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123:. The beach ends in a rocky headland, with an assortment of small islands known as the Gull Rocks standing out of the sea off its southern point. The largest of these 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
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Sandfly Bay is approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) across when measured in a straight line between the headlands. On the western side the cliffs of Seal Point rise directly out of the sea in a near-straight wall about 900 metres (3,000 ft) long; beyond Seal Point along the coast lies
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to bask on the sand. The public are urged to stay at least 10–15 metres (33–49 ft) away from these animals and to avoid surrounding them, as they can become aggressive; they can move deceptively quickly and have a much more powerful bite than dogs. Despite these exhortations (which may be
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site. The main track descends from the Seal Point Road carpark across farmland and down, via a series of viewing platforms and the sandy slope to the beach near the mouth of Morris Creek. Mountain-biking is not permitted on this track. Dogs are not permitted at
Sandfly Bay as it is a wildlife
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Alternate access from
Sandymount is via a walking track to the top of the dunes and then down the face of the sand. Either route is very much more challenging on the return ascent as the sand dunes are soft and yielding.
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Pacific coast of Otago
Peninsula seen from St Clair, New Zealand. Lion's Head Rock is clearly visible behind the long, low-lying form of Bird Island.
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Visitors use the beach itself for various sports; a favourite pastime is to ride old skateboards or other flat objects down the sand dunes.
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for nude sunbathing. New
Zealand has no official nude beaches, as public nudity is legal on any beach where it is "known to occur".
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Sandfly Bay from Seal Point Road, looking east. Lion's Head Rock is clearly visible to the right of centre (May, 2007)
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The bay is often thought by locals to have been named for a small biting insect known as the
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The bay is accessible from Seal Point Road or a walking track from
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is a sandy bay with large dunes 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of central
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for the public and DOC staff to view penguin activity without disturbance.
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are commonly seen. Sandfly Bay is also an excellent site for washed up
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417:"Tourist antics near protected sea lions at Sandfly Bay anger locals"
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391:"Seal Point to Sandfly Bay track"
415:Block, George (2 October 2018).
16:Bay in Otago Region, New Zealand
485:Dunedin, North and South Otago.
202:Sandfly Bay is best known as a
82:wildlife reserve frequented by
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250:. Land Information New Zealand
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244:"Search Result - Sandfly Bay"
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171:Marine Mammals Protection Act
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80:Department of Conservation
37:45.8960306°S 170.6473139°E
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521:Naturism in New Zealand
186:variable oystercatchers
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487:Wellington: GP Books.
444:. Free Beaches NZ Inc
366:. Dunedin Attractions
191:Durvillaea antarctica
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334:"Sandfly Bay Track"
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471: 5 July 1991).
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448:28 October
426:6 November
400:6 November
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343:6 November
309:5 November
279:6 November
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225:References
121:Sandymount
76:Sandymount
219:naturists
207:reserve.
143:Sea lions
481:Peat, N.
204:tramping
134:Wildlife
84:trampers
483:(1989)
96:sandfly
64:Dunedin
159:hides
450:2019
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
