DAY 7: The Long Way to Wellington

From NZ - DAY 7

WELLINGTON – After leaving Castlepoint I headed south for Wellington. I had to choose between the quick route and the scenic route. I chose the scenic route even though my Rough Guide basically said there is not much to see.

I wanted to make sure to see Cape Palliser for some reason. My guide said it was a “bleak and windswept coast.” I ignored that and went anyways for the hell of it. I am so glad I did.

At the end of a very isolated route, unpaved, I found myself in front of another lighthouse.

But the real story of the day was not the lighthouse. At one point, with the lighthouse in view I stopped at this large rocky area along the coast where I could take a picture of the lighthouse.

I snapped away and was about to get back in my car when I heard a screeching moan. It was an animal of some kind. I could not see it because these boulders and rocky area was in between me and the noise. At first I thought it was a dolphin from the way it sounded.

I decided that I had to investigate. I climbed through the rocks, turning corners and jumping from stone to stone.

All of a sudden I could smell something foul. I thought it was bird droppings or something. I was not quite sure. I moved on thinking I was getting close. I turned the corner around another rock and I was startled to come withing a meter of a seal staring right at me. He barked and I freaked out almost running for my car.

After realizing that the thing was not charging me. I stopped and grabbed my camera. I took a few steps closer and then around another rock I could see a baby seal. I freaked out a little again. I figured that this could be bad.

While it might not be a problem to tempt fate with an average seal. It probably would not be as good an idea to sneak up on a mother and her baby. Nonetheless the seal was tame and seemed to have very little interest in me. It wanted to sleep more than anything.

It was amazing to be that close with a wild seal. It was even more cool that it was just out there in the middle of nowhere with nobody around but me.

Later I found a ton more in other places. I could smell each one of them before I saw them. They were that smelly.

What an adventure that was.

After that I made the trip back out of the countryside toward Wellington, where I stayed the night.