SEA LION STAKEOUT
08 NOVEMBER 2023
Blown Away By The Catlins... Literally
We only had a few days to explore the Catlins, which is in the bottom of the South Island, and it's well known for some of the most beautiful waterfalls in New Zealand, like the Purakaunui Falls and McLean Falls, as well as the amount of captivating wildlife in the area. We had heard of the Catlins over the years, but it was never a destination I felt like I HAD to visit... until I researched it. And now it's one place we HIGHLY recommend visiting and can't believe we haven't been sooner!
New Zealand is known for its diverse wildlife around the whole country including kea, dolphins, penguins, kiwi and seals. We have seen penguins in Oamaru (granted, they were in nesting boxes but they were free to come and go!), seals on the South Coast Walk in Wellington, at the beach at Maunganui Bluff in Northland, hundreds of gannets at Muriwai Beach in Auckland... so when we read that there were sea lions to see in the Catlins, there was no stopping us from seeking them out!! We had never seen them before and we all really love seeing wildlife and I love photographing it.
These particular sea lions, New Zealand sea lions or scientifically Phocarctos hookeri, are primarily found in the subantarctic islands of NZ including the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island and the Antipodes Islands. They also like to visit the mainland of New Zealand (obvs), especially in the southern regions of the South Island and the Otago Peninsula.
We had been to Surat Bay the day before in the hopes that we'd see some sea lions, but we were out of luck. As with any wildlife, there are often sightings at certain places but it really depends on how many live in the area, the weather, time of day and year you go to see them, as to whether there will be any at all. Just like what happened to us the previous night when we went to Roaring Bay to see if we could see the yellow crested penguins at the specially made hideout above the beach and we waited for around an hour at sunset but none came. We later learned that there are only a small handful of these penguins left in this area as many are dying of disease, so the chances of seeing them are really slim.
We spoke to a local about the best time and place to see the sea lions and they suggested we try our luck at Cannibal Bay as they are often seen here and it's right beside Surat Bay. We drove down a windy, gravel road towards the ocean (which was quite tight on some of the corners) and came to a little parking area with a toilet. The wind was howling and we just learnt to embrace it in the Catlins as this is all part of its charm... although after 4 days we were utterly and completely over it, with no charm left to embrace! You just need to look at the amount of trees growing sideways in the Catlins, especially near the coastline, to know how much wind this area really gets!
New Zealand is known for its diverse wildlife around the whole country including kea, dolphins, penguins, kiwi and seals. We have seen penguins in Oamaru (granted, they were in nesting boxes but they were free to come and go!), seals on the South Coast Walk in Wellington, at the beach at Maunganui Bluff in Northland, hundreds of gannets at Muriwai Beach in Auckland... so when we read that there were sea lions to see in the Catlins, there was no stopping us from seeking them out!! We had never seen them before and we all really love seeing wildlife and I love photographing it.
These particular sea lions, New Zealand sea lions or scientifically Phocarctos hookeri, are primarily found in the subantarctic islands of NZ including the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island and the Antipodes Islands. They also like to visit the mainland of New Zealand (obvs), especially in the southern regions of the South Island and the Otago Peninsula.
We had been to Surat Bay the day before in the hopes that we'd see some sea lions, but we were out of luck. As with any wildlife, there are often sightings at certain places but it really depends on how many live in the area, the weather, time of day and year you go to see them, as to whether there will be any at all. Just like what happened to us the previous night when we went to Roaring Bay to see if we could see the yellow crested penguins at the specially made hideout above the beach and we waited for around an hour at sunset but none came. We later learned that there are only a small handful of these penguins left in this area as many are dying of disease, so the chances of seeing them are really slim.
