07/05/2018 - Seal pups at Wharariki Beach

7:00 AM - The alarm clock rang. Dawn had not yet set in. There was an incredible calmness outside the car door. After our morning routine, we actually motivated ourselves to visit the beach. Bundled up and armed with a camera, we trudged along the familiar path to "Wharariki Beach". Meanwhile, the clouds changed colors. We were too late for the color display on the beach, but the blazing sky looked amazing over the green hills.
We were greeted by an even wider and more extensive beach, as it was low tide at that time. We walked along Wharariki Beach completely alone and captured the first rays of sun of the day. We approached a rock formation that we couldn't visit the day before because it disappears into the water during high tide. It was there that I discovered a small pool formed between the rocks. I could hardly believe my eyes. There were actually a few seal pups swimming in the pool! They played, frolicked, and jumped in the shallow water - I was on cloud nine. Once Tobi joined me, the little ones looked up. Around twelve pups were learning to swim, simulating fights, or resting for a moment in the sand. Nearby was a higher rock that we climbed. From there, we captured this unique experience with pictures and videos. We were completely thrilled and could hardly believe our luck. The little ones were completely absorbed in their play, imitating movements and behaviors of the adults. They scratched themselves like mom and dad. But shortly after, they quickly returned to the pool to wrestle with their friends.
Gradually, the little ones changed the water. This was the time for us to let them go. Hopefully, the many seal pups can continue to grow up undisturbed here.
Hunger slowly set in and we started our way back to the campground. At the breakfast table, we reminisced about the wonderful experience and shared it with our acquaintances. After breakfast, it was clear to Natalie, Benni, and us - we will all stay another night here. So, our slightly damaged car got a longer break. After the collision between the car chassis and the road surface yesterday, we wanted to take a closer look at the damage. We realized that a screw contributing to the attachment of the front bumper was missing. This gave the body a bit more room to move - we hoped to have found the problem. When we found the owner of the campground, he gave us a cable tie to temporarily fix the bumper. For now, we left it at that.
We inquired about nearby hikes, of which there is certainly no shortage up here in the north of the South Island. We were drawn back to the beach as the "Puponga Hill Top Track" is said to start from there. When we arrived, we were almost blown away by the wind. We had last experienced such strong wind speeds in the glacier region. With great effort, we made our way across the sand dunes and soon faced a bigger problem. On the opposite side of the river, we could see the starting point of the hike. Now the question arose: How on earth do we cross this river? We desperately searched for a way to cross the water, but all the stones were submerged. Taking off our shoes was not a solution either, as we would have been knee-deep in water. Eventually, we gave up, disappointed. So, we fought against the strong wind back to the sea. There we met Natalie and Benni. They were just observing the seal pups. However, the atmosphere was not as dreamy and lively as this morning. More tourists also came to the pool to take pictures of the little ones. A few of them approached the animals without regard and got as close as one meter. (Ten meters are required!) They used the curiosity of the young animals and held their action cameras right in front of their noses. Hardly anyone considered the consequences of this, that the mother seal may no longer accept her baby if it smells like humans. Tobi was filled with anger and drew the attention of the careless tourists to the fact that they should please step back so as not to obstruct the animals; after all, they are still wild animals. - The situation became increasingly tense. The tide was coming in and the little ones were looking for a safe place to retreat. However, if a human stands in their way, they don't dare to leave the pool and would be trapped by the tide and the open sea... It is incomprehensible to us how thoughtless some people can be. But all the pups managed to find the safe rock formation and we were able to take a safe distance as well.
After the excitement, we left the beach area to go on another hike. The "Green Hills Route" starts right at the campground. The hiking trail starts relatively steep and, as the name suggests, leads over green hills. The further we went, the windier it became. The wind not only blew us away, but the sheep also preferred to lie down on the grass to reduce their exposed surface area. After an hour of hiking, we passed a lake and reached a signpost. From here, we followed a path that led to a secluded part of Wharariki Beach. After another 20 minutes, we arrived at the mentioned section.

The secluded beach section is accessible at low tide via the beach path or via the coastal hiking trail, which we took.

We were greeted by heavy waves and swirling sand. We explored the winding beach section and took some pictures. The section is adorned with tall rocks, next to which we looked like small figurines. Suddenly, there was an intense smell of seals. As we were afraid that there might be a male seal behind one of the rocks, we quickly turned around.
Luckily, we had tailwind on the way back, which pushed us all the way to the campground. We finally reached the communal kitchen - it felt so good to sit in a wind-sheltered shelter. Here we met Natalie and Benni again. After a small snack, we spread out in the common area for the rest of the afternoon. This was only possible because, honestly, no other camper passed by that day. ;) We worked on our laptops, charged our electronics, reminisced, and shared some pictures. When dinner, which was incidentally the same (Bolognese), was cooked and devoured, we took out our "Sorry!" board game. The four of us played a few rounds. It became really fun when Natalie and Benni wanted to spoil us with a cocktail. Everything was bought for a "Moscow Mule". The drink was mixed and we toasted. A few seconds later, the nasty surprise followed. The ginger beer bottle had not contained ginger beer for a long time, but bottled drinking water. Therefore, the already puristic cocktail tasted like vodka and diluted cucumber. But it didn't matter - we had a great time. :)