THE BEST PLACE IN THE SOUTH TO SEE SEALS & DOLPHINS FOR FREE!
16 DECEMBER 2022
A wee seal pup having a feed
From Blenheim To Kaikoura
We had spent an awesome few weeks in Blenheim visiting interesting beaches like Ward Beach and Mussel Point as well as our favourite Beach in the South Island (so far) - Whites Bay Beach. We also did some really fun activities like visiting the Omaka Aviation Centre and flying our very own cargo airplane!
It was time for us to spend a month in Tekapo (heeeeaven!) and on the way down we stopped at Ohau Point to see the seals. We had been told by a few people that there are hundreds of seals to watch and this was a real treat knowing we could see so many in one place.
The drive from Blenheim to Kaikoura is AMAZING and we were blown away with the views. There were so many (too many!) bays to stop off at to take pictures but we did stop at one beach where we saw wild flowers growing near the ocean (never seen flowers growing so far down a beach before!) and we stopped at Okiwi Bay Beach for some photos. There was some ocean mist that morning that looked really pretty against the lush green hills.
It was time for us to spend a month in Tekapo (heeeeaven!) and on the way down we stopped at Ohau Point to see the seals. We had been told by a few people that there are hundreds of seals to watch and this was a real treat knowing we could see so many in one place.
The drive from Blenheim to Kaikoura is AMAZING and we were blown away with the views. There were so many (too many!) bays to stop off at to take pictures but we did stop at one beach where we saw wild flowers growing near the ocean (never seen flowers growing so far down a beach before!) and we stopped at Okiwi Bay Beach for some photos. There was some ocean mist that morning that looked really pretty against the lush green hills.
Queen Anne's Lace
Okiwi Bay Beach
The drive from Blenheim to Kaikoura is insanely beautiful and there are so many bays to stop at to enjoy the view
I hadn't seen flowers growing so close to an ocean shoreline before
PHWOOOAR What's That Smell?!
Prepare for your nostrils to be absolutely destroyed by the smell hundreds of seals weeing and pooing all in one place - Ohau Point. But it's worth it to see them all!
We couldn't believe how many there were in one place (and down the coastline towards Christchurch). We had only ever seen a few seals at a time at Maunganui Bluff in Northland, on the South Coast Walk in Wellington and at the end of our steam train ride in Oamaru. We juuuust missed seeing one by a few minutes on the Blacksmiths Creek Walkway at Marsden Cove in Northland so we were stoked when we got to Ohau Point and saw the rocks littered with seals and their pups.
Some were sleeping, some were playing in the water and others were doing their yoga poses in the sun.
We couldn't believe how many there were in one place (and down the coastline towards Christchurch). We had only ever seen a few seals at a time at Maunganui Bluff in Northland, on the South Coast Walk in Wellington and at the end of our steam train ride in Oamaru. We juuuust missed seeing one by a few minutes on the Blacksmiths Creek Walkway at Marsden Cove in Northland so we were stoked when we got to Ohau Point and saw the rocks littered with seals and their pups.
Some were sleeping, some were playing in the water and others were doing their yoga poses in the sun.
We had never seen so many seals in our life!
How many seals can you count?
There's lots of parking available at Ohau Point
Pups With Their Mammies
Ohau Point is around 20-minutes north of Kaikoura and is one of the best places to see seals in the area. The bays around Ohau Point did have a few seals but this is where all the action is at!
We saw loads of seal pups with their mammies either sleeping or wandering around. Some of the mums didn't like it when a bull got too close and they'd show their sharp teeth off and tell them to go away.
The fur seal pups are born December - February.
We saw loads of seal pups with their mammies either sleeping or wandering around. Some of the mums didn't like it when a bull got too close and they'd show their sharp teeth off and tell them to go away.
The fur seal pups are born December - February.
Kisses from mama
It's dinner time
Aaaaand streeeeeetch
These two kept doing yoga poses together
A Battle For Baby Mama
You might want to skip the next 10 photos if you're squeamish!
We had been watching the seals for a while near where we parked and decided to wander around a bit further when a guy called us over and told us he could see two male seals fighting. The males can get very territorial during breeding season if another male goes near their baby mama because fur seals are polygamous breeders and therefor the male can have multiple mates in a breeding season.
What a sight it was!! They were insanely aggressive and you can see why it's not advisable to go near seals on the beach! They were flipping and spinning each other around and tearing chunks off each other.
It was one of those scenes where you couldn't watch.... but you also couldn't not!
We had been watching the seals for a while near where we parked and decided to wander around a bit further when a guy called us over and told us he could see two male seals fighting. The males can get very territorial during breeding season if another male goes near their baby mama because fur seals are polygamous breeders and therefor the male can have multiple mates in a breeding season.
