After playing with the Moeraki beach mudballs, we took a hint from a posted tourist flier and headed to Katiki Point to look for penguins. 

Katiki Point is a remote and scenic headland.

 

It’s marked by a classic lighthouse.

Every night as as the sun sets on the sheep pastures,

yellow-eyed penguins emerge from of the sea and and make their way to the grassy uplands where they spend the night.

First they mingle a bit on the beach, swapping stories of events far out at sea (video).

Then they climb the shoreline bluff with tiny strides and great patience, into the upper shrubs and grasslands above the beach, past the few astonished tourists and the sea lion with his nose in the air.

They make their way into the luxuriously thick grass in areas specially fenced off just for them…

…where they gently touch beaks with their friends and try to stay awake long enough to have their pictures taken.