Beach Hop South- Ngawi- Part 2; Lighthouse & Seals

Catch-up, we're still in the Catlins and enjoying every minute, the wildlife encounters have been amazing, I can't wait to bring them to you. Although the weather leaves a lot to be desired (the story of our lives recently) but I have heard it is similar right around New Zealand except for a couple of hot(literally) spots- Hawkes Bay & Northland- funnily enough both where my family live! We've also been out of internet reception for a few days hence the delay in posting this blog.

Continuing on from Part 1

One of our first tasks after settling in at Ngawi was to visit the lighthouse at Cape Palliser, a further 5kms past Ngawi and through the small coastal settlement of Mangatoetoe. The old Lighthouse keeper's house sits at the bottom...

...of an impressive flights of steps...

...which we have to climb to take in the views.

All two hundred and fifty three (253) steps; one foot in front of the other, slowly, slowly does it, hold onto the rail, don't stumble, feel the pain. It helps to carry a camera, stopping to take photos on the way up provides a good cover to catch your breath.

This grand old lady is built of cast iron and has stood on the cliffs here since 1897 and she is still shining strong.

Lighthouse details are on the shed at the base of the steps- don't forget to click on the photo to enlarge.

The 180 degree views are spectacular even on a dull overcast day- looking north...

...and south. We stay for 10-15 minutes soaking in the views and encouraging other stair climbers as they falter near the top.

And then it's time to head back down...just as slowly and just as painfully.

Someone with a sense of humour owns this bach (we're in the North Island, so they are baches not cribs), you can see it in the photo looking south from the lighthouse above; it's on the shoreline between the road and the water. Perhaps there are a few frosts on the coast in the dead of winter but falling ice? I'm sure the last time there would have been ice here was during the last ice age. And the mannequin in the window is classic Mum. Those that know my mother will understand.

This huge slab of sandstone rock near Mangatoetoe was thrust up by an earthquake a very long time ago (imagine if that had happened at Kaikoua!). It's called Kupe's Sail after the shape of the sail on the Polynesian explorer's canoe.

This is the south side of Kupe's Sail, taken on a different day when I went to visit the seal colony.

The same day I shot this photo of the lighthouse- what a difference a bit of sun, some puffy white clouds and a bit of blue sky make.

Just before the lighthouse, amongst a particularly rocky part of the coastline, lives North Island's largest colony of NZ Fur Seals/Kekeno. Look carefully, they are very well disguised.

And in amongst the rocks is a large saltwater pool which acts as a creche at this time of the year, for some very cute seal pups (similar to Ohau Stream near Kaikoura). The pups are able to safely swim and play while their mothers are away feeding at sea; they can be gone for three days or more before they return to their hungry pups.

This little guy is patiently waiting for his mum's return.

Mothers, pups, a few males and other non-breeding seals also relax amongst the rocks. Some are blissfully unaware of me, others take no notice as I carefully rock hop around the outskirts of the colony. 

Others carefully watch as I pass by. They also watch for aggressive males who are on the prowl looking at building up their harem or fighting other bulls in the area. Occasionally, I frighten both myself and the seal as I come across a few that have removed themselves further away from the colony (look at that expression on the pup's face)

In amongst it all there are quite a number of nursing mums and fat healthy pups feeding. This little guy had a go on every nipple (4) before lolling back in the warm sun to fall asleep. I was amazed at the noise the pups make while nursing; extremely loud slurps.

Later on, when I passed back by this pair, the pup was well and truly in the land of nod.

Other than keeping an eye out for the occasional bull seal who crashes the party, there's nothing much to do but snooze in the sun.

And if mum's not there to keep an eye out for you then the safest place for little ones is back in the paddling pool with your friends...

Learning to fly?...

Or having a good scratch-  'Poster Pup' (or was that poser pup)...

'Ooooohhhhhh.........that's hit the spot, it's feels sooooo good'

This little pup has climbed up high and found a place in the sun...

Everyone is on snooze time today. Seals own snoozing.

'Bye, bye Shellie' (seals lift their flipper in the air to cool down; it directs the breeze down onto them)

Ngawi continued...Part 3

Into The Wild Blue Yonder

And what a beautiful day it was to launch the Takacat and head off to the Abel Tasman National Park to explore.