What a sight it was!! They were insanely aggressive and you can see why it's not advisable to go near seals on the beach! They were flipping and spinning each other around and tearing chunks off each other.
It was one of those scenes where you couldn't watch.... but you also couldn't not!
Two bulls fighting
It was like watching WWE
They both had to have a breather every 30-seconds
Seal or bat?
You can see the blood flying everywhere!
The Finale
This fight for territory went on for around 20-minutes (who knows how long it had been going on before we arrived) and they were crashing around all over the place.
At one point they went near the females with their babies and one nearly got squished - mama just walked away and was like, "You're on your own Sonny, I'm saving myself!". Luckily the pup was ok and it walked off sadly to the water at the absolute betrayal from its mother. It reminded me of Eeyore with its sad little eyes and hanging head.
It's safe to say that the bull who entered the other one's territory, definitely lost the battle. It was hard to see it so beat up, with half its jaw hanging out of its mouth and every step it took it was yelping. I'm not good with seeing animals in pain so we didn't stick around too long after the battle was over. Hopefully it survived and lived to see another day, intruding on other people's home and garden.
At one point they went near the females with their babies and one nearly got squished - mama just walked away and was like, "You're on your own Sonny, I'm saving myself!". Luckily the pup was ok and it walked off sadly to the water at the absolute betrayal from its mother. It reminded me of Eeyore with its sad little eyes and hanging head.
It's safe to say that the bull who entered the other one's territory, definitely lost the battle. It was hard to see it so beat up, with half its jaw hanging out of its mouth and every step it took it was yelping. I'm not good with seeing animals in pain so we didn't stick around too long after the battle was over. Hopefully it survived and lived to see another day, intruding on other people's home and garden.
The bulls got a little too close to mamas and their pups
They were tearing chunks off each other
The little pup looked so sad and worried! Mama didn't stick around when the bulls got close
This bull lost the battle
It was hard to see the seal in pain
There Was A Massive Earthquake
In 2016, Kaikoura was shaken by a huge earthquake and a massive slip wiped away the seal's home at Ohau Point. The colony ended up moving 100 meters away but are now back at Ohau Point (yay!).
This was the same earthquake that uplifted all the rocks we saw at Ward Beach and Mussel Point, just south of Blenheim
There also used to be a waterfall near Ohau Point where you could walk through the bush to and see seals and pups playing in the water, but the track got destroyed and the base of the waterfall filled with rocks so it's a no-go zone for people now as the track is deemed too unsafe to use.
The best thing about Ohau Point is you can't access the seals, which means they are kept safe and left to it to live, without human interference.
The seals are fascinating to watch and it's a real treat for people who have never experienced this type of wildlife before. After watching them for a while, we can safely say that they are a bunch of grumpy, stinky seals!
This was the same earthquake that uplifted all the rocks we saw at Ward Beach and Mussel Point, just south of Blenheim
There also used to be a waterfall near Ohau Point where you could walk through the bush to and see seals and pups playing in the water, but the track got destroyed and the base of the waterfall filled with rocks so it's a no-go zone for people now as the track is deemed too unsafe to use.
The best thing about Ohau Point is you can't access the seals, which means they are kept safe and left to it to live, without human interference.
The seals are fascinating to watch and it's a real treat for people who have never experienced this type of wildlife before. After watching them for a while, we can safely say that they are a bunch of grumpy, stinky seals!
Adult female fur seals weigh 30 - 50kg
This guy completely photobombed my photo!
Is this the local choir? Or are they angry?
"Not one step closer!"
I feel like this seal had a hard night out and just passed out when it couldn't walk any further
This looks like a very uncomfortable and awkward place to make a nap
We Were SO Excited To See Dolphins!
"DOLPHINS! DOLPHINS! DOLPHINS!" Bella could hardly contain herself when she saw a pod of dolphins jumping in the distance. We were all really excited to see them as the girls have never seen dolphins before.
They were jumping around for around 5-minutes (the dolphins AND the girls) then disappeared (the dolphins, not the girls). We thought we kept seeing fins pop up closer to shore but it was just a few cheeky seals swimming around.
We think they are dusky dolphins as they are popular around the Kaikoura are but they were a few hundred meters out to sea so it was hard to tell. I need to get a wildlife lense so I can take closer and better-quality wildlife images!
We saw some more a couple of bays around from Ohau Point when we were heading to Christchurch and they were in much closer, but there was nowhere for us to park and watch them from. Time for a dolphin watching cruise, me thinks!
We saw them again when we were driving from Tekapo to Blenheim (in one day... 7-hour drive... wouldn't recommend it) a few bays around from Ohau Point and they were so close to shore! It was incredible to see them up closer and they jumped around and played for around 20-minutes! It was hard to capture them on camera as I never knew where they would pop up next.
