The Giant Squid

Now that I've got your attention with the title, I'll tell you about the south coast of the north island of New Zealand.  Like the rest of New Zealand, it was beautiful.  The west side of the mountains by Wellington was very rainy, therefore it was decided to head to the east side of the mountains (Rimutaka range).  That is one glorious thing about New Zealand.  If it's raining on one side of the mountain, one can drive to the other side and have sunshine.  Typically east-west driving only requires 1-3 hours.     

Essentially, there is no such thing is a bad day.  I can only say that because I don't live there now.  However, trips like this make me want to move back.  The coast contained shear cliffs and beautiful beaches.  Cape Palliser was the destination, mostly because there exists a seal colony at the cape.  However, the lighthouse that overlooks the cape catches the eye when first driving in from the mountains.  My instant reaction, as always is to climb up.  The view from the lighthouse was gorgeous.  It overlooks the entrance to the Cook Strait, which divides the two NZ islands. 

The next stop:  seal paradise.  For some reason, the seals loved Cape Palliser (who can blame them really?).  After bringing a beer, Epic, for enjoyment during the seal watch, it became curious as to whether there were any seals or not.  However, after staring at the rocks, it became obvious that some rocks were, in fact, seals.  These were a very lazy bunch.  Most could be found laying among the rocks.  It is a wonder as to why seals would choose one location over another, but for some reason they chose to establish their colony here.  It is also a wonder as to how they can find rocks comfortable.  Instead of moving to grass, they pick ed the most abrasive and sharp rocks to lay among.  Maybe, they're into that sort of thing.  However, one could fathom a guess that they enjoy the hot sun on the rocks and that the fat, which is plentiful in seals, acts as a nice soft cushion for the sharp hard rocks.