Today we drove an hour and a half south from Taieri Mouth to explore the gorgeous Catlins District, a dramatic and beautiful part of the south eastern coast of the South Island. We booked a lovely little cottage situated on a local sheep farm, and used it as a base for all of our exploring.
Note to self...always check that some cheeky bugger isn't using the toilet before taking a photo of your holiday cottage...
Once we had unpacked, we headed to Cannibal Bay (named after human remains were discovered in the sand dunes, an unfortunate name for a stunning location), where it is possible to observe sea lions on the beach.
Grace, armed with binoculars, led the way, with her little shadow hot on her heels.
It wasn't long before we encountered the first of two sea lions. Given it was such a hot day, they were attempting to bury down into the sand to keep cool, so paid us little attention.
The smaller of the two, however, growled at me when I got a bit too close while taking a photo. Scared the bejesus out of me and sent Grace, who suddenly realised why they were called sea lions, running for the dunes. Until we told her that they also lived in the sand dunes, at which point she decided it was time to go back to the car.
Remember those human remains I mentioned before? Poor fellow was probably eaten by a sea lion. Or scared to death by one.
