In this page, you will find informations and advices we can give, based on our experience
The Catlins - South Island
The Catlins refer to the area south of a line from Te Anau to Dunedin, overlooking the Southern Ocean. Very sparsely populated, it's also rarely visited by tourists. This region is known for its hostile, rainy and extremely windy climate. We were lucky, though, as we had little wind and rather mild skies, except for Dunedin, which we decided not to visit due to the appalling weather. From Slope Point, no land separates you from Antarctica, more than 4800 kilometers away.
Nugget Point
1km one way - 10 min
30 minutes
Free
Set atop a cliff, Nugget Point Lighthouse is a Catlins must-see. At the end of a narrow jetty, the small white lighthouse dominates rocks scattered across the ocean. It's both beautiful and photogenic. The color of the water is astonishing.
Access: 155 km south-east of Invercargill.
.jpg)
Waikapapa Point
300m one way - 5 min
30 minutes
Free
This small white lighthouse with its red door overlooks a small cliff. It's easy to walk down to the beach. At low tide, the rocks are covered with green seaweed, which turns almost fluorescent in the sunlight.
Access: 61 km south-east of Invercargill.
Slope Point
1km one way - 15 min
30 minutes
Free
Slope Point is the southernmost point of the South Island. It's a very windy place, as evidenced by the trees twisted by the force of the winds. These trees are well known on the Internet. A short stroll leads to a lighthouse of some kind and the famous sign indicating the distances to the South Pole and the Equator. It's like being at the end of the world!
Access: 72 km east of Invercargill.
Purakaunui Falls
400m one way - 10 min
30 minutes
Free
After a 10-minute walk through the forest, the Purakaunui waterfall comes into view. It falls on three levels. Very photogenic, especially during the long pause.
Access: 123 km east of Invercargill.
McLean Falls
1km one way - 15 min
30 minutes
Free
Beautiful waterfall easily accessible through the forest.
Access: 98 km east of Invercargill.
Curio Bay
No hike
Depending on wish
Free
Curio Bay is a beach littered with petrified trees (Petrified Forest) dating back 180 million years. 700 meters further south, you'll find “The Headland”, a viewpoint overlooking Curio Bay. Ideal for a windy picnic!
Access: 87 km east of Invercargill.
Roaring Bay
250m one way - 5 min
Depending on wish
Free
Next to Nugget Point is Roaring Bay. There's an observatory where you can see sea lions and, if you're lucky, yellow-eyed penguins. The best time to see them is before 7 a.m. or from 4 p.m. onwards.
During our stay in the spring of 2023, the beach was off-limits as this was the period when the penguins were nesting and starting to have young. At around 7.30pm, a penguin appeared on the beach but it was a long way off, then a second one. Even with telephoto lenses, they were all very small.
Access: 155 km south-east of Invercargill.
Florence Hill Lookout
No hike
15 minutes
Free
Lovely view over a huge beach.
Access: 104 km east of Invercargill.
Matai Falls
800m one way - 10 min
30 minutes
Free
Matai Falls is very easy to reach via a forest trail, but is not very interesting.
Access: 114 km east of Invercargill.
Lodging
We have tested :
Copyright Magali and David BELLEC