It's been quite an escapade for a sea lion who spent a day at the pools in Dunedin.

It initially made its way down a track from a nearby beach, and sat in the sun at the front door of the St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool complex.

David Agnew from DOC in Dunedin says he was called down to check and found the sea lion curled up and quite happy near outdoor tables where people were having coffee.

He put some cones and danger tape up and told pool staff to call him if the visitor moved.

A few hours later he received a call saying it had indeed moved - through self-opening double doors, past reception and through the cafe, and was now lying beside the toddler pool.

It took some hours, with the sea lion enjoying a few laps in the adult pool, before it was finally coaxed out - the way it came in, through the cafe, past reception and out the self-opening doors.

"Not the average weekend," Mr Agnew says. "Both for people in the pool, cause it was pretty bizarre for them. There must have been 100-150 people either in the pool or in the surrounds sunning, and drinking coffee from the cafe, and here's this endangered sea lion coming and lying down beside them. So it caused quite a bit of interest."

Mr Agnew says sea lions go where they want to and are hard to stop. "They just push past. They're a strong animal."

He adds, "This one we know is a young male sea lion, a two-year-old male. At the end it was almost like it had enough and seemed to remember the way it had come in, and walked up the steps and walked through the cafe and out the door."

The pools are being cleaned so they are ready for swimmers again tomorrow.