The Catlins, on the Southern Scenic Route

The Catlins



 The Catlins by its very nature is an extraordinary area of New Zealand. It can be found in the bottom south east corner of the South Island, and crosses the Otago and Southland boundaries.  The Catlins area is a part of the Southern Scenic Route which starts from Dunedin and follows the coast around the bottom of the South Island. It then runs up the edge of Fiordland as far as Te Anau, known as the gateway to Fiordland. What is special about the Catlins? Well going there will probably answer that question for everyone. And for each it will be in a unique and different way. 

Getting to the Catlins is most often by vehicle. Once there it's like you have passed into another time and place, things are different here.
On our trip we approached the Catlins from the south (Invercargill). Traveling through flat farm land mixed with some low rolling country and being near the coast there are areas of wetlands but no real hint of what is to come. The same applies when approached from the north end, Balclutha, where the country is clear rolling farmland.  
 The first thing to happen is the cell phone stops, and the land takes on a different look, roads become more winding, the bush increases with larger trees and the coast appears in places, a wild coast and a lonely coast but certainly not an empty coast. The Catlins area is full of native bird life and many unique coastal animals and birds, like the rare Yellow Eyed Penguin.

Just stepping back a 1000 or more years ago the Catlins area  had a population of Maori people living there. Captain Cook marked it off on his chart about 1770. Then the sealers and whalers arrived some time after that, around 1810 to 1840.

Captain Edward Cattlin (with two t’s) was the first European to stake a land claim in the area about 1840. This is of course where the Catlins name came from.

Settlers arrived, looked around and liked what they saw, a sea of trees (wood). They quickly set to and set up the first of many settlements around the mid 1850’s and down came the trees. Suddenly it was busy with nine timber mills operating that sent 107 ships laden with house building timber north, to Dunedin and Christchurch. 

With the clearing of the land for timber some of which became farms over time and other areas were cleared specifically for farming. Since then farming has become the mainstay of the area to this day.

The Catlins has survived all this to become one of New Zealand’s special places with a rare mixture of beautiful native bush, natural exposed coast and an array of birds and animals, many of which are endemic to the area.

During the nineteen seventies I was one of the many folk who came to work in the Catlins, and like those before me who have been coming for the last 150 years, I had an eye to make a dollar. My dollar was from the sea, paua diving and crayfishing.   During my time there I was lucky enough to see the area from the land and sea. I quickly grew to love the place and have never stopped loving it.
 
Despite people like me coming to work the Catlins, it has however a way of holding its own.  As time has gone by much of the native bush has recovered to some extent from the ravages of the timber mills. As a result of this regeneration, the sites of these old mills can only be found with the help of local knowledge.
 Many of the locals here have a very long history with the area. Some still farming, one or two fishing, others now turning to tourism and its many facets. Other people like myself just keep on returning, like some kind of homing instinct.

Our first revisit  to the Catlins about four years ago was only for a couple of days and wasn’t enough so we  came back in early June 2007 for four days, and although we saw lots we still could have easily used another two days.

Our trip starts this time from Invercargill in the south. We worked our way north up through the Catlins and then out to Balclutha at the northern end. If you would like to follow this journey in images click here.
Again this was a journey of rediscovery and I would like to share some of those places with you.
 I would direct your attention to the link at the bottom of this article which shows the detail of the Southern Scenic Route and the highlights of the Catlins area.
I must also point out that if you also want to do this trip you need the best map that you can find, see the Dept of Conservation.
What I would like to do with this article is steer you to a few must do’s that will be well worth your time and effort.
Leaving Invercargill we travel through the rich southern farmland of eastern Southland, reaching the coast and the small settlement of  Fortrose. From the cliffs above we got good views the coast and  a colony of diving sea birds, Cormorants, seemingly untroubled by their sometimes wild environment. Check Living at Sea.

Waipapa Point Lighthouse was the next stop, site of New Zealand’s worst civilian shipping disaster in 1881 when 131 souls were lost in the wreck of the S.S. Turarua. Not far from here is Slope Point, New Zealand’s  southernmost land point and worth a visit for that reason. Take a hat and hold onto it, it can be wild down there.
Traveling on to Curio Bay (no dogs please). Another wild place if there is a big sea running. But what is there is one of the worlds finest examples of a fossil forest. This can only be viewed at low tide.

Next is Waikawa, a small settlement with a shop and accommodation and most importantly a very good museum and people with lots of knowledge.
 
Travelling on to the McLean Falls, a forest walk to a spectacular waterfall. About 40 minutes return. Take your camera and tripod if you have one.

Cathedral Caves was next and must be done between low tides. A lovely coastal bush walk takes you down to the beach, then a short walk to the caves.

Tautuku Bay There is a board walk at the south end and a easy drive to the beach at the north end. There are many old tractors and devices that take Crib owners along the beach and across the tidal river to the  holiday cribs  on the peninsula. When you leave and if you are traveling north, look back at the view at the top of the hill.

Papatowai, another small settlement with a dump station, accommodation and beach walks.

From here there is a choice of the main road north or the long and winding but much more interesting road, which I recommend.

Purakaunui Falls is on this road and also worth going to. Only 10 min walk and again take the camera and tripod.

Purakaunui Bay, a must do if you like wild and beautiful coastal scenery. You may find you are the only one there. Easy to miss take a good look at the map, it is only a small road leading to the bay.

Pounawea is next with a camping ground and only a short distance to Owaka where there is fuel, shops and a pub. This is a small farming town.

 Surat Bay, near Pounawea, a beach named after an unlucky sailing ship which founded here. Now home to the great Hooker’s sea lions, now called New Zealand Sea lions. Don’t go too close as they can go from whoa to go in very short order. Who owns the territory.  These animals are big, but take  very good photos and are well worth seeing.

Cannibal Bay is over the hill, another lovely beach and more Sea Lions. I should point out that Sea Lions rest most of the day and go to sea late in the afternoon to hunt. If you are on foot and bypassing them in the sand dunes look where you walk, they often sleep in the dunes. Meeting a Sea Lion in the dunes may reawaken your religious beliefs.

Nugget Point Lighthouse is next, amazing views, photo shots etc. There is also good access to a bird hide where one can see the Yellow Eyed Penguins, and many more sea birds.

 Kaka Point, a seaside holiday town is on the way out of the Catlins and is the start or end point depending which way you are going. It has a pub, shop, café -restaurant and accommodation etc.

In this article I have only mentioned what I saw as the highlights of the Catlins area. If you take my advise and take a good map you will find that there are many other places to go and sights to see.  I could not possibly mention them all in this here.

The best map we found was The Southern Scenic Route, produced by Venture Southland. Full of great information, and available from most Visitor Information Centres.

There are  twenty or more images  in the Catlins gallery, they run in the same order as this article south to north. To go there click here.