We met Ben, a young Kiwi naturalist 
, in the lobby at 9, ready and willing to take on a hike billed variously as 'moderate' and 'hard.' This is the lodge's signature challenging activity, a 3-4 hour hike in a New Zealand wildlife preserve that is rarely used. 
It takes visitors through the rain forest, then along the Tasman seacoast through a Tawaki penguin breeding ground (July through December) and ending up at a fur seal colony.
Ben gave us another lecture on the nature of the rain forest. The highway this lodge is on was built in 1965 when the state decided to build a west coast highway (Highway 6). The lodge itself was built to house the workers and only after the highway was completed did it become a tourist destination. Until the highway, this part of the west coast was devoid of humans, and Ben made it clear that much of the land remains unexplored. He told us that should we leave the path and went 40' in either direction off it it was likely we would be the first humans to see what was there. His point, of course, is the same one that our Backroads guides have been making…that we are in a forest primeval.
We saw no penguins on this trip. It's not yet their season and although there are some around, they're molting, are very shy and cannot swim.
The seacoast is spectacular, of course, and the weather today was perfect. 
Moderate temperature, a quartering sea breeze that kept the notorious sand flies at bay and a crystal clear sky 
had Ben dancing in his boots with excitement.
Our objective was the Bachelor Seal Colony located down the coast a piece…a good piece as it turned out. We set out along this beautiful beach and crossed a couple of enormous rock falls that required attention to footing and two free hands. Ben had timed the trip for low tide; otherwise we couldn't get to the colony. Low tide or not, we got wet. 
He briefed us on the behavior of the seals. We would be seeing males…hence the name 'bachelor'…and we might see females passing by (we did). He was careful to let us know that they were nervous and that we should avoid putting ourselves between them and the water. They could get pretty agitated, and no one wants to tangle with 250# of angry seal, now does one? He worked the coast staying about 20 feet in front of us to check out basking seals behind boulders. 
He gave them all plenty of warning and they all responded as he'd predicted…once they knew we were there and were coming through they headed for the safety of the water. 
There were well over a hundred seals on this day, a pretty formidable group. He's seen the colony as large as 600 at sometimes during the year, but generally in the winter. 
Once we'd had our fill of the seals, it was time for the, um, finale: the ascent of a 400+ cliff back to Highway 6. Everyone did just fine aided by well anchored lines and step pads hewn by the lodge's owner six or seven years ago. I'd have been in a little trouble, perhaps, had the climb been in the open, but it was through the dense vegetation of the forest and it offered plenty of handholds as well as the confidence that if you slipped you really couldn't go far. My colleagues are an intrepid bunch despite the fact that some don't appear to be. 
Another lesson, no?
We were back at the lodge at 1.30. Another well designed adventure that ended well.
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