The Catlins – travelling southeast

Heavy rainfalls followed us. Well we can’t have always sun. But the crazy wind was the worst. Our campervan was just not made for this and on the street Micha really had to work hard to stay on our side of the road.

On the Catlin route we picked some highlights since it was pouring down with rain anyway. So walking around to much wasn’t on the list.

So we went to the Waipapa Point with its lighthouse and to Curio Bay. Here we stayed at a beach campground because we wanted to see the very rare yellow-eyed penguins which come back after dawn.

At Curio Bay is also a fossil forest which is 160 million years old, from the Jurassic period. So walking around those remains we found some yellow-eyed penguins. They were so cute and one just didn’t bother and cleaned itself.

The wind was still crazy and after half an hour fighting against it we went back to the campground. The next day we continued our tour and went to two different waterfalls. Due to the heavy rain the McLean Falls were even more spectacular since the water just pushed down like crazy.

We found the Purakaunui Falls with its wide terraces after a quick walk through the forest. This one is supposed to be the most photographed waterfall in New Zealand. Well it wasn’t as spectacular as the McLean Falls but still nice.

The Tunnel Hill brought us through an old railway tunnel from 1893 and with torch it was a funny short walk. The last stop at the Catlins was the Nugget Point with a lighthouse overlooking wave-like pinnacles.

Really beautiful scenery and the rain made it even more dramatic.