Seal Coast Safari

The New Zealand fur seal (kekeno in Māori) have colonies from subantarctic islands up to mainland New Zealand. Wellington is fortunate to have a colony on its southern doorstep. Seal Coast Safari runs tours to an isolated part of Wellington’s south coast to view seals in the wild.

Though seals are the main attraction, the tour offers so much more. Beginning in central Wellington, you’ll hop aboard a custom 12-seater 4WD.

First, you’ll head to Otari-Wilton Bush, the only botanic garden in New Zealand dedicated solely to native plants. Here, you'll see untouched rainforest. Your guide can introduce you to some of the unique native flora and fauna. You then head south to privately-owned Terawhiti Station, one of New Zealand’s oldest and largest sheep stations. It offers access to Tongue Point where the fur seal have a colony.

Michael Chew (Chewy) runs the Seal Coast Safari tours. He says they aim to make the trips as accommodating as possible depending on what crops up during the tour. If there’s a wild goat wandering by, the guide can stop so tourists can get out to look. “The ridge at Terawhiti is higher than the Mount Victoria lookout in the city so we are often asked for camera stops.” The station also boasts 62 wind turbines built by Meridian Energy, spectacular beacons in the wild scenery.

Once down on the coast you’ll get a drink and snack while learning about the seals. The colony at Tongue Point is around 200. Seals are wild animals so there are strict guidelines about how close you can get. Still, there are plenty of opportunities to watch and learn about them.

Predominantly male, they mostly decamp for a few months in summer to visit a female colony at Cape Palliser a few kilometres to the east. Chewy says there’s never been a time when he’s visited and there are no seals. Largely nocturnal, they feed at night so when you’re there during the day they are likely to be resting or playing in the shallows. “You’ll always see some basking on the rocks.”

Tours depart twice daily from Wellington isite Visitor Information Centre.