by Donatella Malfitano
May 18, 2010
Page 1 : Kaikoura and Kekeno
Kaikoura, situated on the South Island of New Zealand, is a truly special place. It’s a place where the ocean meets the mountains, like few other places in the world. If you stand on the pristine beach or swim in the crystal clear waters, the view before you is of snow-capped mountains. They are so close, it’s almost as though you could reach out and touch them.
One of the particularities of the Kaikoura peninsula, apart from its natural beauty and the environmental initiatives that are in place there, is that it is strongly orientated toward promoting conservation, green management, and the protection of its abundant marine wildlife. Whales (Sperm, Southern Right, Long-Finned Pilot, and Orca), dolphins (Dusky, Common, Bottlenose, Hectors), fur seals and a variety of seabirds are all visitors and inhabitants of the Kaikoura canyon, making its waters and shoreline a unique place where special, once-in-a-lifetime experiences are possible.
A strong respect for wildlife lies behind every tour in Kaikoura. This is something that is obvious to me, and something that makes me appreciate the place even more: we are visitors to the world of wildlife. Nothing is forced or pre-arranged, and all interactions with the wildlife are limited so as not to disrupt them in their natural habitats. All activities in Kaikoura appear to me as animal-oriented, rather than as tourist-oriented.
Several colonies of New Zealand Fur Seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) are permanent residents in the area; breeding occurs in some of those areas. The seals are also called Kekeno, which is their Maori name and which means “to look around.” Kekeno had been hunted close to extinction up until the 19th century. Once an important source of food for the Maori people in the area, they were almost wiped out with the arrival of the first European settlers in the 18th century, who killed them for their rich pelts and oils.
The current New Zealand population of fur seals is around 100,000. It is estimated that, before fur seal hunting began in the mid-1700s, their numbers were close to 1,000,000. They eventually became legally protected in 1894, and in 1946 a total hunting ban was enforced. Since then, with the help of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1978), their population has slowly been recovering, with an annual increase in numbers of 2%.
In Kaikoura, it is common to encounter small groups of seals while walking along the shoreline of Point Kean, as they rest there after the long swims they take in the ocean in search for food. They generally spend many days at a stretch in the water, and in winter can even spend up to three weeks in the water foraging for food. Therefore, resting is an extremely vital activity for the them. Signboards warn visitors not to disturb them and to keep at least 10 metres distance from the seals (that suggested safety distance is 20 metres further along the coast). In fact, fur seals have the tendency to become very aggressive if disturbed, and even more so during the breeding season and when females are protecting their pups.
In Point Kean itself, seals move from the water to seek shelter amongst the vegetation, actually sometimes selecting their resting places very close to a car park which was built prior to the seal colony becoming so important and protected.
The easy, close encounters one can have with these creatures are very special. I spent many hours just sitting on the beach, watching the Kekeno returning from their long ocean swims, abandoning their exhausted bodies onto the rocks or under bushes. I always marvel at the contrast of their clumsy awkward way of walking on land and the sudden transformation, when they reach the water, to fantastic natural swimmers, so relaxed and so in harmony with the ocean.
Next Page : Swimming With The Fur Seals
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