The Catlins is a remote stretch of the South Island coastline; east coast, south end. This area is rugged and sparsely inhabited. But it is on the map for travel for local New Zealanders. We discovered this fact by subscribing to a Facebook group: Travel Locally New Zealand. Major travel tip: this is a great way to help plan your trips. Finding Facebook groups gives you better and more timely information than using the traditional travel websites.
Reaching the Catlins is an easy drive from Dunedin. The hard part will be to find lodging and harder still, food while you are there. We learned this on our first visit here last year. Cafes are seasonal, and this was not the season. We found an air B&B with a full kitchen; challenge number one. And stocked up in Dunedin with a full three days of everything we would need. Good thing, even a cup of coffee was nonexistent except for one little market that had a machine. I do not buy coffee from machines in the middle of nowhere. We even had decent Wi-Fi in our cottage. Now that is an accomplishment. Our base was Slope Point; the southern most tip of New Zealand except for Stewart Island.
The Catlins is known for wildlife, waterfalls and lighthouses. Its rugged coastline is beautiful with big waves and jagged coastline, interrupted by crescent-shaped white sand beaches. All this, you can have by yourself. In three days, we saw a total of ten other cars of tourists.
Veteran wildlife observers know the trick to spotting wildlife is knowing where to look. Here, the fur seals prefer rocky areas, sea lions are found in the sand. Wading birds are present at low tide, the diving birds: like petrels and terns, when the tide is high. Penguins are in the water during the day and waddle out, sometimes after porpoising in the waves, after dark.
Watching penguins emerge from the surf is one of life’s most joyous sights. In the Catlins, if you are patient, you will get this experience. There are two species of penguins here: the Little Blue penguins and the Yellow Eye. Little blues are fairly common in New Zealand and Australia, we have seen many. The Yellow Eye is the world’s rarest penguin, only 300 breeding pairs. We have seen about 10 of those pairs and one more on this trip. It is also the third largest penguin, only the Emperors and Kings are larger. Standing out in the wind and mist as the night falls is worth it when you spy a penguin waddling up the beach, hopping over rocks and disappearing in the bush to find its burrow for the night.
We were lucky that one of our days in the Catlins was calm and almost sunny. We spent it hiking to waterfalls, one after the next. Most only a thirty minute walk from the road. Did you know New Zealand has a Niagara Falls? And a village named after it to boot. Turns out it is the smallest waterfall in the world, named by someone with a kiwi sense of humor. I did not bother with a picture.
On the windy cold days, we drove from one windswept lighthouse to the next. There is always a trail that gets you right up to the structure and a view of the huge lens. Most likely with sea lions or fur seals on the way. Great way to spend a cold day. Visiting lighthouses on a sunny day loses some of the mystic.
Since we got this far south, we cannot resist a visit to our favorite stomping grounds: Orepuki on the South coast near Fiordlands. We find this area equally rugged as the Catlins, but arguably better tramping, a pub or two open all year. We have had some of our happiest times of this epic journey in Orepuki: great people, picturesque scenery and one of the best burgers at Colac Bay Pub.