Cannibal Bay Beach

Near Owaka in Otago, Cannibal Bay Beach runs 1.1 km.

A wide sweep of sand at the end of Cannibal Bay Road in the Catlins, and one of the beaches New Zealand sea lions haul out on to rest. That is the whole story of this walk. A fellow dog owner reports sea lions on the sand most visits, and DOC backs her up: it says the Catlins coast is frequented by sea lions, other marine mammals and vulnerable birdlife, and that sea lions come ashore here to rest and socialise. So the lead goes on. Clutha District Council’s bylaw is explicit: dog owners must place their dogs on a leash when they are within 20 metres of wildlife, and the bylaw counts any marine mammal as wildlife, which puts sea lions squarely in. DOC asks the same, stay at least 10 m away, 20 m if you are with your dog, always on lead. On a beach where they rest most of the time, that means the lead stays on the whole way. It is an offence under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 to disturb, harass, harm, injure or kill a New Zealand sea lion, and DOC says a dog owner whose dog attacks a seal could face prosecution. Fewer than 10,000 are left, they are Nationally Vulnerable, and the Catlins is one of only two stretches of mainland coast where they are coming back. Three things catch people out. A sleeping sea lion looks a lot like a log or a piece of driftwood from a distance, so scan well ahead and walk the wet sand, which is DOC’s own advice for staying clear of both slumbering animals and the shorebird nests up in the dry sand and driftwood. Never let yourself or the dog get between an animal and the sea. And a pup lying on its own is normal rather than abandoned: its mother can be out feeding for three days or more, and DOC says these solitary pups are the most vulnerable of all to disturbance by people and dogs. Report any harassment to 0800 DOC HOT. The walk itself is simple. Park at the road end, take the short path down to the sand, and follow the beach southwest for about a kilometre to the rocks at the far corner, then turn around. Do not carry on around the point toward Surat Bay. That coast is False Islet Recreation Reserve and conservation area, DOC land with no published dog approval, and on unapproved conservation land a dog is an offence rather than a grey area. Surat Bay is a separate walk with its own access from the Newhaven end, on a leash. Two footnotes. The council does not prohibit dogs at Cannibal Bay and its bylaw does allow a dog off the lead under continuous control, so the lead rule on this page is set by the wildlife rather than by a sign at the gate. And overnighting in a vehicle here is prohibited without the council’s written consent, which surprises a lot of people at that carpark. No track is mapped along the beach, so the line here simply runs down the middle of the sand: treat it as the shape of the bay rather than a route, because the walkable ground moves with the tide.

It sits at the easy end and barely climbs, and takes about 12 min to walk.

Dogs are allowed here, on the lead. This walk is on the map because Petra & Bowzer suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.