We’re on our way to New Zealand’s Catlins. The stretch south of Dunedin to the country’s southernmost town of Invercargill.
l
New Zealand - Let's Go to the Fjordland
Owaka, 6th March
Near Dunedin we make a 1st stop at Tunnel Beach. A beach you actually reach thru a tunnel. True, there’s a story behind it—of a jealous guy who wanted to make sure that no peeping Tom could ever see his many girlfriends sunbathing at the beach. Maybe he just wanted to hide them from all guys not paying the hefty fee to observe them. A kind of analog OnlyFans. Who knows?
A few km further a short walk to the Nugget Point Lighthouse.
Early in the afternoon we arrive in the village of Owaka. A rather nondescript place with a motel crying for some more love from its owner.
Then on to the nearby Purakaunui Falls. A small waterfall, but situated in a beautiful forest. Astonishingly a lot of people are visiting this place.
Bluff, 6th March
The next morning, the weather is definitely improvable. Deep clouds, drizzling, metservice announces rain in the afternoon. Not really the perfect day to marvel at the 2nd part of the Catlins. Whatever, let’s see what we can do on our way to Bluff at the Foveaux Strait. Some 270km to drive.
Our 1st stop is at the famous Lost Gypsi Gallery – a bus converted into a small shop filled with whatever someone could buy. All made by a guy claiming to be 1 of the last surviving hippies. Who knows if there are not a few more somewhere at a beach in the South Pacific.
We’re driving on, along the coast, in the rain. At some point we approach the Cathedral Caves, definitely a place to visit if there’s low tide. If not, even swimming would not help us approach this place. We’re lucky, after paying a hefty entrance fee for whatever it may be we’re on the way to the beach. And we’re even more lucky, that the rain stops – at least for some time.
A 15′ walk thru a beautiful forest full of farnt rees, then along the beach until we enter the caves.
Then we’re again on our way thru the Catlins. Now it’s pouring – what a mess.
Still, we have another place we would like to visit: Curio Bay and its petrified forest. Must be a very strange spot, maybe it’s even better to visit in the rain. We’ll see.
We really don’t stay long at the beach. Still, we’re pretty wet. Time to drive straight to our sleepery in Bluff.
Arriving there in the afternoon, we quickly realize how sleepy this village is. A few houses along the seafront, a harbor, and it looks like nobody wants to be outside with this weather.
And we realize that the boat to Stewart Island for the next morning is fully booked. Even going to the office doesn’t help, it seems there’s a large group which doesn’t give us any hope for cancellations. What a mess, we only have 1 day on the island – after that all accommodation is fully booked. Yeah, that’s travelling in New Zealand – even outside the peak season.
Then it’s time to go to the 1 and only watering hole cum eatery open in the evening.
Oban, 6th March
The next morning, we have to check out what we can really do on Steward Island, because now we’ll just arrive in the early afternoon. So, just a few hours for a hike. Definitely the planed 1st day-hike to is out of our reach. Remain some shorter options near the town. What a pity.
Then, we go sightseeing in Bluff. Whatever we can see: some murals, house crying for maintenance, and a few shipwrecks.
Finally, we board for Oban on Stewart Island. Just 1h to cross,to our sleepy ferry, and off we are for the Horseshoe Trail. It’s a shorter hike, just 3–4h, but what else could we do at 3pm.
Back to Oban, it’s already time for a beer in the South Seas Hotel’s famous bar.
The next morning, we just head for another short walk in the vicinity of the village before the boat brings us back to Bluff by noon.
Surely you’d like to know if it’s worth visiting Stewart Island. We think the way we finally did – no. You cannot really do anything if you just have half an afternoon and half a morning. To go for a hike you need at least 1 full day, especially as the trailheads are all pretty distant from the village centre. But for this you have to find accommodation for at least 2 nights – definitely not an easy task.