Standing right in front of me was a single penguin! It stopped and stared at me for a moment as if equally surprised to run into a person. I’m not sure how long we stood like that. It was probably just a few seconds, but it was one of those moments where time seems to move more slowly than normal.

I came to my senses and began digging in my backpack to get my camera out. Meanwhile, the penguin came to his/her senses and turned around to run away from me. I followed it for long enough to snap a picture, then watched it head straight into the water where it would feel safe from crazy tourists.

I was feeling pretty elated about my bonus wildlife encounter, when ahead of me the path appeared to run out. All I could see was the cliff meeting the water with nothing in between. How is this possible? It’s a walking path. It’s not supposed to hit a dead end!

Then I realized it was late in the afternoon. When does the tide come in here? I hadn’t asked anyone before heading out. Maybe you aren’t supposed to walk this path in the afternoon. Maybe that’s why there was no one else walking along the shore. I remembered the spots further back where I’d been knee-deep in water. How much deeper was it now? Could I go back that way at all? What about the grumpy seal? I was screwed!

Slightly back from where I’d ended up, the cliff was actually more of a steep, grassy slope. I thought climbing up to the cliff-top path might be my best bet. Ah, the cliff-top path. Clearly that was the route all of the sane people took!

I started up the hill, occasionally grabbing tufts of long grass to help pull myself up. I hoped the grass was strong enough to bear my weight, because if I fell down to the rocks I was looking at a broken leg at the very least! Had I told anyone I was coming out here? How long would it take before anyone else came out that way? Would I get washed out to sea at high tide?

Okay, so looking down was not a good idea. Just keep going up. Up is good. Up is where you need to be. Don’t fall and it will all be fine. But wait – I could see the top! I made it up and was absolutely ecstatic. I took a moment to chastise myself for being stupid enough to wander off, hours from town, and not tell anyone where I was going. Note to self: when going somewhere you could get hurt or killed, make sure somebody knows where to search for your remains!

I found the path along the cliff top that led me through a sheep pasture (do all paths in New Zealand eventually lead through a sheep pasture?) and out to the road that led back to town. I finally arrived at my hostel exhausted and filthy, but unharmed.

The reports coming back from the dolphin swimmers were positive, so I thought about saving a little money up to do that on my next time through Kaikora. Clearly I couldn’t be trusted to partake in any unsupervised activities, so I’d go for the organized excursions instead. My adventures in New Zealand were definitely starting off with a bang!

© Michelle Waitzman

Michelle Waitsman is the author of  "How to Make Love in a Tent: Romantic Camping Adventures for Wild Couples" to be released in the spring of 2007 by Wilderness Press.