seals, up close and personal

In Kaikoura tonight and tomorrow night. One of the places known for wildlife - so opportunities to swim with dolphins, see penguins, albatrosses and such and go whale watching. I signed up to go swimming with seals, but it got cancelled due to the weather. Walked instead to the local seal colony. A handful of seals lying around, right next to the parking lot. You could get just a few feet from them (lots of warning signs to stay 10 metres back and not to disturb the seals as they can bite if threatened, which of course everyone is ignoring). Seals go out to sea hunting for food for days at a time, so when they get back to shore, they are exhausted and mostly sleep. Occasionally, one would switch position and this caused great excitement and much snapping of pictures, until he/she found a new, more comfortable position, and went back to sleep. Reminds me a bit of my dog actually.