They were jumping around for around 5-minutes (the dolphins AND the girls) then disappeared (the dolphins, not the girls). We thought we kept seeing fins pop up closer to shore but it was just a few cheeky seals swimming around.
We think they are dusky dolphins as they are popular around the Kaikoura are but they were a few hundred meters out to sea so it was hard to tell. I need to get a wildlife lense so I can take closer and better-quality wildlife images!
We saw some more a couple of bays around from Ohau Point when we were heading to Christchurch and they were in much closer, but there was nowhere for us to park and watch them from. Time for a dolphin watching cruise, me thinks!
We saw them again when we were driving from Tekapo to Blenheim (in one day... 7-hour drive... wouldn't recommend it) a few bays around from Ohau Point and they were so close to shore! It was incredible to see them up closer and they jumped around and played for around 20-minutes! It was hard to capture them on camera as I never knew where they would pop up next.
Would you jump into the water if you saw these fins?
Fun And Furry Facts
A few fun facts about the NZ Fur Seals:
- The breeding season is mid-November till mid-January
- In autumn and winter, the adult females dive down to an incredible 240m deep to catch their prey!
- They mainly feed on squid and small fish and they feed almost exclusively at night
- The seals return to the same area for the breeding season
- Adult mates can grow up to a whopping 2.5m in length and weigh between 90 - 150kg
- Adult females can grow up to 1.5m in length and weigh 30 - 50kg
- The breeding season is mid-November till mid-January
- In autumn and winter, the adult females dive down to an incredible 240m deep to catch their prey!
- They mainly feed on squid and small fish and they feed almost exclusively at night
- The seals return to the same area for the breeding season
- Adult mates can grow up to a whopping 2.5m in length and weigh between 90 - 150kg
- Adult females can grow up to 1.5m in length and weigh 30 - 50kg
The viewing platform is really long which means there is heaps of room to enjoy watching the seals without having to be shoulder to shoulder with strangers
The seals are kept safe with no access to the rocks for us humans
It's well worth stopping in at Ohau Point if you're driving to Blenheim from Kaikoura or the other way around
Unsure what these birds were - some type of shag perhaps?
Some of the rocks looked very similar to the ones up north at Ward Beach
Around the corner
You'll find seals all over the coastline around Kaikoura. We left Ohau Point and headed for Christchurch and decided to stop at another bay to see if we could see more seals at eye level this time!
We saw a few swimming around in the water but there were just a few. I don't think many would come up on the beach with the amount of people walking around the area.
The beaches along the coastline are so beautiful - it was hard to leave and keep driving!
We saw a few swimming around in the water but there were just a few. I don't think many would come up on the beach with the amount of people walking around the area.
The beaches along the coastline are so beautiful - it was hard to leave and keep driving!
The drive from Blenheim to Kaikoura offers incredible scenery
There are seals all along the coastline, but the majority are at Ohau Point
You'll see the majority of seals at Ohau Point during summertime
Where there's a rock, Bella will dance, dance, dance
And to finish the blog off on a positive note, here's a bird skeleton
Know Before You Go
- There is plenty of parking at Ohau Point
- You can view the seals from a lookout point above the rocks
- It stiiiiiinks - bring a peg for ya nose!
- Summertime is the best time to see the majority of the seals and of course, the pups
- There are no toilets here
- Bring your camera!
- The viewing point is on the main road, State Highway 1
- It's FREE!
Mappy McMap Face
Getting There
Ohau Point is 20-minutes north of Kaikoura and is along the coastline on State Highway 1. There are signs for the bay but it does come up quickly when you're driving 100km/h so keep an eye out! There is plenty of parking here.
1 hour 15-minutes south of Blenheim
2 hours 50-minutes north of Christchurch
1 hour 15-minutes south of Blenheim
2 hours 50-minutes north of Christchurch
Conclusion
The NZ fur seals at Ohau Point are very cool to watch. You can spend as long as you like there and it's absolutely FREE! Summertime is the best time to see them and to see the gorgeous pups. If you're lucky enough, you may also see dolphins jumping out of the bay.
Gallery of Ohau Point
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 Canterbury
LAKE PUKAKI
CANTERBURY This is the bluest lake in New Zealand and is surrounded by the Southern Alps and has a view of the world famous Mt Cook. |
OMARAMA CLAY CLIFFS
CANTERBURY This walk will you make you feel like you're on another planet! You can either explore near the entrance or go deeper into the cliffs. |
NEW ZEALAND ALPINE LAVENDER FARM
CANTERBURY Lavender ice cream, cute bikes and rows of lavender near the beautiful Mt Cook and Lake Pukaki - what a dream!
|
SEND US A MESSAGE, WE LOVE GETTING MAIL! |
DISCOVER |
FOLLOW USBORING (BUT IMPORTANT LEGAL) STUFF |