• About
  • Travel Resources

One Day in a City

24 Hour Travel Itineraries to Make the Most of a Day in a Destination

  • United States
    • California
    • Pacific Northwest
    • New England
    • Midwest
    • South
    • West
    • New York
    • Hawaii
    • Florida
  • Europe
    • Austria
    • Croatia
    • Czechia
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Iceland
    • Ireland
    • Italy
    • Netherlands
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Russia
    • Scandinavia
    • Slovenia
    • South Korea
    • Spain
    • Turkey
    • United Kingdom
  • More Destinations
    • Canada
      • Quebec
      • Vancouver Island
    • Caribbean
      • Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Rico
      • Jamaica
      • St. Maarten / St. Martin
      • St. Thomas
    • Central & South America
      • Argentina
      • Colombia
      • Mexico
    • Australia & New Zealand
      • Victoria AUS
      • Queensland AUS
      • North Island NZ
      • South Island NZ
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • India
      • Japan
      • Jordan
      • Nepal
      • Singapore
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • South Pacific
    • Africa
      • Kenya
  • Travel Tips
    • Travel with Babies & Toddlers
    • Couple Travel
    • Solo Travel
    • Cruise
    • Packing Tips
    • Work and Travel Balance
  • Shop
    • Gift Guides
One Day in a City > Destinations > Australia & New Zealand > South Island NZ > Baby Seals in New Zealand (with Video)

Baby Seals in New Zealand (with Video)

November 2, 2020 By Gina
Posts on this site may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.

Pin4
Share4
Tweet
8 Shares

One Day in New Zealand, this Happened…

Watching Baby Seals in New Zealand at Cape Foulwind

Finding baby seals in New Zealand.
Finding baby seals in New Zealand.

I knew I’d see seals in New Zealand while I was on the South Island. That seemed like a given.

But baby seals in New Zealand?

Oh, I hoped and hoped. The birthing season for most seal breeds in New Zealand had happened right before Tom and I arrived over Christmas time, but we were told that mother seals are very overprotective while their wee ones are still tiny and often hide them out of view.

After kayaking around Abel Tasman without seeing a baby seal and after stumbling upon some other seal colonies along the shore with no babies in sight, I was beginning to lose hope.

Then…we arrived at the Seal Bay Colony at Cape Foulwind.

Seal Bay Colony in Cape Foulwind in New Zealand.
Seal Bay Colony in Cape Foulwind in New Zealand.

The name was promising and sure enough, after a short walk through some shrubbery and trees along the sea, we came upon seals and…baby seals! The viewing point is above the seals and we had to be patient to get our turn to see them from the best spot, but it was worth the wait.

Kekeno Bay Seals: A Seal Family
Aw, cute little seal family. I pretty much melted at this sight.

The seals at Seal Bay Colony are Kekeno seals, also known as the New Zealand fur seal. Seal Bay Colony is located about 15 miles from Wesport, New Zealand and is home to a huge bay in addition to the Kekeno seals.

But I didn’t care about beaches and waves. I just cared about seeing the baby seals, who at first were sleeping.

We were in luck, though. After a few minutes the baby seals started to wake up. Even adult seals are pretty darn cute when they’re hopping all around on rocks, so I was excited to see the baby seals plod around.

Kekeno Seals: Look at this guy jump!
Look at this guy jump! Ok, maybe he's more majestic than cute.

Baby seals, I decided right there in Cape Foulwind, are beyond adorable. We watched this one crawl all over his mom trying to wake her up and feed.

Seals in New Zealand: Baby Kekeno Seal and Mom
"Come on, Mom! It's time to get up!"
Seals in New Zealand: Baby seal feeding.
"I'm hungry!"

Kekeno seals have a thick layer of blubber that keeps them a comfortable temperature while in the water. This means on land they can get quite hot; they overcome this by frequent dips in the ocean and sometimes sleeping half in and half out of the water. Kekeno seals can even sleep underwater and can hold their breath for 30 minutes before needing to surface to breathe – which they often do without even waking.

Seals in New Zealand: A seal cooling off in the water.
A seal cooling off in the water.

In light of this information, I considered myself lucky to be seeing quite a few sleeping on the rocks and frolicking around. Especially this little cutie:

Baby Seals in New Zealand: Baby seal looking all content.
Baby seal looking cute as can be.

In case you haven’t gotten enough cute baby seals in your system, I took this video while at the seal colony at Cape Foulwind, which also highlights a scuffle between the powerful male bull seal and a younger male who dared to threaten his authority.

 

About Gina

I'm a former travel agency marketing director turned freelance travel writer. My editorial and copywriting work has been published on and in USA TODAY, Travel + Leisure, the Travel Channel Cities app, TripSavvy, and many more online and print publications. I especially love sharing my knowledge of traveling with limited vacation time, making the most of cruise ports of call, and vacationing with kids. I also enjoy sharing my favorite travel gear and products to make traveling easier!

Comments

  1. Gina says

    January 30, 2013 at

    It was, Jennifer! I had to drag myself away from them. 🙂

  2. Jennifer says

    January 30, 2013 at

    Oh my gosh, the baby seals are so cute! How amazing it must have been to see them.

About One Day in a City

One Day in a City: Start Here
Hi! I'm Gina, a former cruise and tour marketing director turned independent travel writer who helps those short on time make the most of their travels, even if you just have 24 hours to spend somewhere. Read More...

Travel Writing

Gina Tarnacki Writing

Top Travel Tips

Travel Resources and Websites to Make Your Vacation Easier

Travel Inspiration

One Day in a City: Start Here
I have over a decade of experience working in the travel industry and use what I've learned to help you take control of your travels and design YOUR best trip with however much vacation time you have. Start Here...

Recent Posts

  • Should You Use a Travel Agent for Your Disney World Vacation? 
  • Ultimate List of the Best Cities to Visit in Europe
  • 20 Best Beaches in California to Add to Your Bucket List
  • Best Weekend Getaways in Michigan: A Local’s Ultimate Guide
  • The Best Winter Family Vacations for Fun and Snow

Search for a Destination…

Contact
Advertise
Content Writing Services
Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Disclosure

Copyright © 2023 · One Day in a City is a property of Ports and Pen Media LLC.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided 'as is' and is subject to change or removal at any time.