Seals Galore!

A four hour drive east returned us to the Marlborough region where we spent a day wine tasting in NZ's most prestigious and acclaimed wine country.  The area is renowned for its Sauvignon Blanc and exports about 60% of all the countries wine.  We rented some bikes and had a merry ol' day visiting some 6 or 7 wineries.  It felt nice to splurge a little and eat out for a change.

Don't ever let her tell you I don't treat her right!

After our day of decadence we made our down the East coast bound for Kaikoura.  On the way we made a stop at an obscure beach right off the highway for a walk along the coast.  The walking was hard and long - about 1.5 hours each way along soft pebble beach, but we were greatly rewarded at the end.  The headlands of the beach were bleach white spires of rock reaching into the sky.  If the landscape alone wasn't enough to turn heads, then the colony of some hundred or so seals lying amongst the rocks surely was.  These seals weren't accustomed to people, when they saw us dozens of heads rose from their slumber to stare and talk amongst themselves.  As we explored the spires we stumbled upon a few lazing on the shady side only ten feet or so away!  We had them all to ourselves.  Cool as!

 

A lonely walk along the beach

Seal spotting! 

Raise the alarm!

After the grey and wet weather prevented us from exploring NZ's best slot canyon :( :( :( we continued down the highway until it ran up against the rocky coastline around Kaikoura.  A well marked and crowded tourist stop for the Ohau Point Seal colony prompted a quick look.  Whoa! So many baby seals! Even more than at Cape Palliser! Hundreds of pups splashed and wrestled amongst the rocks!  Apparently this site is the breeding ground for this group of seals rather than just a hauling out point, so it was a festival of activity.  A informative plaque nearby helped me learn a thing or two about the animals we've had so many encounters with.  There were no bulls about the colony as we may have missed the breeding season by a few weeks, but it never got old watching the pups explore and tussle and swim and the mums trying to control the rambunctious little ones.  

Kaikoura itself wasn't really noteworthy.  The tourist town is known for its marine life much like Monterey in CA. There is a deep underwater trench just offshore that wells up nutrients to the shallows creating an abundance of life.  The weather once again spoiled the experience, as the usual jagged dagger of snow-capped mountains jutting into the sea to the north was covered in a mist of grey.  We had some good BBQ'd seafood from a trailer near the peninsula and walked around the shoreside walkway a bit, but nothing really grabbed me.  Unless you're willing to spend the exorbitant $150pp or so to get out on the water on a whale watching tour there isn't a lot going on here.  Move along folks, nothing to see here.