Leopard seal basks in the warmth of a Napier beach as August temperature record broken

Even a lone leopard seal enjoyed basking in what proved to be a record-warm August day on Marine Parade on Sunday.

Megan Bigg said she was out enjoying a walk on Sunday morning and spotted the seal on the limestone by the basketball courts.

She watched the animal before it the sea and described the moment as “the best 10 minutes of my morning walk”.

Department of Conservation senior ranger community Lindsay Tallman said it wasn’t unusual to see such animals on their own, with one previously seen at Pourerere Beach in Central Hawke’s Bay earlier in the month.

A leopard seal was seen enjoying the warm weather in Napier along Marine Parade on Sunday. Photo / Megan Bigg

“They are usually solitary, so it’s not uncommon to see individuals on our coastlines resting before heading back out to sea, with several sightings reported to the DoC Hawke’s Bay team every year.”

Tallman said it wasn’t necessary to interfere unless the animals were sick, injured or posed a risk.

“Leopard seals primarily inhabit the Antarctic pack ice, but during autumn and winter they disperse northward through the Southern Ocean and sometimes visit New Zealand.”

Napier was forecast to break its August temperature record set in 1973 of 22.2C and did so at midday on Sunday, reaching 22.4C.

MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said the record-breaking temperature was aided by a northwesterly wind “warming” as it descended over the Kaweka Forest Park and Ruahine Range.

“There were 80km/h wind gusts happening at the same time and those warm winds off the ranges is what helped it become a record rather than just a normal warm day.”

Corrigan said Hastings reached a high of 24C on Sunday at 1pm.

“Hastings is further inland and is surrounded by more land that, in the afternoon, can heat up without the moderating influence of the ocean.”

On Saturday, a high of 19.9C was recorded in Napier and 20.3C in Hastings.

The average August temperature recorded at Napier Airport was typically 15C, Corrigan said. Monday’s temperatures dipped to around that, so the weekend temperatures were “well above what you would normally expect”.

An average wind speed of 56km/h was recorded at Napier Airport, which was “unusually strong”.

The strongest gusts in the region over the past few days were recorded along the Takapau Plains in Central Hawke’s Bay at 93km/h at 3pm on Saturday.

Corrigan said gales in the South Island were expected to travel up the country and reach Hawke’s Bay on Monday night with the southerly bringing cooler-than-average weather and frosts over the next couple of days.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.