The Caitlins, South Otago, New Zealand - December 2014

The day after Sam met me in Queenstown we decided that we would go on a bit of a road trip, we headed down to The Caitlins and then back to Queenstown via Invercargill. This was quite a big road trip by New Zealand standards and we would be on the road for over twelve hours, however with three walks thrown in I figured that it would still be an enjoyable day, and besides I'd been walking solidly for three weeks so a day sitting on my bum watching the scenery unfold through the window had a certain appeal.

Kelp and seals, Nugget Point.

So, after throwing in the walking boots we trucked out of Queenstown before 8am in the morning, filling up with fuel at a service station I grabbed my caffeine hit and hit the road. Due to the topography the quickest way to The Caitlins from Queenstown is a bit of a convoluted route, first we headed north, then east, then south. The same topography that makes for a convoluted route also makes for a scenic drive and as I hadn't been through this part of the south island before I enjoyed the journey. We pulled at a nice cafe/ boutique furniture store in a town on highway 8 called Roxburgh where we enjoyed a late breakfast and a bit of a break.

Rock stacks of Nugget Point.

With breakfast out of the way our next stop was Nugget Point in The Caitlins. Parking the car we set of on a two kilometre walk out to the lighthouse. The well benched track traverses some very steep slopes with the ground dropping away almost precipitously to our left, at the bottom of the drop the South Pacific Ocean crashed into the rocks. Adding to the scene were a large number of New Zealand Fur Seals either basking on the rocks or frolicking in the water, which along with the long strands of kelp making beautiful swirling patterns in the water, made for nice photos. I'd warn my special hiking havaiana's on this walk and was enjoying the relaxed pace, unfortunately every time I stopped to get a photo the sandflies enjoyed my ankles, there's always something, hey! Returning to the relative sanctuary of the car we headed off on our next adventure.

Taken from the lookout at Nugget Point.

Today was the day of the seals.

If you squint you may be able to see the seals in the cave.

We now headed down the dirt Cannibal Bay Road to Cannibal Bay. As this walk was around six kilometres on sand I decided to pull on the boots, in hindsight it was a wise decision. We were aiming to walk the length of Cannibal Bay and then over to Surat Bay before returning and that's how it turned out. After hitting Cannibal Bay we headed down the wide firm beach, all the time keeping an eye out for Hooker's Sea Lions and New Zealand Fur Seals that were meant to frequent the beach. Right at the end of the beach we found our first fur seal basking in the sand, she was basically comatosed though and didn't bat an eyelid as we got relatively close to take a photo, she was so still I thought that she may have expired. We now followed an unmarked sandy track across an isthmus for fifteen minutes to Surat Bay.

Sam, striking out along Cannibal Bay.

On the track across the isthmus behind False Islet.

Arriving at Surat Bay we found our route down from the dunes blocked by three sunbaking seals, hmm...  Apprehensively we inched our way past them making sure not to get between them and the water, once past we strolled along another wide sandy beach for another twenty minutes. The scenery was more rural than wilderness, the green paddocks on the surrounding slopes in contrast with the golden grass on the big dunes backing onto the beach, it was still a very nice setting though. With no more seals in sight we decided to turn around and re trace our steps back to the car, on getting back to Cannibal Bay the seal that I feared may of expired had actually moved a bit, I actually got a photo of her smiling at me...we'll maybe it was a snarl!

The wind swept dunes backing onto Surat Bay.

Looking back towards False Islet.

Surat Bay

Check out those teeth.

Getting back to the car it was off with the boots and on to the next attraction, Purakanui Falls. We had a bit of a drive to get there but as it was still only mid afternoon we had plenty of time. Parking at the Purakanui Falls car park I once again pulled on the hiking havaiana's for the two kilometre walk to the falls. Once again we followed a well benched track through podocarp and beech forest stopping at the numerous viewing points. I mucked around with the camera trying to get a decent slow shutter speed shot without a tripod, as usual my ambition outweighed my talent. The falls themselves were very pretty, falling in a perfect series of wedding cake like cascades in the lush forest, with the afternoon sun filtering through the canopy it was a scene I was never going to be able to do justice to.

The well benched track leading down to Purakanui Falls.

A small cascade above the main falls.

Purakanui Falls.

Returning to the car I kicked of the havaiana's and settled in for the long drive back to Queenstown via Invercargill. After stopping at a few lookouts and grabbing something to eat in Invercargill we eventually got back to our accommodation just after 8pm on what had been a very good day. Sam had had an easy introduction to walking in New Zealand to prepare her for the harder stuff to come and I had kept my eye in after three weeks of solid walking.

Long Point.

Tautuku Beach.

The Dirt.
The Caitlins are in the south east of the south island, it was our first visit there and they were very nice. I'd like to head back and book a b+b for a couple of days and explore a little more one day. All up we walked around ten kilometres on the three walks, all the walks are very easy. I used the rudimentary notes in the Bird's Eye Guide, Day Walks In New Zealand, 100 Great Tracks. The trail heads are all signposted.

How about a few more seal pictures.