The Outing - Red Rocks

It's Luke here, doing a guest post. About a month ago, Hannah's parents came to visit us in Wellington. It was a great time - as they have been before, this time we got to go and experience some of the lesser-known attractions in the Wellington region. On a fine Saturday, we visited the seal colony near Red Rocks on the southern coast.

 

 It was a beautiful day, but very windy (as normal in Wellington). We had to drive through suburbia to the southern coast, then turn along a tortuous road to get to the beginning of the beach walk. Technically you can drive further, as you can see from the tyre marks in the sand, but we saw at least one car that was stuck and so it was probably better not to have attempted it.

 

These are the Red Rocks (Pari-whero). According to Maori legend, they were created when the great Polynesian explorer Kupe cut his hand while collecting paua (a type of shellfish), and bled all over the rocks. The scientific explanation, on the other hand, is completely forgettable so I won't bore you with it here.

 

A little further on, at Sinclair Head, we saw about a dozen fur seals, sunbathing or splashing about in the water. Apparently Sinclair Head is home to a colony of "bachelor seals" who have failed to get a female in the mating season further south. They didn't seem too unhappy about it though.

  Hannah and her mum.

In sum, if it's a nice day between May and October (the seal season at Sinclair Head), this makes for a nice day outing.

Until next time!