New Zealand

Walks, Waterfalls and Wildlife – The Catlins

Recently we were very fortunate to spend a long weekend in The Catlins – the coastline between Dunedin and Invercargill, New Zealand.

We decided to fly to Dunedin, hire a car and book into the Skylark bed and breakfast near Owaka. The B&B is located on an operational sheep and beef farm and the accommodation was fantastic for the 2 of us, with the most amazing views. One of the many highlights of the Catlins was the afternoon that Karl, the Skylark B&B owner took us out on the farm to shift the sheep and show us some of the stunning views from the back of the farm.

On the farm while staying at Skylark B&B

You can download a copy of a map of all the attractions . We used this to plan our days. The area has some stunning things to do and see – most needing some walking. You will need to be able to tackle a few hills and steps to really get amongst it.

The Purakaunui Falls are a must visit, Nugget Point to see the lighthouse, stop at the Florence Hill Lookout, lunch at Kaka Point and a walk through Cathedral Caves.

To visit Cathedral Caves, you will need to check out the best time to visit as it is only accessible at low tide. There is a $10 per person charge to access the caves but well worth it.

The amazing scenery of the Catlins

The following day we headed to Slope Point – the southern most part of the South Island, Curio Bay to see the petrified forest, called in to see Niagara Falls (a trickle of water over rocks )- must be NZ humor ! A quick look at Surat Bay and then back to Roaring Bay to see the penguins in the evening. We were very lucky to arrive at the right time that evening to see the penguins.

The amazing scenery of the Catlins

We managed to also see Jacks Blow Hole on our final day. There are quite a few steps to get to the Blow Hole and about an hour round trip walk but I thought it was great.

A couple of things I would do differently, would have been to stay an extra day and hire a 4 wheel drive vehicle as many of the roads are loose metal.

What an amazing part of NZ. I am going to tell as many people as I can just how beautiful the Catlins are.

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