Swimming with the fur seals in Kaikoura

I took a deep breath and steadily prepared myself for the shock of the cold water as I splashed down from the small boat into the sea below. Thankfully I was relieved as it wasn’t as bad as I had expected, although being dressed in a super thick wetsuit complete with booties and head piece probably also helped protect me a fair bit.

I was spending a glorious sunny Saturday morning in Kaikoura swimming with the local fur seals. To those not in the know, or perhaps don’t often read my blog, Kaikoura is a small town on the north eastern side of New Zealand’s South Island. It is also home to some of the best marine life experiences to be found in the country and as you might expect is one of my absolute favourite places to spend a weekend. I literally grin from ear to ear when I am here.

Looking out to sea at Kaikoura, a small town positioned in a stunning setting

Seal Swim is a local family run company which takes adventurers out on a cruise around the rock strewn areas of the Kaikoura headland to launch themselves into the water to swim with the vast seal population that live here. And what an experience it is. From start to finish I was so impressed. Vanessa had called me the day before to ask if it would be possible for me to join an earlier tour. I was originally booked for lunchtime but the weather and sea conditions were looking better for earlier that day and she recommended the change. And what a good call that was. When we first arrived Vanessa was so worried about a change of wind direction which would leave the sea rougher than expected and possibly ruin the experience. She offered the option to cancel or change to another day. There were only six of us , three couples and everyone of us agreed to risk it. We were so fortunate that we did……

We used the small changing rooms tucked just off the back of Kaikoura’s main through fare to change into our outfits. Fitted wet suits and jackets that would keep us warm for up to an hour in the water.

Seals perched all over the rocks around the Kaikoura headland, a perfect spot for a ‘seal swim’

And then down the street we all marched feeling slightly ridculous to our bright yellow seal swim bus for the short drive around to South Bay where our boat and guide awaited us. As we approached the marina I spotted kayakers heading out on a tour. I was instantly reassured, surely if those guys are going out it couldn’t be expected to get that rough. We climbed out off our bus to head a short distance down the jetty to climb aboard the similarly bright yellow boat. The seal swim boat is a posh version of a zodiac with bench seats to pop yourselves down on and a small amount of space for all your gear. We were all super eager to get out in the water so we soon headed out from the harbour after a safety briefing from our guide. The views across the peninsula where spectacular from the water and once we rounded a rocky part of the open sea we were surrounded by small sheltered pools, all populated by seals of varying sizes and ages perched on the rocks and playing around in the water. It was high tide so conditions couldn’t have been better. It meant usually inaccessible areas where available and we swam and squeezed our way through small shallow points to reach a perfect little area. As I peered through my face mask down beneath me i encountered a giant kelp forest and so many fish. Deeper than the other parts it was quite compact with rocky outcrops all around and the seals seemed noticibly curious. Alistair our guide informed us that the seals in these parts visit to relax and chill, they feed on the ample amounts of squid available further out to sea so are here to sleep and regain energy. The head into the water to cool down from the heat of the days. As they don’t fish here so they are more playful and with the youngsters everything is a curiousity.

The raised land at Kaikoura encouages small rock pools where fur seals love to hang out.

There were this years babies, mothers and juvenial young males all wondering what these strange beings were entering their world. They soon sussed us out. No threat to them whatsoever given our swimming skills were dismal at best compared to their talents. They proceeded to prove this time again, swimming around us, then gradually coming closer until we were almost nose to nose before soaring off in a flash to either fly under us, around us or in some cases actually jumping over us. I lost count of the times that floating on the surface I had two sets of big black eyes swim up to within inches of my face. They are far more daring than what you may expect, but after all you are in their world and abiding to their rules….

The diverse marine life at Kaikoura is a highlight for the town