We spoke to a local about the best time and place to see the sea lions and they suggested we try our luck at Cannibal Bay as they are often seen here and it's right beside Surat Bay. We drove down a windy, gravel road towards the ocean (which was quite tight on some of the corners) and came to a little parking area with a toilet. The wind was howling and we just learnt to embrace it in the Catlins as this is all part of its charm... although after 4 days we were utterly and completely over it, with no charm left to embrace! You just need to look at the amount of trees growing sideways in the Catlins, especially near the coastline, to know how much wind this area really gets!
The toilet near the carpark is easy to spot!
Sand, Sea Lions And Serenity
The path from the carpark to the beach was made of sand and it led us to an isolated beach, enveloped by high green hills with dramatic cliffs, which made me feel like I was somewhere in the UK.
Straight away we spotted a sea lion right at the other end of the beach which, yes, made us giddy with excitement!! We were so excited to finally see a sea lion and were so happy that the trip out to Cannibal Bay wasn't wasted, considering we were visiting in July and not during the breeding season, which is typically between November to January. As we walked along the beach, I noticed some beautiful patterns in the sand where the golden sand was mixed in with black sand coming down from a river. We have seen this a lot on west coast beaches, but not on any east coast beaches. Another special attribute about the beach was the reflections of the surrounding hills on the shoreline.
As we got closer to the sea lion, we saw it go up into the grasses on the sand dunes and we waited a while for it come back out, but he was playing hide and seek! We found a path up into the dunes and we followed that for a bit, hoping to see the sea lion, but also being super cautious because you sure as pie don't want to be attacked by one of those beasts!! I believe the track takes you over to Surat Bay and we walked for a little while as we were curious to see where it would take us, but we ended up turning back.
When we got back to the beach, the sea lion had reappeared and it had brought a friend with it! DOC (Department of Conservation) recommends that you stay at least 20-metres away from wildlife and we felt like this was a good distance, so we stayed and watched the two sea lions flirting, fighting or whatever they were doing and I chucked my long lense on my DSLR and snapped away! It reminded us of the time we saw two NZ fur seal bulls fighting at Ohau Point, which has a seal colony, just north of Kaikoura... although the sea lions at Cannibal Bay were a lot gentler than the fur seals were! It was awesome to have the whole beach to ourselves, to enjoy these magnificent creatures and it was even more awesome that the sea lions respected us and didn't see us as a threat and let us hang around watching them. It was a perfect world schooling lesson for Arabella and Sienna, to see sea lions in real life and not just in a book, to learn how to respect them and to see them in their natural environment.
Just as we were leaving, another sea lion came in from the water and we think it was a female as she was a lot smaller than the other two and had an almost silver coloured coat. The NZ seal lion males can grow up to 3 metres in length and weigh between 400 - 450kgs (insane!) and the females are considerably smaller.
This sea lion looked absolutely exhausted, as she kept stopping every couple of metres as she made her way to the other sea lions. This is completely understandable as they can travel long distances in search of food (fish and squid) and sometimes a food frenzy trip can take a few hours and can even extend to a day or longer! I know I'd sure as hell be exhausted after all that swimming, phew!
She finally made it to see her friends after about 10-minutes and we left them to it. I really didn't want to leave, but it was time to go and see the incredible waterfalls a bit further south! We went were on a mission to see the Purakaunui Falls, McLean Falls as well as an 150 million year old petrified forest at Curio Bay, right at the bottom of the South Island, all in one day trip and we managed to fit it all in!
Straight away we spotted a sea lion right at the other end of the beach which, yes, made us giddy with excitement!! We were so excited to finally see a sea lion and were so happy that the trip out to Cannibal Bay wasn't wasted, considering we were visiting in July and not during the breeding season, which is typically between November to January. As we walked along the beach, I noticed some beautiful patterns in the sand where the golden sand was mixed in with black sand coming down from a river. We have seen this a lot on west coast beaches, but not on any east coast beaches. Another special attribute about the beach was the reflections of the surrounding hills on the shoreline.
