cape foulwind seal colony

An amazing opportunity to see the seals at play see the mums push the babies up the rocks or see them playing or sun bathing. A short walk on a good footpath. Ample parking, toilets and ice cream.

The viewing platform was positioned very well. Walking to platform was very easy. We saw many seals with their young.

Came here on a day trip out of Westport on our way down the West coast. Had breakfast at an excellent café just the other side of the cape, that is thoroughly recommended. Took a nice walk along the cliffs to the seal colony. The whole experience was great. Seeing the seals and the walk, both thoroughly recommended!

If you haven't seen seals before you will be amazed. But it is the wild coastline which can take your breathe away. This is totally untamed and wild. You can imagine the early sailboats battling along the coast and extracting every bit of seamanship out of early Mariners. Even today this coast claims the lives of some of those who dare to challenge it.

The viewing point for the seal colony is a short walk from a beautiful beach with impressive views of the rocky outcrops off the coast. In early March when we visited the mothers were still there with their pups. We saw one mother nursing her pup while basking in the late summer sun and several pups swimming in the pools and clambering over the rocks calling for their mothers. It's true that the seals are a bit further away than at Kaikoura so take a pair of binoculars if you can but even without them there is still a lot to observe. Well worth the visit for the magnificent coastline. You can walk up to the Foulwind light which is only a few km further round the coast for further great views.

Cape Foulwind is just an amazing view. I love the interaction with Weka and the walk is worth it. However it is not the best of seal colonies as you really need binoculars to be able to see them in any detail. But I will be back.

Couple of weka wondering the car park! In addition to the seal colony on the beach. Very nice coastal walk

If you are not going to make it to Kaikoura then maybe it's worth going. During our trip we stopped at the Oahu stream near Kaikoura and we were able to see the seals up close. We decided to stop here because it is always fun to see seals. We were extremely disappointed after our Kaikoura experience. The seals are far away, you are up high and can see them on the rocks but not the wow factor that you get at Kaikoura.

We visited late afternoon - it was relatively quiet. Some confusion about location as the local signs say the Seal Colony is at Tauranga Bay - so does the DOC website. Agree with other reviews - the path was good and well maintained. Good viewing platform and in late Jan/early Feb is when they have the pups there too. To get good photos you need a zoom lens but lovely to watch them sleeping or playing. Would check the wind direction before going there and carry a jacket in case!

A good path takes you up to the look out for the seals but you would need a pusher/helper or a powerchair. Beautiful beach that is also accessible for wheelchairs tha can go on sand, such as the Extreme X8.

One of New Zealand’s most accessible seal colonies can be found just out of Westport on the edge of Tauranga Bay. The 10 -minute track from the car park is suitable for wheelchairs and leads to viewing platforms directly overlooking the colony. This place is a must visit if in the area. Get a good camera and Binoculars

Struck beaut conditions, great track, nice company, got great views, lived the seals, left satisfied! Only small thing is hundreds of others on same day, but everyone was friendly. Definitely recommend.

This is a brilliant coastal walk that will give you the chance to see secluded bays, a lighthouse and of course the seal colony. We did this walk on a morning in late summer so the weather was perfect for a stroll and not too cold to stand and watch the seals. You won't miss the seals because a purpose built viewing platform has been put in place that overlooks the colony.Facilities are available at the end of the trail, where you will find toilets and a snack van on pleasant days.The trail is not circular, so if driving yourself you will need to backtrack at some point to return to your vehicle. We were fortunately on a bus tour and were dropped off at one end and picked up at the other. The colony is found south of Westport on the road down the glorious and truly amazing West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.

I would not make the Cape a destination but rather an incidental stop along the coast. Typically clean facilities but many tour busses are a negative.

We spent around 2 hours walking the trail from Tauranga Bay to the lighthouse at Cape Foulwind. The path is well marked and it is well maintained. The views along the coastline are superb and certainly repay the effort required to make the walk. There are a few stiles along the way which might be a difficulty for some. We stopped at the viewing platform for the seals on the way to the lighthouse and we were disappointed that we could not see any. However, when we returned we were amazed to see a great number of seals and their pups up on the rocks. We spent a good hour or more enjoying watching these amazing creatures. A great afternoon out and no charges of any kind. A must do!