Alaina Gillies was enjoying a picnic with her husband Nathan and son Cameron (14) at Brighton Beach in Dunedin on Monday.
They had just finished eating and Ms Gillies stood up to walk towards the water, when she heard a roaring noise and turned around to find a sea lion - believed to be a Brighton regular named Paige - had snuck up as they ate.
"The sea lion was right beside my husband - so he quickly jumped off the picnic blanket.
"She took over and had a great old time," Ms Gillies said.
While the encounter gave her a fright, wonder ensued as they sat on a sandbank watching Paige frolic.
"We just moved away and let her have her picnic," Ms Gillies said.
The family saw Paige flicking sand up with her flippers and trying to knock the lids off containers containing berries and sandwiches with her nose.
Ms Gillies believed Paige was probably trying to investigate the intriguing smells coming from the picnic.
"She had her nose in my son’s shoe at one point. I was worried she was going to eat it ... It was very brave to put her nose into a teenage boy’s shoe," Ms Gillies said.
Paige did not eat anything and seemed unconcerned by the family’s presence.
"He’s been quite interested in the sea lions since then ... He loves it," Ms Gillies said.
After a nap, Paige decided to head back to the ocean, leaving the awestruck family in her wake.
"It definitely made an exciting beach picnic, that’s for sure," Ms Gillies said.
Department of Conservation biodiversity ranger Jim Fyfe said there was a good chance Paige was responsible for a number of recent sea lion sightings in coastal suburbia.
"[She’s] definitely been exploring the neighbourhood of Ocean View and Brighton quite extensively this spring," Mr Fyfe said.
There had been a few times when Paige needed to be shifted off the road, he said.
Sea lions were curious creatures and loved to feel things with their sensitive whiskers.
The picnic spread would have provided enjoyable sensations for the playful pinniped.
The group did exactly the right thing by letting the sea lion inspect the site and move on naturally, Mr Fyfe said.
- Additional reporting by Wyatt Ryder
