Distance travelled: 137 Kms. Todays plan was simply to visit the Catlins Forest Park. This an area of outstanding beauty on the SE tip of the South Island of New Zealand. We had no particular destination in mind. We could camp off grid if needed. The van was fully recharged after last night in the holiday camp. I had read of a petrified ancient forest and wildlife at a place called Curio Bay so we thought we would take the coastal twisty route to get there. We were so glad we visited Bluff yesterday as today it was chilly and threatened to rain. The road from Invercargill took us initially on a main highway before we turned off at a place called Fortrose. Then suddenly we were in the outback. The place was littered with estuarial rivers all feeding south to the sea. Whitebait nets were strung out everywhere. Whitebait is considered a delicacy here in New Zealand and fetches high prices hence the number of nets set. I can’t say it is my cup of tea tasting rather metallic. But each to their own. The road to Curio Bay again follows the coast undulating as it goes, never far from the sea. On arriving at Curio Bay a plaque tells you what you need to know and it is quite staggering. I have visited petrified forests elsewhere but nothing on this scale or quite so clearly defined. Logs of stone are clearly visible lying where they fell millions of years ago, on the cliff face you can see where tree trunks fell and even count the rings in the trunks. Stumps are clearly visible rising from the volcanic ash bedrock. What is more is that you can walk among them. The whole place is open for you to stroll among so long as you dont damage anything. Elsewhere in the world this would all be fenced off and out of bounds. Not here. From here we decided to motor slowly through the Catlins park and take in the views. The weather started to close in and around 4PM we decided to find a place to camp for the night. We came across a soggy camp ground at a place called Papatowai where there were already a collection of vans and caravans and thought well if it is good enough for them it will do us. Once we set up we noticed there was a food truck which seemed to have attracted a few people. We paid a visit and invested in two servings of fish and chips. A fantastic little find once again. The beach here is another little gem. White sand beaches with trees reminiscent of mangrove swamps line the bay. Shallow water to less than knee height is perfect and safe for kids to play in. If the weather was better. Just as we got back to the van it rained. And rained. And rained all night long. Wise move to stop when we did. Here are todays photos.
Woodend Wanderer 