Beach Visitor

…sun….sea…and the great smell of sealion…..

…(non-tagged female sealion soaking up some rays before going for a feed)…

Wassat

…in the water there…

….oh…a bloody great leopard seal……never seen one in the water before…let alone on the harbour side of the spit…and I’m sure the bugger was sizing us up as snacks….

….I think I’ll stick to dodging sea lions on the beach….

…female hauled up beyond big male pictured above after lunch…(his flipper in the foreground)….…or viewing fur seals from above…

….mmmm…pinnipeds.

 

…(if we’d seen a sea elephant we’d have the whole set!).

Pinnipedic Extravaganza

…seals at the head of the Aramoana Mole……and at the Northern end of Victory Beach….baby seals left to there own devices whilst their mothers fish……meanwhile back at Aramoana’s Shelley Beach….large male sealion at rest……sea lion pup, Janet, practicing challenge charges in the dunes……whilst mother, Pattie, and another female sealion take a nap……next morning, Pattie & Janet napping on the beach…..…later that same day…Janet most definitely not napping…….and to top the day off…..

….”lunch” with unidentified female sealion….

….I had the Croissant with Camembert.

Tracks And Sign

…resident large male sealion heading for the dunes…

….black swans could use more roughage….

….have dubbed the above “swan cigars” amid much giggling & pointing at bird poop….sigh.

 

…(extra post today because I missed yesterday…not busy just a dose  of spring man flu…ill enough to forget to eat my lunch…which I didn’t discover till I went to make my lunch this morning only to discover…sandwiches!)….

On The Way Back From Invercargill

…I nipped thru the Catlins…

…Slope Point , southern most tip of the South Island, it’s bloody windy there…

…all the time, judging by the trees….

…Waipapa Point is further back down the coast towards Inver’s & is no less exposed…

…with the added attraction of adjacent pinnipeds…. 

…they’re stacked like cord wood on the beach….…and this one, upwind from the “pile” & myself, definitely smelt the worst…

…mmm…pinnipeds.

 

…(…

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Waipapa+Point+Lighthouse/@-46.6599743,168.8448698,560m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0xa82d41520382fa2b:0xd4a9b2ea37bfc203!6m1!1e1?hl=en

…)….

It Is Written On The Stars

…both sides…

…it’s also in the numbers on the pinnipeds….

….and the way the sand lands…

…we thought we saw the signs… …and now the signs are up!

…(….on a salt marsh, on a harbour mouth far, far away….)….

….(if you have the time, check out….

http://naturewatch.org.nz/projects/aramoana-biodiversity

…mmm…biodiversity!)

Aramoana

…sand….

 

…small female sealions…

 

…bloody great male sealions…

…small birds…

 

…and two carloads less crap….

When Is A Log Not A Log

 

…when it’s a female sea lion of course…

 

…careful where you tread.

 

…(much larger than the last lass to drop by near my good friend Dee’s place…but no less stinky!…mmmm…nothing beats the great smell of sea-lion in the morning….).

Our Lady Of The Dunes

…she’s back…

 

…and sleeping soundly…

…because the pinky blob that is on the grass stuff just below her flipper in the first photo is what’s left of an octopus….

….mmmm…octopus.

…(and her previous visit…

https://boredinarecordshop.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/sealions/

…mmm…sealions)….

…(and while we’re on the subject…my new favourite time waster….

http://explore.org/live-cams/player/walrus-cam-round-island

…mmm…walruses).

Sealions

…this big lad at the pilot’s wharf on the Aramoana spit…

..and this “lovely” female in my good friend Dee’s Roses…

…(top left, below the purple flowers)….

….(outside toilet left in shot for scale)….

…awwww….she’s sleeping…

…no she’s not…

…crap…flight or photo…

 

…the thing with female sealions is that, unlike the males who will challenge, charge,  then stand their ground, the females will follow you for some distance….

 

…like, right to the back door….

…maybe we’ll hold off admiring the roses till next week.