Taioara Head

After Aramoana, we changed the coast and went to Taioara Head for a penguin and seal tour. We were able to observe seals up close in their natural habitat. There were probably around fifty of them, and some had puppies just a few days old. After that, we took a small bus to another bay where we could overlook a secluded beach from a kind of 'trench', where no people can go, and we could see more seals, a sea lion, and even a rare yellow-eyed penguin.

Suddenly, our tour guide opened a small door in the wall of the trench, where there were penguins with their newly hatched young. They naturally climb up the steep slope and nest on the trench wall. This place is so unique that many documentaries have been filmed here by film crews from all over the world.

Oli