The search for sea lions - Victory Beach

New Zealand is home to much wildlife, and we have seen quite a lot of it! But, always looking for more, we really wanted to see some sea lions. We have seen many, many fur seals, and though they are super cute we haven't seen even one sea lion. (Although I've recently read that fur seals are actually misnamed sea lions, their external ears being proof of that.)

Somehow the need to see a sea lion turned into our self imposed quest...

Tussock dotted farmland

During our tour at the Albatross Centre, we eagerly asked our guide if she knew where it was most likely to see sea lions on the Otago Peninsula, since we had visited quite a few beaches already. She first advised Allan's Beach, where we look that morning, and if not there, give Victory Beach a try. We drove there as soon as we finished the Albatross tour.

En route to Victory Beach

From the carpark it was about 40 min walk to the beach. As usual in New Zealand, the walk itself was really pretty. First through farmland, then through dunes overflowing with flax and yellow lupin. The flax you see everywhere in New Zealand, but we haven't seen this much lupin before. 

Then we suddenly stumbled upon the beach. 

New Zealand flax

We intensely looked in both directions, but couldn't see anything seal or sea lion like. But, having learned from our previous experiences, we decided to walk north anyway. It's so hard to spot these animals, if you don't know where to look.

Victory Beach

And that was proven once again. After walking a few minutes, we saw something lying at the beach. Was it one of those kelp heaps? It wasn't moving for sure, but we walked towards it anyway. 

Coming closer we saw that it actual was an animal. But was it still alive? Her hind flippers and eyes were covered in flies... 

Is it alive?

As we closed in, she did move and it was definitely a sea lion! It didn't like us being too close and showed us her impressive set of teeth. All good. We kept some distance.

We still felt she wasn't the healthiest looking specimen, but later learned that sea lions are often covered in flies when lying at the beach. 

Look at those teeth!

We continued our walk, but didn't encounter any more sea lions. At the end of the beach, on the rocky outcrops were however a dozen or so fur seals. And some oystercatchers, and we did see some very freshly made penguins tracks. The walkers we talked to a few minutes before told us they saw two yellow-eyed penguins coming out of the water, but we just missed them...

Fur seal coming ashore

We walked back, and 'our' sea lion was still there. At the same spot, but her head was now towards the sea instead of the dunes, and she was sound asleep. 

She couldn't be bothered with us being near this time. 

Sleeping beauty

We walked back the same way we came. Today we saw albatrosses, red-billed gulls with chicks, oystercatchers, fur seals, white-faced herons, paradise shell ducks, pied stilts, and a sea lion. Not a bad day at all!

Sea lion at Victory Beach