Sandfly Bay

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Coordinates: 45°53′45.71″S, 170°38′50.33″E

Sandfly Bay from Seal Point Road, looking northeast (May, 2007)

Sandfly Bay is a bay which is located on the eastern side of the Otago Peninsula. It is located 15km north east of central Dunedin, the major settlement in Otago. The bay is accessed from Seal Point Road or a walking track from Sandymount. The bay is sandy with large dunes. At the northeastern end of the bay the Department of Conservation (DOC) have constructed wooden hides. These hides function for the public and DOC staff to view Yellow-eyed Penguin, Megadyptes antipodes, activity without disturbance. The beach is a popular site for the Hooker's Sea Lion, Phocarctos hookeri, to bask on the sand. This beach also is 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's Head Rock, due to its distinctive shape.