As the little blue penguins were due to come ashore at dusk, we decided to hang around the campsite this morning and head out to see the sights of the Peninsula this afternoon, ending up at Pilots Beach (in the photo) for some penguin spotting! We got some washing done and then went into the village to the Penguin Cafe for lunch. We ate sandwiches and shared a pot of tea (after being baffled by the choice of fourteen different teas, and eventually working out that ordinary tea is called English Breakfast) and chatted to the English owner. He asked us if we were heading towards the Albatross Sanctuary at the tip of the peninsula, which we were - we just weren't planning on paying the $40 each to get in! He then drew us a map, showing us where to stop along the way, including an old bunker built in the First World War, an engine room and some gun embattlements. A really nice fella!

However, our first stop of the afternoon was Victory Bay. To get to the beach, which is a sanctuary for yellow-eyed penguins and NZ fur seals, we had to park up then walk for 45 minutes through the reserve to the beach. On the way, there were two 'pyramids' formed by volcanic activity and you could climb to the top of the smaller one...so we did! Going up wasn't too bad (with a few stops on the way!) but coming down was a bit scary. There wasn't really a path so it was quite slippy on the steeper parts - like coming down Roseberry Topping, only worse! After our scaling of the pyramid we continued along the track and eventually emerged onto Victory Beach (see video on Facebook!) There were signs warning us to stay clear of the seals, who come out to rest in the sand dunes, but unfortunately we didn't see any! We did see some tracks that we think were penguin footprints, but it was too early in the day to see the actual penguins. The beach itself was spectacular, like most NZ beaches! Because it is protected and not accessible by car, it is totally unspoilt and no buildings can be seen for miles around. There were also LOADS of shells so Laura picked some for her collection!

After walking back to the van, we headed towards the place marked on our map from the man in the cafe. We found the spot at the side of the road to park, and walked down the track to the bunker built into the hillside. The bunker was massive inside and covered in graffiti. There were quite a few rooms leading off a long corridor and 2 exits onto the hillside. After taking some photos we started walking along a narrow path on the hill towards the engine room. Laura was walking ahead of me and somehow managed to slip and fall off the edge of the path! Luckily a large (and prickly) bush broke her fall and she managed to climb back onto the path - if that bush wasn't there I don't know how she would have climbed back up! So that was the end of that - we walked back to the van rather than exploring any further!

Next stop was Pilot's Beach but as it was still daylight we sat in the van in the carpark for a while before heading down to the beach to join the 20 or so other people waiting for the penguins. After standing in the cold for nearly 2 hours, seeing nothing but seagulls, most people had given up and gone back to their warm cars - but not us! Eventually we saw about 7 penguins come out of the sea and waddle up to their nests. However, it was so dark by this point and they were so small that all we really saw was their outlines! But we saw them! If we'd waited we probably would have seen more, but at this point we couldn't feel our hands and feet anymore so we decided to call it a day.

We drove back to the campsite with the heater blasting, then cooked our tea in the kitchen, still trying to warm up! No X Factor for us tonight (although, it was on again) - we went to the local pub to watch Australia v USA in the rugby. It was a nice atmosphere in the pub so we had a good night!