St Kilda Beach

Sunset on St Kilda Beach

The next day there was wind in the forecast and they were right! I was meant to be heading for a walking track on the Otago Peninsula, this time heading south-east instead of the north-easterly direction I began with the previous day. However, as my intended path passed by several cliffs, I decided it would be prudent to wait until the wind was scheduled to ease in the afternoon.

So it was that I found myself on the Otago Peninsula heading for the well known Karetai walking track and beyond to Smaills and Tomahawk Beaches late in the afternoon. By the time I reached the end of Tomahawk Beach, a distance of some 6 kilometres, I had the inclination to head over the hill to St Kilda Beach where if I was lucky, the sun might be setting and I could be in time to capture the sunset from the rocks at Lawyers Head. Several minutes later, having passed over a golf course, I arrived to find that the wind from earlier in the day had dropped to a gentle breeze carrying with it the scent of salt-air and seaweed. I stood and observed the varying swells that moved between the rock pools for a few minutes as the tide flowed back and forth. All the while, as I predicted, the sun was setting over the Dunedin hills. Setting my gear down, and having enjoyed my previous few days walking in the evenings, I set upon a decision. With nothing scheduled for the next several days at least, where possible I would headout to photograph the early evening sky.