Dunedin - Sandfly Bay

We arrived in Dunedin on Monday afternoon and thankfully it wasn't raining, however, a tent pole broke while putting it up - Mark is looking forward to Christchurch and no tent erecting! Dunedin is a little city really but very busy due to the student population. We spent the afternoon walking around the town before picking up some supplies for dinner. That night we spent most of the time chatting to a French Canadian (FC) couple who had sailed from Peru to New Zealand - very interesting (proper travellers)!
Yesterday we drove out of the city to the coastal area and walked along Sandfly Bay where we saw 5 lazy sea lions chilling on the beach. It was fantastic to see these large animals in their natural environment and not in a park. After spending several hours there we drove further round the peninsula and walked to a place called 'The Chasm' - a deep gorge in the rock with the waves crashing below. Back at the campsite the weather came in and Rach spent the afternoon doing a jigsaw while Mark read his newspaper! Last night we again had dinner in the camp kitchen with the FC couple discussing travelling and our experiences.
Today we had intended to stay at either Oamaru or Timaru on the East Coast but after chatting last night we headed to Akaroa which is 83 km from Christchurch. It's a small town with a big French feel! The scenery as we drove into the various bays and channels before we arrived at the campsite reminded us of Russell in the Bay of Islands (one of our first stops in NZ). No surprise - another beautiful place. We spent the afternoon walking along the marina and mooched along the row of shops on the front, stopping for a refreshment along the way! Tonight is our last night camping in NZ as we're staying in a hotel in Christchurch (for convenience) before flying to LA on Saturday.
Hope all is good at home and this time next week we'll be flying home!
Love to all.
Mark & Rach. xxx