We are sitting in the golden triangle, anchored in Onetahuti in the Abel Tasman National Park. When you look a the current weather around us and what’s expected tomorrow, it’s hard to believe its even possible, to not just find shelter, but find a piece of paradise, thats blissfully unaware of the carnage headed for Cook Strait tomorrow.

After a peaceful overnight sleep in calm waters and 8-10 knots of breeze, we woke to a warm morning breeze, blue sky and brilliant sunshine. We’d hatched a plan with Salt Lines last night, to climb into the RIB’s and head to the lagoon at Shag Harbour for the high tide at 11:10am, with a stop at the seal colony at Tonga Island afterwards . On the promise of seals and stingrays, we were excited about our plans, but had no idea how special today was going to be.

We split into two groups, with the first group heading off at 10am for the harbour and island tour. They came back an hour later and said it was better than expected. We headed off next (Me, Chris, Tim, Emma and John) with Tim at the helm. We skirted the western end of the bay and headed up round the headland for the 1.4nm trek to Shag Harbour.

As we closed in on the entrance, seals started to appear on the rocky shoreline, relaxed and sunbathing in the autumn sun. We entered the rock lined lagoon and glided slowly through the canyon and up the channel until we reached the end. The water was a delicious jade colour, with birds, seals and stingrays providing the entertainment to the “oohs and ahhs” of the group. The blue sky and warm sunshine, made for a magical experience, but there was more to come.

After 30 minutes in Shag Harbour, we trekked back down the coast to the seal colony at Tonga Island. We could not believe our eyes as we made out several seals lining the rocks on lookout duty, while sleeping, sunbathing or feeding a baby pup at the same time.

Ahead of us in the sheltered lagoon, seal pups were swimming and playing in their own private pool, with a couple of large seals playing between us and the pups, as if to put a subtle barrier in place. The pups popped their heads up as we drifted slowly in their direction and then carried on playing without any fear.

We sat and watched in amazement at these beautiful little animals and they went about their day, frolicking in the sunny, turquoise waters. The larger seals swam around us, underneath us and were more playful, than protector. We could have sat and watched all day, but we were conscious of not disturbing their peace for too long. With lots of photos and video footage, we headed back to Silver Fern, happy with our adventures.

Once we regrouped onboard, Emma decided to join Kevin, John, Johnny, Mike, Tim and Ray and head off on the one hour hike, over the hill to Awaroa for a spot of lunch. Our agreed plan was to lift the anchor later in the day and motor the 4nm up the coast to pick them up.

Meanwhile Matt and Chris hatched a plan to head back over to Tonga Island and do some snorkelling near the seals. They suspected the seals would be even more curious, if they were in the water with them. With snorkelling gear in hand, they jumped in the RIB and headed back off across the bay. To their amazement, they saw a trailer sailer in the distance, with the large fins of six orca whales trailing behind.

As they sat and watched, two of the orcas turned in their direction and headed directly for the RIB. What unfolded was the most incredible wildlife encounter of their lives, as two orcas swam underneath and along side the RIB, for a really special encounter.

Matt and Chris flagged away the idea of swimming with the seals and instead came back to Silver Fern, excited with their encounter and desperate to tell Sharon and I about it and share the video footage. We watched as Chris transferred the footage to my laptop and played the orca videos and excitedly shared the story.

Matt who is a trained diver and has a real passion for the ocean’s animals, had the happiest face, I have ever seen on video, once he realised, what had just happened. Make sure you watch the highlights video on Facebook or Instagram. The shore gang eventually called us up from Awaroa and requested the pick up, so Matt and Chris took Silver Fern up the coast, to collect out motley bunch, before returning to the same spot for another night at anchor.

It was Chris and my turn to make dinner, so led by Chris, we whipped up a pork stir fry, with lots of veges, followed by ice-cream, custard and fruit for dessert. Chris showed the rest of the crew the video clips from today and we checked the weather again to confirm that, this golden triangle was the place to be for another 2 days.

Join the crew for a sailing adventure

Orcas, Seals and Stingrays

Motueka Roadie

Anchored Down In Anchorage