Swimming with the fur seals, in Kaikoura

Seal Swim Kaikoura afforded me the fantastic opportunity of mixing it up with the playful New Zealand fur seals. First though I needed to get dressed and geared-up for such an occasion, so I headed into the changing rooms at the back of their office in Kaikoura’s main street.  Decked out in a snug fitting buoyant wet suit complete with snorkel and mask I was all set to trickily wade my way over to the distinctive yellow Seal Swim Bus. During our short journey our enthusiastic crew told us all about the seals and how the location chosen to swim in changed daily dependent on the clarity of the water and playfulness of the seals. I was reminded that any interaction was at their discretion and it was crucial to remember that this was a wild encounter. Luckily New Zealand fur seals are a naturally curious bunch and as we approached in the Seal Swim yellow zodiac boat – yes there is a lot of yellow going on - the younger pups were soon inquisitive, peering down at us eager to discover what these odd things were! Impatient to get in the water I donned my face mask, set up my snorkel and gently guided myself over the edge of the boat. The sea water instantly felt on the cold side – it was the Pacific Ocean after all – and the waves a little choppy, but this soon mattered not one iota as I began to see movement around me in the water. Clambering about on solid ground they were a clumsy bunch, but in the water, it was a different matter entirely as they twisted, turned, spun and weaved, gliding through the water uninhibited. All the time I got the impression though that they were still being mischievously inquisitive.  I kicked against the tide putting my head down just in time to see a seal swim right up to my mask and peer direct at me. For a few precious seconds I literally was nose to nose with a fur seal! I struggled to think of an adequate word to help describe this amazing close-up encounter – perhaps honoured.