Sky and sea

First night of camping done - slept well and warm. We managed to get breakfast and the tent down just before a bit of rain came on.
We had a day of car, beaches, wind and rain. But great walks on some stunning beaches. First was Sunart, close to our campsite. The tide was up so not much beach, but we did find a sea lion sleeping in the sand dunes!
Second beach, Tahakopa Bay - a huge long sand stretch. We set off walking in to a black sky,but waterproofs on so no problem. We did stop for a bit of shelter in the dunes though.
Then our final stop at Curio Bay for the campsite. A beautiful sandy bay - Porpoise Bay, none there today though. And the huge rocky shelf with a fossilised forest. But also another hope to see yellow-eyed penguins. The park worker was closing off the beach at 4pm to stop access to- penguins come back up at dusk to their nests. Sadly there are only 4 penguins on this beach now - a decline in numbers from recent years. What’s the chances of actually seeing them? We watched for a while went away, came back, went away for dinner and returned at 8.30. And there were 2, just standing around on the rocks. No photos - too far away. I’m so pleased we finally got to see penguins but it’s rather sad to see them here alone.