Thanks to all the great weather in Fiordland we had a couple more days to play with than we’d thought so an extra loop south was planned taking the long route back to Christchurch for the end of the road trip. First stop was Te Anau for a promised play park session and a look across the lake at the famous Kepler Track, definitely one to come back for, but legs still jaded from the Routeburn this time! We now joined the Southern Scenic Route which would hopefully give us some decent coastal scenery en route to Dunedin.
First stop was Clifton caves which was a great little adventure through a long Limestone cave, literally park next to a field and disappear deep underground for 40minutes following reflective strips to show you the way. Most was straightforward requiring little more than stooping (unless you’re three in which case it’s a path!) and sections of crawling, but near the end we were faced with a deep pool which required above waist wading and child carrying. This was followed with some fun ladders through vertical passages to finally emerge gratefully back into the light and a short walk back to the car. A great free adventure!
Final stop for the day after a quick tasty fish and chip stop in Invercargill with plenty of classic cars driving round to admire was Waipapa Point lighthouse, which was a stunning spot in the evening light, even had a sleepy sealion on the beach which Ethan nearly ran into! It’s very nearly the furthest south point on the South Island and we stared hard into the distance trying to see Antarctica (unlikely!)
After a long day of travel it was great to reach Curio Bay campsite which is well situated between two beaches, a rugged rocky Curio beach and Porpoise Bay, a long sweeping strand of sand frequented by the rare Hector Dolphins. Two nights here was great and we did some fun surfing with more sea lions at Cannibal Bay and some mini waves and dolphins at Porpoise Bay. The well named Cathedral Caves were fun to explore and we also picked an impressive harvest of mussels from the smaller cave walls.
Our final stop on the way north was Nugget Point and the Catlins really do go out with a bang here with another scenic clifftop lighthouse walk with impressive coastal views and seals frolicking below you, definitely a stretch of coast we’d come back to, just our kind of place and lots more hidden coves to explore, though I imagine it could be pretty miserable in bad weather with a lot of cold ocean southwards, the leaning trees gave some clues of the average wind speed!
Onto Dunedin and a stay in the holiday park in town right on St Clair’s beach (Emily’s middle name for those not in the know), another quirky oddball place with lots of jokes and paintings on the walls and strange wooden figures everywhere. We had planned to surf St Clair’s or St Kilda but after a brief look it seemed a bit urban compared to the Catlins so we opted for a short drive north out of town to the scarily named Murderers Beach, a shark infested remote spot down a very steep gravel road. This was magic, white sand and great waves and views but when we tried to drive up the aforementioned steep gravel hill the fan belt gave up the ghost and snapped noisily, the car struggled on a bit valiantly but we thought it best to give her a rest so we pulled over and phoned the AA for a tow. After giving them confusing directions they went to the wrong peninsula east of town instead of north but eventually a big tow truck showed up with courtesy car for the family, turns out in NZ you drive the courtesy car so Em enjoyed driving her redneck “Ute” back to town! With no car we took the bus into town instead and saw some sights of Dunedin before digging some enormous holes on St Clair beach and having a quick dip.
Fortunately the car was fixed reasonably quickly 24hours later and the dealer kept good to his word about a three month warranty of all parts, and we were off again, a long drive all the way up to Christchurch, with a brief stop in Oamaru for some more sealion surfing, I got the shock of my life when walking along the beach with the board and suddenly I had ten large sea lions sit up and look at me!
Finally the epic 7000km journey round New Zealand was complete, the work visas came through with days left before work started and the no doubt tough return to work can finally start. Some great memories on this trip for sure, best surf was clearly the big waves and long rides of Manu Bay in Raglan, best run without question the Routeburn++ route, though Tongariro volcanoes runs a close second. Best campsite a tough one – probably a tie between Barn backpackers, Abel Tasman and Cascade Creek in Fiordland and best paddle, probably the Whanganui River journey for rapids fun but in terms of scenery Milford Sound wins hand down. Best swimming spots, Abel Tasman, Golden Bay and the Chasm in Fiordland. I could go on, but you get the idea, we love it here, great to be back in New Zealand and great to be here for another year too….
Harrison Family Adventures Down Under 