It was a little bit scary for me heading out to sea with only a bit of rubber & a cushion of air between me & the deep blue sea. I said a silent ‘we’ll see you soon’ to “Out There” as we passed on the seaward side of the rocks between Kaka Pah Point & tiny Kaka Island (which was once a Maori urupa- burial ground)

It’s not like I haven’t been out in the dinghy before, I have, at Mavora Lakes but it’s a little different when land doesn’t surround you on four sides and a rather large bay stretches out in front of you. But I needn’t have worried, the sea was calm all the way over to Fisherman Island which is on the edge of the National Park. In the photo below, Kaiteriteri is behind the last limestone point across the bay, centre left. And in case you’re wondering why the bow is down on the dinghy, it’s because the beach wheels are engaged at the back.

With a smooth sea it was possible to see any marine life along the way. We passed a few Little Blue Penguins floating about, a couple of seals swimming by and a number of startled shags as they surfaced near by, they very quickly dived again as we approached. Much further out we could see flocks of seabirds feeding and chasing schools of fish. Fisherman Island, a bird sanctuary, is a very small island with just this one small beach available at low tide.

We weren’t the only ones out enjoying winter sunshine and calm seas. Marahau & the start of the Abel Tasman Walk is over the back right of the kayak.

We headed around Fisherman island on the seaward side coming across a fairly large Spotted Shag (Parekareka) colony roosting on the rocks. The Spotted Shag is endemic to New Zealand and we found them feeding and roosting in many places along the coastline and around the islands. When I was processing the photos I was surprised to spot something else resting on the rocks; a seal fast asleep on top!

On our first trip up the coast we headed home after circuiting Fisherman Island, travelling back along the coastline exploring and stopping at Split Apple Rock along the way. On our second outing we thought we might make it past Fisherman & Adele Islands & around Pitt Head into Anchorage & Torrent Bay but once we got to the first point of Pitt Head we turned into a stiff breeze and choppy waters so we decided to give that a miss and turned around and headed back to Adele Island, which is alongside Fisherman Island and another bird sanctuary. This is the view as we approach from the north, with Huffam Rock to the right.

As we approached we could hear an amazing amount of bird song coming from the bush with many small birds flitting in and out of the trees. And then from the rocks we could hear the plaintive cries of seal pups which sound very much like babies crying (or goats). As we got closer we could see seals everywhere, both babies and adults; sheltering under rocks, on rocks sunning themselves, under bushes further up the slope, waving at us from the water and frolicking about with each other in amongst the kelp.

Most of the adults weren’t concerned about us approaching, there are many kayaks that visit Adele Island so the seals are used to having people up close but this little pup wasn’t too sure, it kept looking at us & then back at it’s mother sticking it’s nose down close to her and then back at us again like it was saying “Mum, mum wake up, quick wake up”. Mum slept on. And going by her dry coat she looks to have been sleeping on for quite some time even while her baby had been for a swim.

And then I spotted this seal who looked rather familiar…..similar facial features to my favourite coloured sheep.

Across at Huffam Rock we could see a seal hauling itself out of the water and then watching as two or three of it’s mates were playing in the water, you can see them to the far right of the larger photo. As we approached it “ran” across the rock and launched itself back into the sea chasing the others that had now swum in close.

There was also more shag colonies on the steep rock faces just along from the seals. The shags were flying in and landing while we were alongside. It is amazing how steep the rock was and how the shags were quite happy roosting on such a steep slope. I think they must have been soaking up the warmth from the north facing rocks. There were dozens of shags on the other side of this rock too although not on such a steep face. Between the seals & the shags ‘tis no wonder that the fishing is not good.

We came across another group of kayakers around the corner with their lunch boxes safely strapped on in front of them. There are many tour companies offering various combinations of walk, kayak and boating options in the Park, costing on average $150-$200pp for a full days outing. We feel very privileged that we can do this virtually for free & in our own time while on our travels. We do live in a beautiful country.

We pull into a tiny beach with a mix of gold & black sand on Adele Island to read the sign and scan for birds. Disappointingly there are no tracks on the island and the bush edge overhangs the steep cliffs and rock edges of the island so there is no way we can search further for birds.

A couple of Variable Oystercatchers (Torea) wile away the afternoon on their favourite rock just off the beach and are not perturbed as I move in close for a shot of the crystal clear sparkling waters that make the Able Tasman National Park so popular and memorable. Even in the winter.

We follow the rocky shoreline further around Adele Island and have lunch bobbing about in the dinghy in a tiny sheltered cove before pushing on and out into the bay where the wind is getting up and we spot the large catamaran that takes tourists out sailing in Tasman Bay, it moors at one of the buoys in our tiny bay back at Kaiteriteri.

The yacht beats us home as we take a longer more sheltered route hugging the coastline & passing Split Apple Rock along the way once again.

The Seal Pups of Ohau Stream

Winter has now well & truly arrived, there’s a good coating of snow on the mountains behind Kaikoura as we packed up and headed north along the Kaikoura coastline.

