After leaving the delightful three-bedroom home in the historic settlement of Waikawa on New Zealand's South Island, Steven and I headed on the Catlins Coastal Heritage Trail toward Dunedin, the largest city in the Otago region. The Southern Coast is a nationally significant area because it contains some of the country's oldest Māori archaeological sites. Early Māori tribes traveled extensively between coastal settlements and inland, to Central Otago, in search of food, trade, and social interaction. Early European settlement in the Catlins area focused on whaling, sawmilling, and gold mining.
After multiple visits to the "real" Niagara Falls, a five-hour drive from my family's home in Ottawa, I had to smile when we saw the runoff from the New Zealand version!
We didn't care that it was overcast as we drove further east along the two-lane Chaslands Highway through the Progress Valley, as the low-lying clouds lent an air of mystery to the landscape.
We'd hoped to hike to Korupuka Falls, but with recent rain, we didn't feel safe walking through the rainforest.
I walked just a short distance, enough so I could at least hear the falls, so I got half the thrill!
This part of the South Island was so far off the popular tourist track, there were no longer scads of tourists on the roads or at the lookouts. It was delightful, quite frankly.
Our next stop was the Historic Cemetery Walk, where we learned that the first people to inhabit the Catlins and the Southern Coast were the Southern Māori tribes, described as extremely mobile and resourceful, who lived along the coastline and now "resting" in special sites. We walked a fair distance before turning around, as we had no idea where the cemetery was, and the weather was unpleasantly chilly.
We stopped next at the Cathedral Caves, only to find the last entry had been at 10:30 when they apparently soar skywards 30m above the sand at low tide. Our normal phenomenal tourist luck was missing that morning, as we were batting 0-for-3 so far! A few kms further was the Tautuku Estuary, where a boardwalk led to the estuary. Now, that sounded like a better bet for us.
I remember our joking that it felt like we were in Jurassic Park, not en route to an estuary!
Once we finally saw the boardwalk, Steven said, "This was worth coming for." Or did he mean the handy bench?!
The boardwalk snaked through wetlands in what felt like a natural amphitheater in the heart of the bush. Since we had the place to ourselves, it felt magical and mystical, which explains why it is "tapu,” meaning a sacred spot for Māori.
Almost everywhere we looked, we noticed tawny-colored jointed rush growing.
We saw hundreds of small crabs in the mud.
I read that sparse stands of saltmarsh ribbonwood were the favorite habitat of the fern bird, a shy, red-brown, sparrow-sized bird that only reluctantly flies.
Once we knew where to look, we could spot the rimu-kamahi-southern rata forest on Māori land across the river.
Extensive Manuka shrubland and trees fringed the estuary after logging removed the forest up until the 1940s.
The Tautuku School operated by the estuary entrance from 1910 to 1918 and again from 1943 to 1944. There was only space for ten children. Speaking of limited space, the parking lot only had room for two cars, which certainly wouldn't have been the case in more touristy areas.
Several kilometers southwest of Papatowai, a short gravel road led to breathtaking views of Tautuku Bay from the Florence Hill Lookout. Even from above the sea, we clearly heard the roaring waves.
I think the cliffs soaring above the sand in the background were part of the Cathedral Caves we'd hoped to explore earlier.
Up ahead was the small township of Papatowai, described as "Where forest meets sea."
We had a blast exploring the Lost Gypsy Gallery with its irreverent collection of gadgets and gizmos. No high art here, but still loads of fun!
If you click on the mailbox picture to enlarge it, you'll notice a naked Barbie doll on top!
It didn't seem that the gallery owner was a big fan of little ones!
I wouldn't want to live next door to the gallery, but I was impressed by the whimsical creations, the owner's free spirit, and the attention to detail.
Up the road a bit was the turnoff for the walk to Purakaunui Falls, the most photographed falls in New Zealand. Fortunately, the trail looked far more navigable than the trail to Korupuka Falls.
I've never seen a specially made toddler seat on a hiking trail before. Have you?
The view from the falls' upper viewpoint:
The magnificent view from the lower viewpoint:
This was the first of what turned out to be many times we saw a Bush Lily, a New Zealand native that produces small, fleshy fruit that turns from green to orange as they ripen.
A barely legible sign indicated that this was a thin-barked totara tree that thrived at higher altitudes and had sweet red fruits with seeds at the tips.
A short while later, cloudy skies welcomed us to Owaka, the Place of the Canoe, according to the community's sign.