As we got closer to the sea lion, we saw it go up into the grasses on the sand dunes and we waited a while for it come back out, but he was playing hide and seek! We found a path up into the dunes and we followed that for a bit, hoping to see the sea lion, but also being super cautious because you sure as pie don't want to be attacked by one of those beasts!! I believe the track takes you over to Surat Bay and we walked for a little while as we were curious to see where it would take us, but we ended up turning back.
When we got back to the beach, the sea lion had reappeared and it had brought a friend with it! DOC (Department of Conservation) recommends that you stay at least 20-metres away from wildlife and we felt like this was a good distance, so we stayed and watched the two sea lions flirting, fighting or whatever they were doing and I chucked my long lense on my DSLR and snapped away! It reminded us of the time we saw two NZ fur seal bulls fighting at Ohau Point, which has a seal colony, just north of Kaikoura... although the sea lions at Cannibal Bay were a lot gentler than the fur seals were! It was awesome to have the whole beach to ourselves, to enjoy these magnificent creatures and it was even more awesome that the sea lions respected us and didn't see us as a threat and let us hang around watching them. It was a perfect world schooling lesson for Arabella and Sienna, to see sea lions in real life and not just in a book, to learn how to respect them and to see them in their natural environment.
Just as we were leaving, another sea lion came in from the water and we think it was a female as she was a lot smaller than the other two and had an almost silver coloured coat. The NZ seal lion males can grow up to 3 metres in length and weigh between 400 - 450kgs (insane!) and the females are considerably smaller.
This sea lion looked absolutely exhausted, as she kept stopping every couple of metres as she made her way to the other sea lions. This is completely understandable as they can travel long distances in search of food (fish and squid) and sometimes a food frenzy trip can take a few hours and can even extend to a day or longer! I know I'd sure as hell be exhausted after all that swimming, phew!
She finally made it to see her friends after about 10-minutes and we left them to it. I really didn't want to leave, but it was time to go and see the incredible waterfalls a bit further south! We went were on a mission to see the Purakaunui Falls, McLean Falls as well as an 150 million year old petrified forest at Curio Bay, right at the bottom of the South Island, all in one day trip and we managed to fit it all in!
Know Before You Go
- The 8km road to Cannibal Bay is an unsealed road... but don't let this put you off, it's so worth it!
- If you want to see sea lions and you're short on time, you can always try your luck at Surat Bay as it's easier to get to than Cannibal Bay
- Breeding season for sea lions is between November and January
- Always keep at least 20 metres away from the sea lions. They need to feel safe plus they can be very aggressive during breeding season
- There are toilets near the carpark
- There is no guarantee you'll see a sea lion, it's luck of the draw really!
- The beach can get really cold and windy, especially in winter. We recommend warm clothes here!
- You can walk between Surat Bay and Cannibal Bay
How To Get To Cannibal Bay In The Catlins
Cannibal Bay is 20-minutes south of Kaka Point town, in the southeast of the South Island, in the Catlins (in the Otago region of New Zealand). The carpark is on Cannibal Bay Road and it's an unsealed 8km road.
Conclusion
We were sooo happy to see the sea lions at Cannibal Bay, as we hadn't seen any before. The bay itself is really beautiful and so isolated and we loved the dramatic cliffs on the hills surrounding it. It's not as popular as Surat Bay, so there is always less people around. We knew that spotting a sea lion wasn't guaranteed but we're so glad we decided to go! We encourage you to take the time to drive out to Cannibal Bay when you're in the Catlins, as you never know if you'll be lucky enough to see the sea lions, and if not then it's a beautiful beach to walk along.
Gallery of Cannibal Bay
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
More to do in New Zealand
HOOKER VALLEY TRACK
CANTERBURY An easy track for the family to enjoy incredible mountain and lake views all year round. The kids will enjoy crossing the 3 swing bridges.
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KAI IWI LAKES
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TIROHANGA TRACK
MARLBOROUGH Get some of the best views in Picton with this 2- hour return track through native bush. There's so much for kids to explore here!
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