The Catlins
Hello blog!
It is currently Wednesday, October 23 and I am writing to tell you about my day in the Catlins yesterday.
Me and my flatmates, Anouk and Sara, were bored and we decided to leave Dunedin for the day (typical). The Catlins are just an hour and a half away from Dunedin and there is so much to see and explore there so it seemed like the best option for a day trip. For our outing, we planned to visit Nugget Point, Purakaunui Falls and Papatowai Beach before returning home.
First, Anouk drove us to Nugget Point and it was even more beautiful than the first time I visited. The walk from the carpark to the point reveals a breathtaking view of the lighthouse sitting on the water’s edge. The ‘nuggets’ rest in little rock formations off the coast and behind the lighthouse. The three of us took photos and marveled at the scenery for awhile before returning to the car.
Next, we traveled to Purakaunui Falls, which is a place I’ve been wanting to see for quite awhile. On our drive there, Sara and I blasted Broadway show tunes despite Anouk’s protests against the choice in music. We listened to bits and pieces from Les Mis, Dear Evan Hanson, Newsies, and Tootsie and it was awesome!! I’ll never say no to some Broadway music. Once we arrived at the carpark for the falls, we had to walk another 30 minutes to our destination. It was a nice walk through jungle-like terrain where every surface seemed to be covered in mud, water or greenery. When we reached the falls, we each pulled out the lunches we had packed for ourselves (PB&Js obviously) and ate as we watched the waterfall. As you can see by the photos at the bottom of this post, this is no ordinary waterfall. It is wide and short and it has three ‘tiers’ to it. Its definitely one of those hidden gems of New Zealand.
Lastly, we made our way over to Papatowai Beach to see if we could spot any penguins or porpoises. It was pretty windy when we arrived on the beach, but that didn’t stop us from exploring. We climbed through the rock formations on the water’s edge and watched the waves crash against the rocks. The wind made the waves absolutely gigantic (even bigger than the ones we see in Dunedin!). It was wild. Sara and I climbed up on top of one of the larger rocks and we took a seat there - just watching the waves come in. After awhile, I laid down and took a small nap. The sun was shining on my face and the waves were crashing in the background, what a perfect time for taking a nap! After our little sun snooze by the coast, we made our way back to the car to head home. As if on queue, it started pouring rain as soon as we reached the car! How lucky is that?? Our perfect day was not ruined by weather and we drove back to Dunedin feeling happy and sleepy (I took a second nap in the car on the way home).
Thanks for reading :)
