Sandfly Bay
Encyclopedia
Otago Peninsula
The Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, 15 km east of central Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. The bay is accessed from Seal Point Road or a walking track from Sandymount
Sandymount, New Zealand
Sandymount is the name of a prominent hill on Otago Peninsula, in the southeastern South Island of New Zealand. It is 13 kilometres east of the city centre of Dunedin, close to the northeastern end of Sandfly Bay, and rises to a height of 312 metres...
.
At the northeastern end of the bay the Department of Conservation (DOC) has constructed wooden hides for the public and DOC staff to view Yellow-eyed Penguin
Yellow-eyed Penguin
The Yellow-eyed Penguin or Hoiho is a penguin native to New Zealand. Previously thought closely related to the Little Penguin , molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes...
, Megadyptes antipodes, activity without disturbance. The beach is a popular site for the Hooker's Sea Lion, Phocarctos hookeri, to bask on the sand. It is also an excellent site for washed up Durvillea antarctica to be found.
The bay is often thought by locals to have been named for a small biting insect known as the sandfly, but this is incorrect. It was named for the sand which, given the windy nature of this coast, flies from the tall dunes surrounding the bay.
A small island which lies at the northeastern end of the bay is known as Lion Rock or Lion's Head Rock, due to its shape. A distinctive landmark, it can be clearly seen in good weather from Second Beach, close to Saint Clair
Saint Clair, New Zealand
St Clair is a leafy residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on the Pacific Ocean coast five kilometres from the city centre on the southwesternmost part of the coastal plain which makes up the southern part of the urban area, and also climbs the slopes of Forbury Hill...
, 18 kilometres to the west.