Paul and Jean's Blog: New Zealand South Island (Day 12)

DAY 12 INVERCARGILL TO DUNEDIN WEDNESDAY 14.2.07

Another fine day with a comfortable temperature. The guide map shows the distance between Invercargill and Dunedin as 217 km however this is by way of the No 1 highway and we were going there by continuing along the Southern Scenic Route. Additionally we stopped off at various spots accessable only by way of gravel roads. All in all it took a few more hours than driving the direct route but it was really worth it.

After leaving Invercargill we travelled to the tiny town of Fortrose where we turned off on gravel and drove through miles and miles of beautiful sheep grazing country down to Slope Point which is the southernmost point of the South Island. A lot of the roads in this area are closed during spring which is the lambing season. The track on from here had the benefit of superb views over the coast including Curio Bay, Haldane Bay & Porpoise Bay.

Somehow stumbled back on to the bitumen & drove through yet more sheep grazing country to another hamlet called Papatowai where we again turned off onto the gravel and headed cross country to have a look at the Purakaunui Falls. These falls feature 4 or 5 drops each of a couple of meters of crystal clear water. The whole area was well maintained with the walk through the beech and podocarp forest to the falls. Fa fa fa fairly cool in here. A good chance to stretch the legs and give the car shockies a break.

I had noticed that the wheel trims of the hire car were affixed with cable ties on each wheel and driving some of these corrugated dirt roads soon brought home the reason for this precaution. Some places had a collection of wheel trims on their fences and we often saw people pulled over searching for their lost trims.

Back onto the main track we drove through Niagara (absolutely nothing there) and up to the thriving 3 house town that is Owaka. I should mention that all this area between Invercargill and Balclutha is known as The Catlins. After Owaka we again turned off towards the coast to see Nugget Point. What a gem - one of the best scenic views of the whole trip and my favourite. Unfortunately I feel that our photos don't do it justice. From the carpark there is a gravel walking track leading up to a lighthouse perched atop a cliff overlooking a number a rock formations jutting out of the ocean like giant teeth. Absolutely spectacular!

The ocean below the lighthouse lookout is home to NZ fur seals, southern elephant seals, sea lions, yellow eyed penguins and squillions of sea birds. Saw (and heard, as they are very noisy) lots of seals (though I don't know what type) but no penguins. The area also has a couple of different types of kelp growing along the rocky foreshores. The largest of these, bull kelp, appeared impenetrable. The bay on the prevailing side of the walking track was rough as guts and looked like the giant's washing machine whilst the protected side featured a bay flat as a dunny carter's hat.

The whole of this area can be further looked at on the sites:

www.southernscenicroute.co.nz and www.visit.southlandnz.com/
www.catlins-nz.com/setup.html and http://www.newzealandlighthouses.com/nugget_point * and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nugget-Point
(* This link may need to be typed in)

All of these enjoyable distractions had chewed up the hours so we thought thought we better get a move along. Back to the main highway at the attractive township of Balclutha. The balance of this trip through to Dunedin down the highway was pleasant but unspectacular.

Arrived in Dunedin (without a street map) and went looking for our hotel that went by the imaginative name of 526 George Street. Walked up to the tourist info shop in the city centre and grabbed a map only to find George Street was one of the main streets leading off the city centre (known as The Octagon) and I was practically standing on it. Our boutique hotel looked like a converted large house and our suite was large and extremely comfortable. Coupled with its central location, this accommodation is well recommended however don't expect to eat there other than a piece of toast and a cuppa in the morning.

Tomorrow we were to play the historic course of Balmacewen and we thought we should try to find it in daylight and avoid panic stations in the morning if it was hard to find. Just as well we did because it took a bit of finding as the map with directions referred to streets named differently to the signposts. Eventually worked it out despite some crazed Beema driver overtaking us at twice the speed limit on the inside on a turn. Nearly had to go back to the hotel to change. Confirmations of my earlier suspicions that these people learned to drive in an arcade game.

Back to the hacienda to freshen up, a couple of traffic calmers and a stroll up to the Octagon to find an eatinghouse. A fair few restaurants, pubs & fast food joints. We eventually chose a seafood restaurant and had yet another type of beer before a table became vacant. It wasn't too bad but if you opened a good seafood eatery there you'd make a killing. Anyway, a leisurely stroll back to 526 walked off dinner and gave the oldfolks the chance for a good nights kip before facing tomorrow's challenges.