Signs directed me to a viewing hide in the dunes at the north end of the beach, where I found tour operator Les Cuthbertson and a young European woman. Cuthbertson passed me a pair of binoculars and pointed out a few penguins, immobile and almost invisible halfway up a steep grassy hillside just across from us. The birds seemed to be in no hurry. They would trudge doggedly for 20 or 30 metres then stand frozen for 10 minutes lost in meditation, before continuing. It reminded me of the approach I adopt when confronted by some repugnant task.