We stop at both the well known & iconic crayfish (rock lobster) caravans that sell the expensive delicacy on the side of the road just north of Kaikoura. Cays Crays might be more well known for being the main player & inspiration behind one of Fat Freddy Drops' song “Cay’s Crays” (a well known New Zealand band from Wellington)

Do I question my loyalties?
Do I try to work it out?
Well you're the part of my memories
That I never wanna live without
So long I've been gone
So many things have changed
But I know where I belong and
I know when I reach that place
Oh
I know when I reach that place
…..
Fire
Starts in my heart when I reach that place
Home again where I belong
Fire
Starts in my heart when I reach that place
Have I been away too long?

Unfortunately it would seem that not everybody appreciates the significance of this little piece of Kiwiana. The back window has been smashed and broken glass lay over the table & floor of the caravan. It looks like the caravan hasn’t been used for quite some time to sell crayfish. It’s a pity that the owners or locals haven’t cleaned up the vandalism as it will likely attract more.

Nins Bin was just a little further north and had it been open we would have treated ourselves to one of those expensive crays (I believe they are going for around $90 at the moment), there’s no hope of us ever catching a cray ourselves and it would have been a nice treat to finish off David’s birthday celebrations with. And afterall what better place to eat a cray than in Kaikoura-  'Kai' means eat and 'koura' means crayfish. But it wasn’t to be so we’ll just have to wait until we pass through another time.

And finally we get to Ohau Point & the reason we are travelling this stretch of SH1 again, the seal pups of Ohau Stream. It is here, for about five months every year, that dozens of seal pups gather and play while their mothers are away at sea, for 2-3 days at a time, feeding. We missed them on our way down back in November, they had already weaned and gone to sea.

A short walking track follows the rocky Ohau stream inland for about 500 metres to where a small pool has formed beneath the Ohau waterfall. The seal pups make their way up the stream clambering over rocks and swimming up the stream until they reach the pool where they hang out & play with their mates. A seal crèche without grownups.

You do have to look carefully as you walk up the stream as the pups are quite hard to spot against the rocks and they can swim very fast through the deeper sections. I followed four pups up the stream that I had spotted under the road bridge at the beginning of the walk, they moved very well over the rocks, sometimes giving each other a bit of encouragement over rocks by pushing & biting each other as they went. Once they got to the big pool they launched themselves into the melee; diving, jumping, swirling & floating about in the turbulent water under the falls. 

There were a number of resting spots for the pups in the area with the main one on a rocky ledge above the pool. There was a constant stream of pups arriving and leaving the ledge (and leaving and arriving in the pool from the coast) Some pups slept while other had little tussles with each other, others tried to avoid the bullies by climbing vertically up the steeper sections of the rocks.

There was also a constant stream of visitors arriving to see the pups in the pool. The children were fascinated with the pups & some of the pups were quite inquisitive too, climbing out on the rocks at our feet to check us out. There are times when this pool is packed with seal pups, and the rocks at the front are covered with them too.

Flying pig? See if you can make the head out from the tail…because I had trouble. Some of the pups were very funny swimming in the pool, quite a few did headstands leaving their tiny little back flippers sticking up in the air for ages like peace signs. I wonder what they were looking for on the pool floor.

This little guy was keen to model for quite awhile, he came right in close and settled on a rock watching us watching him.

There was a large rock at the end of the track & at the entrance to the pool. Another pup decided he would climb up on top and scare the living daylights out of anybody he decided he didn’t like. He let some people through with no problems but with others he’d launch a mock attack on them. Of course he made an ideal prop & at the right height for people doing “selfies”. I watched him for quite awhile then managed to grab David’s attention to get him to take a photo of me beside the pup. You can see one of the results after the pup decided he’d give me a scare!

I did take a few videos of the pups but I’m unable to upload them because of my data limitations but I found a good You Tube video of them that you might like to watch. It’s gives a much better indication of the noise and movement going on around the pool. Here is the link-

Once again I could have stayed all day watching the pups but we had a plan in mind to get to Ward before the late afternoon chill set in so we set off up the highway stopping not too far on at a rest area to have a late lunch.

There are some large seal colonies along this coast and in fact we saw some of the sleeping seals spilling out onto the grass verge beside the road. It’s the first time I’ve seen a road sign advising to watch out for seals on the road. Our neighbours the night before had told us that on their way through they saw a seal that had been hit by a vehicle lying dead on road with blood everywhere. Not a pretty sight and I bet the vehicle that hit it wasn’t either.

At least the seals at the rest area were safe and sound and oblivious to the dangers just down the road.