Nov 9 Dunedin-Riverton

I slept in…I must admit that after a long and very tiresome ordeal making it to my host’s home last night, I felt I deserved it, and it didn’t hurt that the bed was really comfy J  Actually, I didn’t really sleep in too late, I spent a good deal of my morning writing about yesterday and uploading pictures…which takes FOREVER by the by.  After saying farewell to the lovely-and-all-too-short-of-a-stay B&B, I was on my way to the hard-to-find-words-to-describe-the-beauty-which-aren’t-clichéd Southern Scenic Route through the Catlins.  The Catlins is on the very southwestern end of the south island (I hesitate to say of NZ, because they actually have a few more islands farther south than the south island, but nobody ever seems to take them into account). In any case, the word for the day is bucolic. Everywhere I looked I saw lambs gamboling against unbelievable green hillsides which butted up against the rugged coastline.  It was a sight to behold, and again…with the weather dial set on PERFECT J

I drove on the highway from Dunedin to Balclutha (this part of the route wasn’t technically part of the Scenic Route, but I am coming to find that there really isn’t an un-scenic route around here…I still wanted to get out and take pictures of the rolling green hills dotted with ewes and lambs with bubbling brooks wending their way through the little valleys. I needed a passenger just to manage taking pictures out the window. I would have taken them myself, but one thing is certain; you definitely need to pay attention on these NZ roads.  All along the route, in fact, there were huge signs which said, “New Zealand roads are different…slow down” or something close to that.  It made me giggle a little, that is, until I passed a crashed car on the other side of the road shortly thereafter. Once I actually did break off to the Southern Scenic Route, traffic was really light; I rarely had anyone on the road with me going my direction and only passed other cars going in the opposite direction infrequently.  The most cars and people I saw all day were at the stops I made…weird that we didn’t all end up in a line coming and going to the stops, but the roads are windy enough that you can lose other vehicles pretty easily around the bends making for a very peaceful and pleasant non-trafficky experience.

I stopped three times for little hikes (more for pictures) in the Catlins, the first was to go to Nugget Point.  They were doing road work on the parking lot, so they had made a temporary parking lot a little further down…I was hoping for some exercise, and today I got LOTS of it.  It was probably a 2-mile hike to the point and back.  I believe it is called Nugget point because the rocks at the point look like nuggets. I saw fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks below and cruising around in the water along the shoreline, what a life.  The vegetation grows in a wind-swept pattern, and it is beautiful.   My next stop was to see a little water fall…a 10 minute walk through the forest (which seemed like a rain forest and totally out of context of the windy, rocky coastline I had just been driving through). It was so delightful and seemed like a little hidden gem in the middle of the open rolling green (lamb and calf dotted) hills.  This area is full of these unexpected treasures and I know that I got only a taste of what the region has to offer.  My last stop was at Cathedral Caves, a 20 min hike down the hill to the beach where I happened to hit the tide at just the right time to walk to the cave...it sounds a little more impressive than it was in reality, but it was still pretty cool.  It was most amazing to walk along the beach with a stiff wind in my face and blowing a river of sand to walk through.  I wish I could have captured that on film, but it was impossible.  There is something inherently soothing about the sound of the ocean that I will never tire of.  What DID tire me though, was the long and steep hike back up to the car...I just thought the entire time that my trainer would be so proud that I made today a workout day :) This hike, like the one to the falls, was through a rainforest like environment and it was delightful.

After this third stop, I had to turn my eyes away from all succeeding signs tempting me to stop and see the various gems still be to discovered on the Catlins Scenic Southern Route...there were too many and I needed to make my way to my B&B for the night.  If I ever make my way to this part of the world again, I will definitely plan for more time here, it is breathtaking.

After a short stop in Invercargill for some highly recommended Fish and Chips take away (thanks trip advisor, they were DELISH) I made my way to Riverton and Jude's home (she is a lovely person) still in the daylight...yay!  

Tomorrow I look forward to a much shorter driving day with some exploring along the way to Te Anau.