For quite some time I was meaning to visit the bachelors at Sinclair. The usual 'Oh, can't be bothered today', 'No sun. Not great for photos', 'Too cold' or 'Too windy' got in my way. Yesterday I finally managed to get myself in my little old Toyota to drive all the way to Owhiro Bay road end on Wellington south coast. It's been over 10 years since I visited the area. I thought it would be a half an hour or so stroll to Sinclair Head. But it seemed the coastal line has stretched itself as twice long during my absence. …
The first leg of the walk was through cold shady beach by the old quarry site. Then some sunny rocks to take a shot at. While walking along the stretch of coast facing the Cook Strait. I was quite aware of the extension of the fault lines beneath the surface, and the probability of a major earthquake in some future. I often looked up the steep hillside and wondered whether I could climb this up if tsunami waves came.
The sun and breaking waves made red rocks at Red Rocks (naturally!) look nice bright red. 😀
Sinclair Head is a known seal haul-out, the spot where bachelor seals who have been excluded from mating by a dominant male chill out. That explains the annoyed look of this chap. 😆 I took quite a few more pictures of lazy sleeping seals and, while doing so, just couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for those bachelors with nothing to party about.
The pictures are on the album WheelOut tagged Sinclair_Head
FYI
Wellington City Council information on the "bachelors"
Te Ara the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand information on seal watching
Seals just want a bit of peace a Dominion Post article
In Search of Seals: Hiking in Wellington (A local blogger's post on the same area)
100% New Zealand article on Red Rocks area (Found by 7Wellis)
:coffee:
[Update]
Four more photos, also shared on I Am No Photgrapher at Shoot and Tell, are added as Bachelors@Sinclair series 😀
😉
It could be the equivalent of Lynx to the lady seals 😆
That case, maybe the smell wasn't strong enough :yuck:
I know. It must have been a traumatic experience for him. I didn't mention it in the post, but he had a bit of body odour problem, too. It's time they invented a seal-strength deodorant. :p
Poor seal, he does look a bit down 😀
OK. I'll do a little web research. 🙂
Sounds like the gannet colony at cape kidnappers, awesome birds, awesome smell…
An odour of rancid fish?
Ooohh, now you are asking questions i do not know the answer to. I am not sure if the little tractors are still going, there were some big slips a while ago. You can go overland so the tide does not matter. I went just before Christmas on a works outing. Seemed like a good time then
Originally posted by darkesthour:
Never been there, unfortunately. I've got some airpoints that expire soon. Maybe I should try a trip there. When is the good season for the colony excursion?
Worse. More like never cleaned goat latrine :yuck: According to this Seal FAQs
Originally posted by qlue:
Yes. 😆 Very pungent :yuck: At least it works as a warning. Those guys are rather inconspicuous on ground and easy to miss when your are looking out for other more active ones near pools. If you smell them, look closer at the ground near you. They are harmless if left alone. But could be nasty if you stepped on one by accident.Do you have a seal colony in South Africa?
So the smell is l'eau de toilette? :whistle::p
Ah, I found it. :DCheck out http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004j1rz Very cool videos of sardine run and the predators that gather 😎
Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:
:sherlock: There are plenty along the Cape coast. But none on this side to my knowledge! :left: .I think it's too warm here in Kzn! :rolleyes:
Originally posted by qlue:
I've found this seal photographer's page for SA seals. Looks rather spectacular there (photo-5, especially) http://www.sealimages.com/Cape-fur-seal-gallery.htmlThey don't like it hot, do they? Do you have whales in the part of Indian Ocean near your coast, which chases sardines up? I seem to remember seeing a BBC doco on the sardine run there.
Dear MM, thank you for the wonderful pictures of your journey. I envy you for this relatively short trip to an amazing stretch of coastline. To see where it is, I' ve searched in the web and found this link: http://www.newzealand.com/int/article/red-rocks-reserve/
Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:
Yes, we get whales and sharks this time of year! :up: .The weather has been weird this year and that seems to have affected the sardine run a little. :sherlock:
Thanks, Angelika. It is a great area to go to if you happen to be in Wellington in winter or spring. There is a 4WD safari operating, too, if you don't want to walk that far (4km one way) or have not much time.Originally posted by 7Wellis:
Thanks for the link. Just added to the list of links. 🙂
Originally posted by qlue:
Ah! That's why your team is called Natal Sharks. :up:I saw you said at DH's blog you're having a crazy heat for July. Is it better now?
Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:
Yes, the cooler weather arrived with a bout of rain. But it's not a typical winter even so. :left: .
:happy: :coffee:
Cheers, Michal :cheers:Originally posted by qlue:
Could've been worse, Aadil. The rain probably stopped your inmates from starting a riot. :p
Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:
It was just enough rain to cool the place down a bit and knock out the lights! :rolleyes: (and, of course, I was working night shift that night! :irked: )
Making you nervous, doesn't it. It seems nowhere is safe from sudden deluge causing flood and landslide. Take care 🙁
Looks really rocky beach :eyes: I guess seals are common around the world. There are seals even in Baltic sea, which is more like a over polluted sweat water pool these days: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Sea#The_Helsinki_ConventionOriginally posted by qlue:
Sounds charming 😀
Thanks for the link to the Helsinki convention, Sami. Those guys here are so lucky to have fresh water all around them, thanks to the strong Cook Strait currents. Originally posted by serola:
😆 But doesn't smell that way :p