Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk, West Coast, NZ - 23 travel reviews for Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk

Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk

Marios Gavalas

NZ Fur Seals are a living soap opera at Tauranga Bay

Marios Gavalas

Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk

Analysis

23 Rankers Reviews

16 Face-to-Face

1 Seal Watching

2 Walking

1 Westport

Suggest an Edit

Write Review

Maps

FREE

Camping NZ NEW

Welcome to New Zealand's most comprehensive database of freely available camping information. This is the only travel map of its kind in NZ.

Open Map

Westport, West Coast

Camping near Westport

Photos

Bell and Jeff

Beyond the flax lie the seals

Bell and Jeff

zoom

Alison mc

Lone Surfer loving life at Tauranga Bay

Alison mc

zoom

Information

Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk

Time: 20 min

From the Tauranga Bay car park follow the high quality short track to platforms overlooking the seal colony and coastline. Here there are picnic facilities, interpretive displays and public toilets.

Details

Feature

Value

Info

Organisation

DOC West Coast

Central government organisation

Location

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Westport

Categories

Seal Watching
Walking
Free

Directions

To Coordinates

Coordinates

-41.7651025581392

171.459252738953

Latitude
-41.7651025581392
Longitude
171.459252738953

Feature	Value	Info
Track Duration	30 mins to 1 hour Track Duration How long does it take to walk this track on average? 30 mins to 1 hour	Track Duration How long does it take to walk this track on average? 30 mins to 1 hour
Track Difficulty	Easy walk Track Difficulty Considering the track's terrain, safety, facilities - how hard is this walk to complete? Easy walk	Track Difficulty Considering the track's terrain, safety, facilities - how hard is this walk to complete? Easy walk
Payment Requirement	Free access/participation Payment Requirement Is there a cost for this experience or is it free? Free access/participation The experience costs no money to access or take part in.	Payment Requirement Is there a cost for this experience or is it free? Free access/participation The experience costs no money to access or take part in.
Track Length	From 500m to 1km Track Length What is the physical length of this track? From 500m to 1km	Track Length What is the physical length of this track? From 500m to 1km
DOC Track Category	Easy access short walk DOC Track Category What type of category does this walking track fall into (as defined by the NZ Department of Conservation)? Easy access short walk Easy walking for up to an hour. Track is well formed, with an even surface. Few or no steps or slopes. Suitable for people of all abilities and fitness. Stream and river crossings are bridged. Walking shoes required.	DOC Track Category What type of category does this walking track fall into (as defined by the NZ Department of Conservation)? Easy access short walk Easy walking for up to an hour. Track is well formed, with an even surface. Few or no steps or slopes. Suitable for people of all abilities and fitness. Stream and river crossings are bridged. Walking shoes required.
Track Managing Organisation	DOC Managed Track Managing Organisation What type of organisation operates this walking track? DOC Managed This track is managed by the Department of Conservation. DOC is a New Zealand government organisation.	Track Managing Organisation What type of organisation operates this walking track? DOC Managed This track is managed by the Department of Conservation. DOC is a New Zealand government organisation.

Nearby

West Coast ▷ Westport

Charming Creek Walkway
West Coast ▷ Westport

Cape Foulwind Walkway
West Coast ▷ Westport

Brakehead Walk
West Coast ▷ Haast

Roaring Billy Falls Walk
West Coast ▷ Haast

Wharekai-Te Kaau Walk
West Coast ▷ Haast

Haast Pass Lookout Track
West Coast ▷ Haast

Historic Haast to Paringa Cattle Track
West Coast ▷ Haast

Smoothwater Bay Track
West Coast ▷ Haast

Thunder Creek Falls

Reviews

Fantastic.
A great walk!
Really nice walk and view to cute seals.
It was a nice short walk, but it was very windy.
Great short pram friendly path to see the seals.

Rating	Count
10/10	11	48%
9/10	6	26%
8/10	5	22%
7/10	1	4%
6/10	0	0%
5/10	0	0%
4/10	0	0%
3/10	0	0%
2/10	0	0%
1/10	0	0%

5.0/5

Great short pram friendly path to see the seals.

Reviewed about 1 year ago

Jane
5.0/5

Really worth it - we saw (not too many) seals and had a perfect sunset in perfect scenery.

Reviewed about 6 years ago

H. Shela
5.0/5

Fantastic.
5 and 8 year old managed the return walk from the seal colony to the lighthouse just fine.

Reviewed about 6 years ago

Melinda Pyke
5.0/5

Awesome!
Visited early Jan. You arrive at the lookout and at first see one or two (I thought we might have been visiting the wrong time of year) but as you keep looking, loads appear! We even saw some out at sea. Really easy 10 minute track to the platform (we wore flip flops) and make sure you look out between the trees at the rocks because more and more seals appear...and people were walking right past them! Could watch for hours.

