The R&R Big Adventure

The Glorious Catlins

Friday morning it was time to leave Fiordland and head south to the aptly named Southland region. We knew the first part of the drive from the coach trip we had taken to and from Milford Sound, and now, with blue skies, the mountains bordering Lake Wakatipu looked amazing. Our overnight stop was Bluff, one of the most southerly points in New Zealand, in a hotel (The Land’s End) overlooking the sea. The weather changed when we arrived in Bluff, and was actually more suitable for a windswept, land’s end setting: moody grey skies and crashing waves. Our walk to the top of nearby Motupohue hill didn’t deliver the views we were expecting over the Foveaux Strait, as it was shrouded in low cloud. We hadn’t seen anyone at check-in (our key was left with my name on the counter); no-one was there when we got back from the nearby restaurant at night; and just when I thought I would actually get to stay at a hotel and not interact with any member of staff, someone appeared at breakfast, and actually gave us a good recommendation of where to stop for lunch (‘Peake’s Kitchen Gourmet Food Truck’, if you are ever near Papatowai).

We had a long drive ahead to our next stop in Dunedin, on the south-east coast of South Island. First stop was Slope Point, the most southerly point on the mainland of New Zealand, and therefore the most southerly we have travelled on the planet (for reference, other than some small NZ islands off the coast, only the tips of Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands are further south). Interestingly all the grasses on the cliff tops here were growing almost horizontally, despite there only being a light wind when we visited. Similarly the trees were growing at a 45deg angle away from the sea – clearly there are some regular gales in these parts.

It was then on to a couple of beautiful waterfalls about forty minutes from each other – the McLean Falls and Purakaunui falls, with a stop in between at the Cathedral Caves. As their name would suggest, these are a couple of cavernous caves you access via an unspoilt beach on private Māori land, and only accessible at low tide. By sheer luck, our stop coincided with that. Aside from these amazing natural attractions we saw, equally as stunning was the Catlin range we passed en route – unspoilt hills and forests stretching for miles. New Zealand has a population roughly the same as Ireland, but with a land mass 10% larger than the the UK. We certainly realised that yesterday, with so few people around, and for a warm, early summer Saturday as well.

We didn’t reach Dunedin until nearly 6pm, by which time the the metaphorical tumbleweed was already blowing down main street. New Zealand has lots going for it, but nightlife isn’t one of them. The hotel we were staying in that night, ‘The Fable’, is part of a small boutique chain in New Zealand. It was more style over substance to be fair, especially when I was given an iPad at check-in ‘for information about the hotel’ (which could have been printed on a few sheets of A4 in the room). One of these pieces of information warned about the dangers of excessive perfume, or steam from the bathroom, setting off the fire sensors in the bedroom (?). This morning as we were getting ready to leave we were careful to shower with the bathroom door closed. At the exact moment R opened the door after his shower, the hotel fire alarm went off. Oh Christ, I thought, have we done that. For some reason – and as R reminded me later today – I closed the bathroom door, with him still in the bathroom with the speaker telling us to evacuate the building immediately. Very quickly he pointed out the alarm in our room wasn’t flashing red (and therefore hadn’t been activated). Phew. We got out – with passports and Eeyore – and used the opportunity to have (a very tasty) breakfast at a nearby cafe. When we got back the hotel staff confirmed it was a false alarm – maybe it is time to update the bedroom fire sensors…?

Plans to visit the nearby Otago peninsular were abandoned as it was shrouded with thick cloud, and visibility of only a few metres. A few people have now said to us that you need to dress for all seasons in New Zealand, and today proved the point. It was pouring with rain when we evacuated the hotel; thick fog and a temperature of 13 deg on the peninsula; but by the time we reached our overnight stop, Oamaru (90 mins drive north), it was 22deg, clear skies and sunny. This is probably the least inspiring towns we have stopped at in New Zealand – a main road with a few motels, takeaways and petrol stations. We went for a walk earlier and the highlight was seeing an older woman in the front room of her bungalow, plucking hairs out of her chin. We are in a very bland motel for tonight, and life admin is required. I am typing this whilst waiting for an ancient motel tumble dryer to dry some of our washing, whilst R is catching up on the Strictly… semi-final. Our trip is not all Insta photo shoots. There is a reason we are here though – a short drive up the coast this evening we will hopefully be seeing hundreds of Blue Penguins returning to their colony at dusk. Fingers crossed.