Is that a big pebble? No it's a Hooker's sea lion Tom and he will bite!

Hello

If you want to read this blog entry then, you better pour yourself a whisky, don the kilt and blow the bag pipes because this entry comes from Dunedin. That's Gaelic for Edinburgh, don't you know !
Since leaving Te Anau we have stayed at blustery Bluff (famed for it's oysters) where we met a woman who had obviously been on the road for too long and jabbered extensively about how she was working her way around the male population of Bluff-great night's entertainment. Anyway after a night of her tales and a precautionary visit to the mechanic it was time to get off to the Catlins. Here was where our walk on the wild side began. Despite downpours of rain and high winds we managed to keep Percy on the road long enough to get to a campsite near Jackson Bay. We arrived late and were told they didn't take any cash cards apart from NZ cards. We had to scrape and shake every last piece of loose change together in order to stay the one night.
It was worth every spare dollar. In the morning we woke to the sound of a thousand bird songs and dawn breaking over the beach. We then headed off to Surat Bay, where we encountered not one, not two but six NZ Hooker's Sea Lions. As we walked along the beach we thought it could not get any better than seeing them snoozing on the sand but to our surprise as we rounded the corner we came 30 ft to two sea lions cavorting on the beach. The female sea lion came from the sea and basically told the male sea lion she wanted some attention and got it!
I certainly felt very privileged to be able to get so close and they didn't seem to care that we were there at all.
It was then back on the road to the Otago Peninsula. It's a great place which reminds me of Exeter. And it was here for more sectacular wildlife spotting.
For a start it's the only place on the mainland that you can see Royal Albatross. We saw four chicks (they resemble big fat bunny rabbits with beaks) but rarer still we saw their parents. The fact the chicks are only fed once every two days reflects how lucky we were. Tom has wanted to see an Albatross since he was six so he was stoked!
But for me the highlight of the Otago Peninsula were the Yellow Eyed Penguins on Sandfly Bay. These little beauties are also endangered and very shy. But not that shy it would seem -we saw four waddle from the sea onto the beach. They took my breath away, firstly because it was incredible to see them and secondly because they made me laugh so much. Of course seeing such amazing creatures comes at a cost. On this occasion it involved me getting trashed by a giant wave (thanks for your help Tom) and Tom nearly stepping on a bull Hooker's Sea Lion asleep in the dunes (they recommend five meters as a safe distance to escape their bite if they fancy a chunk of you).
Anyway here's a few pics, hope you like them.
Stay safe and well.
xxx