Red Rock Reserve and Seals

The kids had a half day of school on Tuesday, so we drove to Owhiro Bay and took a hike.  Below are pictures of our adventure.  The hike was 7km long or 4.5 miles round trip.  The kids were tired and I heard a little complaining, but overall they did well.

We stopped for a lunch at a big rock.  The kids had fun climbing and eating.

 The entire walk was along the beach, it was beautiful.  We got to see it in different light and some areas had sandy beaches while others had rocks galore.  Hyrum insisted on carrying rocks, first they were put in his hood as he walked, when that became too much the jacket came off and he dragged it along with a large rock in the sleeve.  The jacket will not be the same, but it was worth having a wonderful, happy hiker.

 The kids discovered a fun "house"   The large bush could be crawled through.  They entered where Zachary is standing and could exit at the top.  Fun little discovery.

 Here are a couple of photos of the red rocks.  The two Maori legends are that a chief was collecting shellfish and was clamped down on and bled on the rocks, or his daughters grief stricken over his late return from sea gashed themselves on the rocks.  I prefer the first.

We finally made it to the seal colony.  It is a colony of bachelor males that were unsuccessful in their attempt to be the breeding male in the colonies on the south island.  There were quite a few all lounging on the rocks.  A few even moved for us.

 Just a few photos for fun.  All the kids were tired by the end of the hike.  Sabrina spent a few minutes on Zachary's shoulders, and more than a few on mine.  We all made it to the end and enjoyed a dinner from McDonald's drive-through.