A few weekends ago when I was home and the weather was dismal, we headed to Mount Maunganui to walk the base track. We arrived to rain, which cleared, then poured, then cleared again – and we managed the whole walk around before it returned and drove us home. Last year we were drawn to the Mount by a group of New Zealand Fur Seals, which had taken up residence for a while in spring. This year we found young Fur Seals sleeping on the rocks, far above the high tide mark. They looked exhausted, and some were quite thin. Perhaps storms had driven them ashore.

We kept our distance, watching them doze in the sun. They were close to the path in some places, and would occasionally look at particularly loud people walking past. The waves still surged against the rocks, throwing spray into the air. Beads of water tossed in the sunlight and shattered into rainbows.

I hope these seals rested well and have fed themselves up again. People get very excited when they see wildlife like this, and often forget, or don’t know to give them their space. Being respectful and giving animals their safe space is very important, both for their safety and ours.