Mingling with seals in New Plymouth

Before heading towards Wellington, where our ferry goes at 8^th of January, we spent another couple of nights at a couchsurfing place near Inglewood. It is a super friendly, welcoming family from Holland, living in a house they built themselves on a little hill surrounded by paddocks. They are amazing hosts and we are having a great time filled with playing guitar, interesting talks, relaxing and catching up with our photos and the blog.

Following their advice we went to see a local seal colony right next to the port. It was amazing to watch them – they are quite used to humans, because it is a popular fishing spot as well. As long as you don't get too close or come between them and the water, they are quite relaxed. We couldn't stop taking photos :)

Next to the colony, Paritutu rock is a nice natural lookout and worth the many steps and the steep (almost vertical) climb to the top. We had a good look at the mountain and the surrounding ranges from up there – just a few clouds around it.