Te Kopahou Reserve

We took advantage of a beautiful Saturday (finally!) by visiting the Te Kopahou Reserve. There is a trail along the Owhiro Bay coast leading to Sinclair's Head, which hosts a bachelor fur seal colony from May to October. Up to 150 seals hang out here during the winter to fatten up for mating season. The seals are difficult to find because they blend in with the rocks and barely move. Seals are pretty lazy.

I overheard this conversation between 2 brothers. There is nothing cuter than a kid with a Kiwi accent.

Boy 1: Look! There's a seal!

Boy 2: Where?

Boy 1: There.

Boy 2: Where?

Boy 1: There.

Boy 2: WHERE?

Boy 1: THERE! Onthe rock.

Boy 2: That's not a rock! That's a seal!

Boy 1: I've spotted 7 so far.

Boy 2: I've spotted 8.

Boy 1: Well... I've spotted 8 too.

Kiwi kids have super-human vision (or lie) becuse I only found 3. This low number ends up being ok with me because the seals stink to the high heavens.

On a clear day, you can see the South Island mountains across the Cook Strait.
The sand remdinded me a bit of coal dirt.

Devil's Gate - passage to seal colonySpot the seals.

Red Rocks - result of underwater volcanic eruptionsWe bravely faced the hazards.