The Catlins: Why We Needed More Time

Table of Contents

Our road trip

We did a short road trip in the South Island of New Zealand! We wanted to go as south as possible and see some new sights.

Our travels saw us drive along State Highway One from Christchurch all the way down to Waikawa Bay – passing through Timaru and Dunedin. We picked up the Southern Scenic Route to get to the Catlins.

After approximately eight hours on the road including various stops, we got to the Catlins which were INCREDIBLE! Sadly, we only planned one night here and with so much to do and see, we wish we had more time.

This article is going to show you what we got up to and break down why we wished we had more time and what we would do differently next time we come down this end of the country.

Jess has drawn another beautiful map showing driving routes that are loops from either the east or west coast to the Catlins, the southern most point on the South Island and our stopping point of Bluff.

what we did in the catlins

Despite our time in the Catlins being short, we crammed lots in and had a great time here.

Florence Hill Lookout

We caught this spectacular lookout spot over Tautukuku Bay at sunset as we were driving to our accommodation. It was right on the main road (Southern Scenic Route) near Papatowai so it won’t take much time out of your journey. It was absolutely beautiful but chilly at this time of year!

The sand at Tatukuku bay has a very high quartz content so supposedly glows slightly.

Niagara Falls, NZ

When we planned this trip, Niagra Falls was absolutely on the list. As you can see from the video above, it was pretty but not quite as impressive as the American version. We think that this is worth a stop, but don’t plan too much of your day around it as it won’t take long.

We bumped into other travellers there who also didn’t spend too long there. If you have a tight schedule, 30 minutes here is plenty. And take walking boots or good trainers: despite being short, the path down to the water is steep and muddy.

Koropuku Falls

As Niagra Falls took far less time than we anticipated, we looked on a map for the closest waterfall. We decided to try our luck with Koropuku Falls. And we were happy with the result! We drove about 20 minutes from where we were and pulled up on the side of the road next to the sign for the waterfall. We then walked through the bush: because it’s New Zealand and not Australia, we didn’t have to worry about any poisonous snakes and spiders (always a relief). It was a fun and easy walk on some logs that were laid into the ground for a path. There was a bench at the 0.5km mark but it’s not impressive and probably not necessary. There were some stepping stones over a stream and a couple of muddy bits but plenty of branches to hold just incase.

It did get uneasy under foot towards the actual waterfall, where we had to sort of climb up and over some of the rocks. Again, we’re really glad we had our walking boots on.

Our total walking time was about 30 minutes (round trip), excluding time at the waterfall itself.

After our stay in Waikawa Bay our drive continued along the Southern Scenic Route with a planned stop at Slope Point then onwards to our next destination: Bluff.

Curio Bay

The drive to slope point took us through some amazing country side, but also Curio Bay. We didn’t really know much about it and didn’t know that we would want to stop here, but as we drove around the corner we were greeted with the most beautiful bay.

As you can see from the picture, it was just like a mirror! It’s hard to believe it was actually the ocean because it was so lake like. This is probably due to having a point nearer the ocean where the mouth into the bay is very small so Curio Bay itself is very sheltered from the the ocean movements.

There was nowhere in particular to pull over and stop, but the road was quiet enough for us to pull over for a few minutes.

Slope Point

Slope Point is the southernmost point on the South Island of New Zealand. Of course, we had to visit it!

It was really cool being closer to the South Pole than ever before. There isn’t much at Slope Point, but I would recommend going if you are in the area. The only places that are closer to Antarctica now without going to Antarctica are Stewart Island (New Zealand) and Ushuaia in Argentina.

After you pull up into the carpark, the actual point is a 20 minute walk from there. It is a very easy and gentle walk through a field.

Where we stayed in the catlins

We stayed at a beautiful place called The Anchorage. We 100% recommend to stay here. The room was a super comfortable self-contained unit. It was such a great place to stay. We arrived at night so didn’t really get to see much of the views. But in the morning when we got out of bed and opened the curtains we were in awe.

If you’d like to book where we stayed, click here!

It would have been the perfect place to go down to the waterfront and gaze at the stars or to keep an eye out for the Aurora Austalis (the Southern Lights). The Catlins are one of the best places in Aotearoa to see them due to the dark skies and being so southern. You can check to see if they’re active on the Aurora tracker at the time you are there. However for us it was very cloudy so nothing was going to be spotted on this occasion but there is always next time.

What to do in the Catlins

New Zealand is know for its hiking / tramping and we’ve certainly gotten involved up in the Marlborough Sounds along the Queen Charlotte Track. We spotted so many trails and signs for waterfalls, so The Catlins is no different. Home to so many different tracks and trails, you are spoilt for choice here.

Just from driving through the Catlins to our accommodation, we saw so many signs for walks, waterfalls and viewing points. We have provided a list of walks and places to go which we would love to do when we return. I spotted most of the signs for these places from the main road too, making them fairly easy to get to.

What we would do differently Next time

If / when we return to this amazing part of the country, we will definitely plan to spend more time here. Instead of driving straight through the Catlins and staying overnight towards the end of the Southern Scenic Route, we will most likely stay a few nights at the start of the route and slowly work our way through.

We recommend staying in this area for three nights. This way, you can make the most of all of the walks and trails we saw on our way through and hopefully see the Aurora. We spotted lots of places for accommodation along the way so this shouldn’t be a problem.

Maybe we will do all of the things on our list above and let you know how it all goes!

The catlins: a summary

After a very brief trip here, we absolutely want to come back. There is so much to explore and see! If you are planning a trip to New Zealand, we recommend coming to this area as it is such a unique area of natural beauty, as well as being slightly off the beaten track and away from the usual tourism of New Zealand. Peaceful!