At this time of the year the marine life in Otago is at its peak. Especially when it comes to all the pregnant female sea lions seeking shelter from the males along the Dunedin city beaches. The science isn't in, but it certainly feels like they're using our busiest beaches as cover.
We had an incredible experience with a young male pup over at Blackhead on Friday evening. The waves were small but packing a lot of punch when the young pup of around 10 months old (and already fairly big for his age) joined in with me and the kids on the peak. There was lots of bubble blowing and mock charges until he realised we were all pretty calm in his presence. He started to surf the waves with us and looked pretty handy, racing the kids into the shallows.
When the adult female came out – who we assumed was Pippa, but didn't get a conclusive ID on – she immediately swam over to the pup and scolded him in front of us all. It was quite funny. We've all been there. Then she tried to lead him away, but he couldn't resist his new playmates and kept coming back. She didn't want to engage with us and kept to herself.
Pippa's pup was born on Boulder Beach last summer and he is provisionally named Huna – his name is awaiting endorsement by Otakou Runaka.
He's a livewire and I can guarantee people will mistake his playfulness as aggression. Apart from bumping into our fins and legropes he seemed to be an expert at proprioception in the water. Well, it seemed that way up until he nearly landed on me during a miscalculated porpoise. And then he lost all mana when the tide dropped right out and the double ups started heaving with heavy barrels off the kelp. We watched on one wave as he surfed in and then got pitched – yep, Huna went completely over the falls and got pounded into the shallow bank.
He shrugged it off as if it was nothing, but that would have to be the funniest thing I have ever seen in the surf.
If you do encounter sea lions out there during a surf, then try to enjoy the experience and stay calm. After a few minutes they'll get bored if you don't react. Once you get used to them they actually add something pretty cool to our coastline.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We're about to hang a whole new collection of framed artworks in the Box of Light Gallery (directly opposite the Dunedin Railway Station). Yep, it's Christmas time, but we're still operating by appointment until mid-December when the gallery will be open from 10am-2pm weekdays and 8-11am on Saturdays (conveniently timed to work in with your Farmer's Market start to the weekend). We always get a rush at this time of the year, but if you want to order anything new then the cutoff is December 1 to allow time for our printer and framer to work their magic. We can ship nationwide until December 15. You can start exploring the Box of Light collection right here. Gift cards are available here.
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