A seal in the wild in Wanganui!

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Right place, right time for the first time in my life. And I had my camera with me!!!!! I need to buy a lottery ticket!

Bruno, my 4-legged friend (Instagram: Bruno_the_Malshi) and I went out to the North Mole, Castlecliff, for a walk along our beautiful black sand. Okay, very few people think it is beautiful but I grew up on the west coast of NZ so it is what I am used to. This beach isn't the best place to walk with a little dog as it tends to be full of LARGE dogs, all off-leash so we had a quick walk and then I kept my fingers crossed that I could cross something off my bucket list. This area often has seals basking in the sun and I just prayed I would be lucky enough to see one, on a very cold and windy autumn day. I didn't feel very hopeful.

BUT..... I could see 2 women standing on the breakwater, peering over the edge at something. Time to investigate!

One of them said there was a (sorry - I became a bit over excited at this point so I need to yell) BABY SEAL sitting under some driftwood at the base of the breakwater. She told me not to take Bruno along the breakwater as seals don't like dogs and he would scare it. I smiled and took him along the breakwater with me anyway. Why? The best nature photos I have taken have involved animals looking at him from a distance and wondering what on earth he was, especially when if he was dressed in his purple jersey. Plus I knew the seal couldn't get up the breakwater to him and vice versa so they were both safe and Bruno isn't very smart so probably wouldn't even spot it. (He didn't).

I edged my way along the breakwater and searched for the seal. It was a gorgeous baby fur seal and was tucked away under a pile of driftwood, just out of reach of the sea. I knelt down, attempting to balance, hold Bruno (who was watching the seagulls flying round us and completely oblivious to the seal), avoid falling over the edge and take photos of the seal all at the same time. My co-ordination is poor at the best of times so this was tricky. Luckily, the seal decided Bruno was very interesting and sat up and looked at us. This is when I cursed myself for having too many diseases to count and being able to only hold a small digital camera.

The excitement of seeing the baby seal in the wild eventually got the better of me so I took Bruno back to the car and rang a friend who is very used to hearing me in full-on "OMG you won't believe what I am doing/seeing" mode. He finally worked out what I was raving on about, calmed me down and after taking a few deep breaths I went back, alone, much to Bruno's disgust. This time I clambered my way down the breakwater to within 4 metres of the seal. I took a few photos and then I put my camera away and just sat and enjoyed being so close to such an awesome creature. It was so relaxed that it started to yawn! I was clearly not at all interesting or threatening.

This experience was amazing. I limped away with a sore ankle (do NOT attempt to clamber down the side of the breakwater as it is dangerous, especially if you are middle-aged and chronically ill and with a complete lack of co-ordinaiton), no jandals (just don't ask) and a few bad photos but with gratitude for the chance to get up close to a baby fur seal in the wild.

The main reason people go out to the mole is to go surfing. http://surfseeker.nz/surf_breaks/taranaki/wanganui-north-mole

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