Day 4: Te Anau to the Catlins

24 November 2020

We leave Te Anau behind and head across the plains towards the east coast. We pass through numerous small farming communities and the occasional bigger farming towns. First stop for the day is Gore – the self-proclaimed “world capital of brown trout fishing” complete with a giant statue.

Most of the countryside is covered with sheep, cows and paddocks growing stock feed. We meet quite a number of large agricultural vehicles on the roads.

Lunch is in Balclutha on the edge of the Clutha river. It is a bigger town than I expect; a colleague of mine used to work at the freezing works there so it was interesting to see a few landmarks he had mentioned. We visit the supermarket to buy lunch and also for Si to pick up some ingredients for dinner because tonight we are staying in a campground in a remote area of the Catlins.

About 30 mins out of town we get to Kaka Point, a very picturesque village on the coast. Further round we get to Nugget Point and do the walk out to the much photographed lighthouse surrounded by nuggets of islands. On the way out we pass a spoonbill colony, and at the end of the point we spend ages looking at lots of different seabirds and watching seals pirouetting in the clear water and clambering around on the rocks.

Further along we stop at the Florence Hill lookout to see the long sandy expanse of Tautuku Beach. A couple have set up a very elaborate looking picnic complete with table, chairs and wine. We are very surprised that the Catlins seem rural rather than remote and that farmland blends into regenerating forest and then down to the beach.

We reach our destination for the night: the Whistling Frog campground in the remote Chaslands area but stop only to drop off our bags in our cabins. The main feature is the Cathedral Caves just a short drive away.

We walk down through the forest, zig-zagging for 20 mins down to the beach. There is a long sandy beach with towering cliffs at one end – it is only open for a few hours a day either side of low tide when people can walk around to see the caves. There are several caves hollowed out by the waves and 2 of them are extremely high giving the impression of a cathedral. We go as far as we can into the caves, some are not pleasant with slimy kelp underfoot and an overpowering scent of seals and goodness knows what else.

Then it is back up the hill and back to our campground. We each have a cute little cabin, and there are shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. We congregate in the kitchen and all help put together the chicken and salad that Si bought for us, before heading outside to a picnic table to enjoy the sunshine with our dinner and beverages.

Now that we are so far south, it doesn’t get dark till nearly 10.00 at night and we are able to enjoy the last of the sunshine for quite some time before it starts to get cold and we head to our cabins for the night.

Join me over the next few days to find out more about my adventures:

Day 1 New Zealand Southern Loop

Day 2 Queenstown to Te Anau

Day 3 Milford Sound

Day 4 Te Anau to the Catlins

Day 5 Catlins to Stewart Island

Day 6 Stewart Island

Day 7 Southern Coast

Day 8 Invercargill