Seal slides

Trip Start Feb 11, 2008
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Trip End Jun 30, 2008


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Flag of New Zealand  ,
Monday, May 5, 2008

On Sunday we then drove back to the town of Motueka, where we found a cracking little sunday market where the locals were selling anything from fruit & veg, clothing and second hand books. The locals are rather "alternative" as there are a lot of homesteads and communities in the nearby countryside who run organic small holdings- a really cool, relaxed place, somewhere we feel we could stay for a while if we had the time.

We decided we should take a drive northwards to Golden Bay where the skipper of the boat we'd been on advised us to go to Farewell Spit and look at Wharariki beach where there is a seal colony. The drive took us through magnificent scenery, climbing up the very steep Takaka hill where, once we reached the top of the rollercoaster ride before we plummetted down the winding road the other side, we stopped, open mouthed and with caught breath at the magnificent scenery berfore us and the snow capped mountains in the distance A seal at Wharaiki Beach
A seal at Wharaiki Beach
 . Further on, the road went past the tidal flats where hundreds and hundreds of black swans were waiting for the tide to go out, being buffeted by strong easterly winds and bobbing up and down in the waves. Farewell Spit a a desolate dune area covered on the eastern side by a multitude of wading birds, gulls, herons, swans and mallards - a twitchers pardise! The west and the north side of the spit is long deserted beaches, windswept with stinging sand being blown at speed in your face. The beach is superb and feels like the last place on earth. The beach at Wharariki is spectacular and amazingly beautiful. We took a stroll along the beach past the dunes and toward the sea caves where we were surprised by an adult seal who jumped onto some rocks before us and jumped into the stream flowing into the cave and disappeared into the gloom toward the distant boom of the sea crashing against the other side of the huge rocks. Further along we stumbled upon a young seal pup playing in one of the rock pools and Jo spent the next hour taking photos. The rest of the beach has more sea caves and windswept sand, well worth a visit!
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