especially the steep cliffs combined with the clear water made the perfect composition. Even in the rain and without any sunset colors!