Reviewed almost 7 years ago

Gary Stone
5.0/5

Really nice walk and view to cute seals.
Our kids loved it.

Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in February 2017

Solvejg Bjerg
4.0/5

It was a nice short walk, but it was very windy.
We saw a lot of seals and native birds.

Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in December 2016

Barbara Knops
5.0/5

Just awesome, the beach and seals are amazing.

Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in November 2016

Jasmin Krause
4.5/5

You see a lot of seals.

Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in April 2016

Monia Sassella
4.5/5

The seals were little hard to see, but fun to watch and thoroughly enjoyed.

Reviewed over 9 years ago and experienced in January 2015

Isabelle
4.5/5

Awesome walk and amazing seeing the seals on the rocks!
We definitely recommend doing it even if it's raining really hard!!!

Reviewed over 10 years ago

Moley
5.0/5

A great walk!
Amazing location, weather and wildlife. Lots of information.

Reviewed about 10 years ago and experienced in March 2014

Siobhan Mee
5.0/5

Super easy 15 minute walk to seals - extra 1 hour to the lighthouse.
Lots of information along the way.

Reviewed about 10 years ago and experienced in March 2014

Oliver Blackmore

5.0/5

Great short pram friendly path to see the seals.

Reviewed about 1 year ago

Jane
5.0/5

Really worth it - we saw (not too many) seals and had a perfect sunset in perfect scenery.

Reviewed about 6 years ago

H. Shela
5.0/5

Fantastic.
5 and 8 year old managed the return walk from the seal colony to the lighthouse just fine.

Reviewed about 6 years ago

Melinda Pyke
5.0/5

Awesome!
Visited early Jan. You arrive at the lookout and at first see one or two (I thought we might have been visiting the wrong time of year) but as you keep looking, loads appear! We even saw some out at sea. Really easy 10 minute track to the platform (we wore flip flops) and make sure you look out between the trees at the rocks because more and more seals appear...and people were walking right past them! Could watch for hours.

Reviewed almost 7 years ago

Gary Stone
5.0/5

Really nice walk and view to cute seals.
Our kids loved it.

Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in February 2017

Solvejg Bjerg
4.0/5

It was a nice short walk, but it was very windy.
We saw a lot of seals and native birds.

Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in December 2016

Barbara Knops
5.0/5

Just awesome, the beach and seals are amazing.

Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in November 2016

Jasmin Krause
4.5/5

You see a lot of seals.

Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in April 2016

Monia Sassella
4.5/5

The seals were little hard to see, but fun to watch and thoroughly enjoyed.

Reviewed over 9 years ago and experienced in January 2015

Isabelle
5.0/5

A great walk!
Amazing location, weather and wildlife. Lots of information.

Reviewed about 10 years ago and experienced in March 2014

Siobhan Mee
5.0/5

Super easy 15 minute walk to seals - extra 1 hour to the lighthouse.
Lots of information along the way.

Reviewed about 10 years ago and experienced in March 2014

Oliver Blackmore
4.5/5

Awesome walk and amazing seeing the seals on the rocks!
We definitely recommend doing it even if it's raining really hard!!!

Reviewed over 10 years ago

Moley
4.0/5

A very easy walk next to the coast with nice view.
In just 15 minutes we saw lots of seals! Even baby seals!!! It's really worth driving there!

Reviewed almost 11 years ago

Ariadna & Omer
3.5/5

Easy walk with steps and viewing platforms.
Great views of rugged coast and West Coast seas. Seals in abundance but no closer than approx 30m.

Reviewed over 11 years ago and experienced in March 2013

Roger Hawkins
4.0/5

Well maintained track that takes you above the fur seal colony (saw quite a few seals) and along the path overlooking the sea - great views,

Reviewed over 11 years ago

Wendy Hawkins
4.0/5

Easy access to good viewing platform.
Nice beach too.

Reviewed almost 12 years ago

Innes Martin
4.5/5

Visited December 1st - lots of baby seals.
Easy walk from the car park and a short drive from Westport.

Reviewed almost 12 years ago

ORfam
5.0/5

Pure nature.

Reviewed over 13 years ago

Barbara
5.0/5

Sleeping lonesome in the campervan at the beach - just the sunset, the sea and us!

Reviewed over 14 years ago and experienced in May 2010

Baumgarten
4.5/5

wonderful to see the seals in their natural habitat.

Reviewed over 14 years ago

Florian Knoepfel

Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk

Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk

Maps

Camping NZ NEW

Photos

Information

Tauranga Bay Seal Colony Walk

Details

DOC West Coast

Track Duration

Track Duration

Track Difficulty

Track Difficulty

Payment Requirement

Payment Requirement

Track Length

Track Length

DOC Track Category

DOC Track Category

Track Managing Organisation

Track Managing Organisation

Nearby

Reviews