Sandfly Bay to Sandymount loop

Start: Sandfly Bay Track car park at the end of Seal Point Road.

(S/E) From the car park start to go down to the beach. On the way enjoy the stunning views of Sandfly Bay from the viewpoint before reaching a fence. You will start to go down the beach. There is a track but be prepared to walk on sand dunes. If you have a kid, or still have a kid spirit, those amazing dunes are ideals to slide down on a luge!

(1) Then you reach the beach and walk along it Eastward keeping your eyes wide open as this is a very famous spot to see sea lions. Be careful as they can be territorial and aggressive, especially during mating season (such as humans but that's another story).

(2) As you go along, turn left, to carry on your walk Northward in the dunes handrailing the Morris Creek steam. There are orange plots to follow but not always easy to spot.

(3) After 1 Km or so, the path can be quite hard to follow so make sure you keep straight (right-hand side). Then, cross the stream. There is an orange plot here but not easy to spot.

(4) Go slightly up hill then go left without reaching the top of the hill, instead turn around the hill with almost no elevation gain to reach Ridge Road. This is now a gravel road, a bit boring but you are lost in farmlands, which is cool. At the junction, keep straight to reach Sandymount Road.

(5) Turn right along the road. Be careful here as it is a bit busier here with cars. Make sure you always keep straight (right-hand side). Along the way, you will start to have nice views of the harbour and elevation keeps rising as you approach Sandymount.

(6) You reached Sandymount carpark. There are a few hikes available here. You can go for a nice loop with stunning cliff and harbour views if you keep straight and left.
Otherwise, turn right now to go back to Sandlfy Bay beach.
Again, you have the possibility here to keep straight (left-hand side) for an amazing 360 degrees view over the Otago Peninsula, the sea and the harbour.
Otherwise, keep right now to walk back to Sandfly Bay.

(7) At the next junction, keep right. (If you go left, possibility of doing the Lover's leap)
You will start to go down progressively towards Sandfly Bay beach on sandy dunes.
Here you can mock people who decided to do that loop the other way around telling them they are silly, are it is a pain in the ass to do that much elevation gain on sandy dunes.

(8) Then you finally reach the beach!!! Great sport here to see sea lions. Carry on along the beach and take the same way back towards the car park. Sorry but here you have to climb back towards the car park, quite steep and on sandy dunes, just as a treat.

(9) You don't have to walk up to this extra waypoint, I just wanted to reach 10 km for my run. Please stop at the car park or you will look silly like me. (S/E)

Start: Sandfly Bay Track car park at the end of Seal Point Road.

Parking: Sandfly Bay Track car park, there are around 10 spots available.

Facilities: Toilets at the beginning of the track.

Terrain: Stream crossing

Gears:

• Need good shoes for hiking and good for sand dunes walks.
• Need a shield in case you encounter an aggressive sea lion.
• Bring a good wind/rain jacket as Dunedin weather can be windy and rainy all of a sudden
• Bring a luge if you wish to have a go at sand sliding

⚠️Part of Sandfly Bay is closed from the 1st of November until the 28th of February, for more information, see the Department of Conservation website here.

Transport / accommodation: You can rent a van on Camplify or contact the author for more information.

- Sea lions
- Native birds and ducks
- Farmlands
- Sandfly Bay is also a famous place to spot Yellow-eyed pingouins during the evenings, but at a safe distance to not disturb them.
For more information, see https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4651...