Okia Reserve and Victory Beach |

Another interesting Dunedin walk, climb the smaller pyramid for great views and see seals and sea lions on the beach.

This beach is named after the ship, the SS Victory, which sank off its shores in 1861. It is also home to sea lions, fur seals, blue and yellow-eyed penguins.

At 3.5 kilometres, Victory Beach is the longest beach on the Otago Peninsula and is located alongside the Papanui Inlet and surrounded by sand dunes. (See the Papanui Inlet photos in my other Otago Peninsula post coming up soon).
From the entrance of the Okia reserve it’s an easy 2 kilometre walk to the beach.

The walkway leads you past the distinctly shaped Pyramids to Victory Beach. The Pyramids are made up of geometric basalt volcanic columns. There is a narrow track so you can climb up the smaller pyramid for views over the dunes. From here take the track to the beach where you will hopefully see seals and see lions but be careful, don’t get too close as they can be quite aggressive.

The reserve is a mixture of wetland and dune country, jointly owned and managed by the yellow eyed penguin trust and the Dunedin City Council.

Victory Beach is located 24 kilometres by road from Dunedin CBD. Access is via a gravel road from Portobello.

How to get there:

From Dunedin drive around the beautiful Otago harbour until you come to picturesque Portobello, if you have time have a wander around this beautiful spot, stop for a coffee or something to eat or visit the aquarium. The cemetery and museum are very interesting. You can carry on through Portobello to Taiaroa Head and Albatross colony but that will be another post.

Drive through the village and turn right into Weir Road, turn left when you come to the inlet then on to Dick Road, follow this to the end.