Sean, if you make it this part of New Zealand, make sure to stop in at Owaka's Lumberjack Cafe for a delicious meal. You'll be glad you did. We ordered a mouthwatering, warm ham-and-cheese on ciabatta with fries, aka chips, on the side for only $12. You wouldn't think that decent fries would be so tough to make, would you? Somehow, NZ cooks consistently made the best fries anywhere, as far as we're concerned.
The small town of just 800, known as the Capital of the Catlins, surprisingly had at least five cafes to choose from.
When the stainless steel Waka Sculpture commemorated the town's seafaring origins in January 2016, it marked Owaka's sesquicentennial (150th) celebrations.
Being a huge tea drinker, I resonated with the town's Teapotland, even though our one teapot is only out for decoration on the counter. I think my poor Mum wanted to disown me, as I never let my tea steep, preferring to waft the teabag for a second or two in the boiling water in my mug! Lina, please tell Mary Pat that I thought of her here, as I always associate having tea with her when I'm home in Ottawa.
As we continued toward Nugget Point, we kept our eyes and ears open for sleeping sea lions and seals.
Though we were once again unlucky in spotting any marine mammals, the views along the stretch of beach more than made up for it.
The extremely narrow road then snaked along the coast past Short Bay, Tirohonga Bay, and Roaring Bay en route to Cliff Point Lookout.
At the top of the cliff at the end of the gorgeous road was the Nugget Point Lighthouse, Maureen. The trail to the lighthouse was too steep for our liking, so we were content to stop at the beach, look at shells, shore birds, and interesting seaweed.
A few minutes later, we couldn't resist stopping at Kaka Point Beach Lookout, with stunning views in every direction.
For the first time in a couple of days, we then headed slightly north toward the small town of Balclutha, where we began walking on the Balclutha Wayfinding, the stopbank atop the Clutha River. Balclutha was the last stop of the amazing Catlins drive!
It was quite striking that the further south we'd traveled in the South Island, the less we saw of the beautiful fall colors we'd loved up by Aoraki.
According to AI, this was a male Golden Pheasant.
These were seriously called Love Birds - how cute was that?
A sulfur-crested cockatoo:
The aviary was an unexpected treat for us, as normally we have everything planned out on our trips.
The Birds and the Beehives mural in Balclutha featured vivid depictions of painted beehives, native birds, and buzzing bees set against rolling hills.
Woolly Jumpers, located on the exterior of The Merino Story shop in nearby Milton, was created by Alice, the same artist, to celebrate the region's farming heritage.
Milton's Tokomairiro Historical Society Museum & Information Centre was housed in an Art Deco building that had formerly been a post office. Even after noticing several Art Deco buildings in the South Island, the architectural style still seemed unusual to me in New Zealand.
The delightful Southern Scenic Route ended in Dunedin, the country's oldest city, founded on the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. The region was a popular hunting and fishing location for Māori. Europeans later founded a whaling port before the Scottish Free Church settled the city in the mid-19th century. When the First Church of Otago opened in 1873, it was built from brick and Oamaru limestone.
The church was flanked by an array of elegant Victorian stone buildings.
A brief walk away was the Octagon, the city's main plaza.
The Octagon was home not only to restaurants and shops but also to some amazing works of art and architecture. Dunedin is a UNESCO Creative City, something I'd never heard of before. One of the significant pieces of public art was Ko te Tūhono, a commanding archway that paid homage to local Māori. Described as "a doorway of different dimensions," it represented a passage into the landscape, life, and wairua or spirit of this place. According to the artist, it meant that "When you move through it, you are inside and outside, you are coming and going."
In the same park was a statue of Robert Burns, who overcame poverty to become Scotland's national poet. Burns is known worldwide for his poetry and song, written in Scottish and English. Dunedin's first public sculpture is important because Burns' nephew, the Reverend Thomas Burns, was a co-founder of the first Otago settlement in 1848.
An incredibly colorful mural was wrapped around the historic Municipal Chambers building on the Octagon. Wonder Women was created during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Fan Festival to celebrate women in the tournament. While strengthening work is undertaken at the Chambers, the mural will remain for about five years.
St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral of New Zealand and Polynesia was next to the chambers.
Also on the Octagon stood the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, home of the country's oldest public art collection, including works by Frances Hodgkins, a neo-Romantic painter especially popular in Europe.
Next post: Dunedin Chinese Garden, Otago Peninsula's Larnach Castle and the Royal Albatross Centre!
Posted on Canada Day, July 1st, 2026, from Littleton, Colorado, where some of us reveled in yesterday's state election results, while also being extremely concerned about the fires in Western Colorado that caused the loss of three firefighters and the smoke wreaking havoc on those with breathing issues. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
