Ano Nuevo – Part 1
Young Elephant Seal. I think it's a male. Is he smiling at us?
It was a Friday. Neither Tom or I were working that day so decided to go and see the elephant seals at Ano Nuevo – on the San Mateo coast.
Ano Nuevo is a State Park and the best place to see these unusual seals. They are called elephant seals because the males have long noses which resemble the trunk of an elephant. The males can grow to sixteen feet and weigh two and a half tons – about the size of a Volkswagen Bug. Elephant seals spend most of their lives in the ocean and only come ashore to breed, give birth and molt. Up to the first half of the 19th century, their numbers were prolific but from 1850 onwards they were slaughtered for their blubber. They are absolutely fearless and did not escape to the water when they were being hunted so they were easy prey. Towards the end of the 19th century it was estimated they were only 100 elephant seals left off the coast at Baja, California. In 1922 they became a protected species. Gradually their numbers have increased and the first elephant seal was spotted on Ano Nuevo Island in 1955.
The best time of the year to see the seals is between December and March when the females haul themselves ashore to give birth and the males arrive for the breeding season. During that period, visitors are restricted and reservations have to be made for access to the viewing sites which are led by docents. I have never visited Ano Nuevo at that time and it is on my wish list. The trouble is that the weekends get very booked up and as the weather is unpredictable it is always a gamble to book ahead. Tom has been during the winter and he said the sight of males fighting to protect their harem was amazing.
Back to this visit. The sun was shining and it promised to be a lovely day. We set off at 7 am and headed for the Santa Cruz mountains. As we got close to the summit, what did we see in front of us? Fog! The Santa Clara valley was bathed in sunshine behind us but as we descended towards Santa Cruz the temperature and visibility plunged.
Tom had scoped out a couple of possible destinations for breakfast but as neither opened until 8 am we had twenty minutes to kill. We drove along West Cliff Drive and found a parking spot overlooking the beach, wharf and boardwalk. Outside the car it was chilly but Tom went for a stroll.
Path out to Ano Nuevo. Looking back towards the visitors center. We're about half way there.
After a wonderful breakfast at The Samba Rock Acai Cafe in Santa Cruz we found our way to Highway 1 North and headed out of town. As it was a working day and just before 9 am, the traffic was heavy in town but once we were past the outskirts, with the ocean off to our left, there were less cars about. The sun was still not visible but we had high hopes that it would appear and burn off the fog or maybe the sky will be clearer further north.
The hills were still very green. Normally at this time of the year they would be starting to turn yellow before donning their summer hue of brown – sorry – gold. We have the recent rains to thank for that. We noticed how much more water there was in the Lexington Reservoir in Los Gatos on our journey through the mountains this morning.
North of Davenport patches of blue skies were spotted and occasionally the sun shone through. By the time we turned in the Ano Nuevo State Park the sun had disappeared again.
The park opens at 8 am and there is a $10 entrance fee. We were handed a map and drove on to the car park. Here there are picnic tables and restrooms. When we got out of the car it was chilly and I was glad I’d brought my sweatshirt.
The trail is called the Ano Nuevo Point Trail and it is easy to find. We set off down a gravel path and soon came to a fork. Off to the right is the Cove Beach via Pond Loop trail but it is closed at the moment. A sign across the path states that it is closed to protect natural resources and for the safety of the public.
Right on the fork is displayed part of an old wooden steam sailing schooner called Point Arena which sunk while unloading tanbark at Pigeon Point Light House in 1913. A five ton section of the ship washed ashore at Ano Nuevo and was uncovered by a storm in 1983. An information board nearby listed 19 shipwrecks that had occurred between Pigeon Point and Ano Nuevo from 1853-1953.
As we continued on down the trail, we could see Ano Nuevo Island offshore. 200 years ago it was attached to the mainland. In 1872 a light house was built on the island because of the number of shipwrecks. Maintaining the light house and the houses built to accommodate the light house keeper and his assistant was difficult, due to the constant onslaught by weather and the invasion of seals, sea lions and birds. In 1948 a marker buoy with an automatic light, sound and radar reflector was installed just offshore from the island. The light house is now closed to the public and the birds and sea mammals have completely overrun the buildings and they are rapidly deteriorating.
To be continued
June 10 2010 06:44 pm | Special Places
