We were so tired we had planned not to set the alarm but the thought of paying NZD 5 for the car parking bay nearly a kilometre away from the hostel meant that to avoid the charge of face being towed away for a bigger fine we had to get up at 08:30. Well, one of us did. Ian had had trouble sleeping in the night and I left him to snooze whilst I showered. We had to share our bathroom with another couple and every time Ian got up to shower he found that the bathroom was newly occupied.
We got going, reached the car by 10:00 only to find I had left my camera in the room, clearly I had to go back for it.
We drove straight out of Wellington, through Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt. The road wound up a beautiful mountain pass to Rimutaka summit. We had wonderful views of the green valley beneath us but the road was so twisty I felt quite ill being a passenger. We stopped in Featherstone for a late breakfast which consisted of a bacon and egg filo pastry and hot chocolate.
In the cafe the proprietor enquired as to where we were heading. Ian wasn't too sure as I was navigating and he claimed not to know where we were going. Our direction was to Cape Palliser, the southernmost part of the North Island, 'though what was there besides a lighthouse we didn't know. I had identified on our atlas that the road would take us past Putangirua Pinnacles which are rock formations. The chappy advised us to go to Lake Ferry and then on to Cape Palliser as there were fur seals there. 'Wonderful!' we exclaimed.
I took the opportunity to arrange some accommodation over the public holidays. I have confirmed reservations for tomorrow night in Nelson, Christmas Day and Boxing Day in Invercargill and New Years Eve, News Years Day and the following day in Christchurch.
We made for Lake Ferry and stopped for ages while Ian filmed the sea crashing in to the sandspit We sat on a huge piece of driftwood to avoid burning our feet on the black sand and shingle. They were big noisy waves crashing in to shore. We moved on towards the Black Rocks near the lighthouse but didn't get that far. Just beyond Ngawihi I spotted a fur seal playing in the water, then another. Ian pulled over and we leaped out. I was trying to photograph the fur seals playing when Ian called for me as he had spotted a fur seal out of the water 20 metres away from us. As I saw her I saw two more and then another, and another... There were about a dozen or so in reasonably close proximity. I reeled off a whole film having ventured closer to them. They seemed peaceful and I got within 10 metres which I considered safe for everyone concerned. They could see me and were comfortable with my presence.
I had become quite emotional when watching the fur seals from my close 5 metres distance. I had reduced it carefully... They are beautiful creatures with delightful faces. They lay still watching you and when they are comfortable that you are no danger to them they roll their eyes away and rest their heads.
When a young family arrived with their barking dog in tow I got annoyed. The dog was clearly uncomfortable although the fur seals didn't seem to mind. I thought it would be better for the dog to be put back in the car. I got myself another camera film and went back to my safe distance determined to get a head shot photograph. Ian had wandered 40 metres away from me and was filming more fur seals he had found. I joined him and found a female who appeared to be having contractions. She didn't look big enough to be in gestation yet she was clearly uncomfortable. Maybe she had found a particularly lumpy piece of grass to lay on.
Back in the car, having pointed out to Ian the dead fur seal who appeared to have died peacefully on a rock, we continued our journey to the lighthouse. We drove beyond Black Rocks to Cape Palliser lighthouse which was a typical red and white lighthouse perched on the edge of a cliff face. We climbed the two hundred and fifty six steps to the lighthouse which was breathtaking. I was breathless anyway. We could see the bay at Lake Ferry, where we had reached a couple of hours earlier, and the stretch along the Tsunami Danger Zone where the instructions were to climb 35 metres up a steep embankment or drive 1.5 kilometres inland in the event of a strong earthquake to avoid the destructive results of a Tsunami earthquake. Also along the coastal road was a sign warning that the land was an active slip. Incidentally, the former tarmaced road was some 5 metres beneath the current gravel road having slumped with the landslip.
On the way back from the lighthouse we stopped at Black Rocks and armed with cameras we searched for fur seals. We didn't have to go very far. They were swimming in shallow waters next to the rocks and as we approached we could hear crying from somewhere in the rocks. I spotted one high on a rock and we guessed that the cries were coming from behind it. We had obviously stumbled across a breeding colony. Other fur seals were perched high up on rocks that had been islanded by the sea. Ian and I seperated and moved off in our chosen directions. I carefully walked around a mass of rock and when I turned another rockface I found myself 1.5 metres from a dozing female! She heard me approach, albeit quietly, and opened one eye to establish what she heard, then casually closed her eyes again and remained still and calm. I could only just see her head from behind the rock. Trembling I took my picture and moved back to where Ian was. I found that there were two fur seals nearby, now out of the water, who were perfectly comfortable with my presence. If anything they seemed blase about it so I waited patiently while one kept scratching and looking over his head to see what I was doing. I was determined to get my headshot! At this point I was about 8 metres from the fur seal.
Ian had reappeared and beckoned to me. Having wandered back in the other direction he had discovered two fur seals basking in the sun. We walked past one of them, the other had disappeared, who was grunting and wheezing. He too, was comfortable with our presence and continued basking on his rock. On we walked, on what appeared to be a tourist pathway to the Black Rocks, albeit now an obvious fur seal resting place! We were presented with two dozen or so fur seals resting on rocks in a shady crevice. They were crying and looking around, at us, at each other. We kept a respectable distance, always checking beneath and behind us in case we were being approached by other fur seals. We wouldn't want to find ourselves in their path!
Photograph after photograph had been taken, each fur seal is so unique with their very own beautiful face and big eyes. They are so incredible!
Just when I was running out of my fourth film and was about to return to the car a little whimper and a call came to us from 3 metres away. Climbing up a rock crevice to our level appeared a little face of a tiny young fur seal pup! He called for his mum and continued to call as he made his way up the crevice bringing his whole little body into view. He was absolutely delicious! A little fluffy fur seal pup who was determined to make progress up very steep rocks! We watched him as he climbed and I was raptured by his presence. There was no sign of his mum anywhere. He continued to call, shaking his head as he did so, it was so endearing. Ian filmed him making progress and the little chappy made it to the next level! He disappeared from our view and we took the cue to leave the fur seal colony. It was truly an excellent experience, one I shall treasure always.
We enjoyed an Italian meal, accompanied by one of our cheap bottles of wine, for which we paid nearly as much in corkage, with Norah Jones playing in the background.
We had travelled 296 kilometres around Wellington today.
Copyright 2002 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.