Day Fifteen - Chasing Seal Pups

The Blue Dolphin is directly across the road from the beach and Kris decides she needs a little “away from RK time” and goes for an early walk along the shore to dip her toe in the Pacific once more. It immediately begins to rain. She is obviously unaware of my weather connections with the Boss upstairs. A tip from the innkeeper before we leave results in a local stop about ten miles up the coast. A small waterfall is only a 5 minute walk from the carpark, but If we are really lucky, he informs us, there will be a few baby seal pups in the pool at the base of the waterfall. The steady rain continues unabated and without the local knowledge from the innkeeper, we would have passed up this waterfall because we’ve seen many the past few weeks. Had I passed this one however, I would have missed one of the most fascinating sights I have ever witnessed in my life. The stream is no more than 6 to 8 feet across at its widest, but mostly it comprised of small 1 or 2 foot rivulets cascading down between rocks. The short muddy walk to the base of the falls is steeply uphill (as is EVERYTHING in this country) for about 250 yards through dense forest. As we climb the walkway the steady drizzle continues and I am thinking about how warm and comfy the little Toyota Puke could be at this moment. Carefully stepping around a muddy bend in the path, we espy the small but pretty waterfall.

The pool beneath it is roughly 30 feet wide and 50 feet long before the water begins its short but steep cascade over the rocks to end up in the Pacific Ocean. As I stare at the pool I have to rub my bad eyes because the surface is stormily turbulent from shore to shore. When I open them, I am in shock. This pool is literally PACKED with baby seal pups. There must be over a hundred of them in the pool and they are jumping, diving and slithering up and over and on top of one another even coming out of the water up on to the rocks lining the pool. They are literally packed in the pool and more can be seen climbing the rocky stream to get to this private little playground. As we watch transfixed, one pup rises up on a rock to rest mid-stream and a friend behind him bites him in the butt to get him to keep moving upwards. At the pool edge are about 7 or 8 folks marveling at this sight, as are we, and several baby seals climb out on to a rock to stare at us with huge soft brown eyes. One in particular takes a liking to Kris and cranes his neck to get closer to her outstretched camera hand. They seem to be as curious about these strange two-legged, shore-bound creatures as we are about them.

In the water, the pups are like miniature rockets, unbelievably fast and agile shooting this way and that but never running into rocks or their neighbors. Absolutely incredible! This pool is at least 300 yards upstream from the ocean shore and at least 200 feet in elevation above it. Wildlife experts have surmised that seal moms show the pups the way to this pool to keep them protected while Mom hunts for food out at sea. The pups are obviously in heaven here as they never stop teasing one another and practicing “king of the hill” on the rocks poking up out of the water whether they be in the pool or on the rocky climb up the hill. It is cold, dreary and wet but we stand in the rain and fog transfixed for over an hour. One does not wish to take leave of this magical place.

Once several years ago I recall seeing the famous Monarch Butterfly Grove on the California Coast where millions of Monarch butterflies pack tightly together hundreds thick on a small grove of trees completely covering them in order to survive the cold nights. When the sun begins to warm the outer layers of butterflies they spread their wings and flutter off leaving the next layer to do the same. When over a period of 15 minutes, millions of “leaves” spread wings and flutter off on a morning zephyr, one feels enraptured by the complexity and beauty of Mother Nature. It was that same sense of awe that gripped us as we slowly made out way back down the muddy track stopping every few steps because we could see the pups coming both up the rocks and shooting down them as if surfing in the ten inches of rushing water. I snap a hundred photos and use up mega-mega memory shooting video of these amazing creatures. Again, it is rainy, dreary, and cold but we both declare this day one of our absolute best during our NZ Odyssey.

Because no visit to NZ would be complete without a wine tasting, we stop at two wineries further up the coast. Montana is the largest producer on the South Island and noted for their Sauvignon Blancs. We are underwhelmed but fall in love with one of their Pinot Gris and purchase a bottle for our last dinner in a few days before leaving for home. The other winery is the small St Clair Vineyard where we again fall in love but this time with their Sauvignon Blanc and decide one more bottle for our upcoming Last Supper is a necessity. Driving out of the vineyard, Kris spots a small sign across the road for a custom chocolate maker, which of course RK is unable to pass up. A woman rushes up to us with samples and so a few more contributions to the New Zealand economy are transferred from my pocket to the lady with the tantalizing Raspberry Vanilla Fudge.

Magical Seal Pups, two wineries, and a chocolate maker. A great day by any standard. Driving into Picton, the terminus for the ferry to Wellington and the North Island, she puts into words my feelings exactly when Kris declares, “OK, I’ve about had it with snow capped mountain peaks, frosty narrow roads and sheep on steep hillsides.” We end the day with a three hour crossing of Cook Strait in a gently rolling huge ferry. Kris is not a happy camper and needs to take one of her special motion sickness pills. Strangely, they do not seem to help. She feels better three hours later as we drive off the ferry and then 20 miles up the coast while thunderstorms and lightning follow us. Tomorrow is the Queen’s Birthday, a major public holiday here and the Parliament Building was the only stop either of us wanted to see in Wellington. (Wellington is the nation’s capitol and it will be closed so our visit will be postponed until our next trip here) We find a clean motel in an un-pronounceable suburb after several no-vacancy signs make us a bit nervous. The thunderstorm catches up with us but not before I get the luggage in the room. Weather Karma is still with us and we dream of seal pups chasing each other up a cascading mountain stream.