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The Southern Scenic Route, which curves around the southern coast of the South Island
from Dunedin through the Catlins to Invercargill, then on up SH95 to Te Anau, provides
a range of dramatic scenery. From rocky islets, sparkling waterfalls, high headlands,
thunderous surf, quaint fishing villages, and dense native forests to snowcapped
mountains and mirrored lakes the landscape provides eye candy for all tastes. We
spend three days travelling this scenic route and complete several short walks along
the way. We visit spectacular Purakaunui Falls, dine on Bluff oysters, touch Jurassic
tuatara, and rescue cast sheep on our farm stay at Mt Prospect station. Bob also
learns to free dive and prepare paua ready for the BBQ, stalks deer with a local
hunter at night, and discovers that thanks to a bit of kiwi ingenuity, anyone can
enjoy a day’s hiking on a Great Walk, no matter how fit they are!
day two: curio bay to riverton
Key
- Destinations
- Apex Locations
True to his word Bob is out back pounding the paua as dawn breaks, and we enjoy
a fresh seafood breakfast before bidding Nick and Dani farewell. We make a stop
so Bob can visit the fossilised forest, then drive to Slope Point, the southernmost
tip of the South Island. It’s a windy, isolated place where macrocarpa trees form
thick shelterbelts and grow almost horizontally in a bid to escape the salt-laden
wind.
From here it’s a short drive to the lighthouse at Waipapa Point where, much to our
surprise, we share the car park with a group of basking sea lions. Carefully we
pick our way across to the lighthouse and scour the coast for NZ fur seals and -
a rarer visitor - the four-ton elephant seal. A memorial plaque reminds us, on a
more sobering note, that 131 people lost their lives here in 1881 when the SS Tararua
hit the reef.
We drive on to Fortrose at the mouth of the Mataura River and then leave the Catlins
behind, travelling through farmland to Invercargill and on to Bluff. Here we enjoy
a delicious lunch of fresh Bluff oysters, then follow a spiral walkway to a lookout
point providing excellent views of Bluff harbour and the city beyond. Our next port
of call is the Southland Museum and Art Gallery in Invercargill, for its ‘live’
tuatara display.
Lindsay Hazley, the world’s leading tuatara expert, set up the display 15 years
ago and here he breeds the endangered Brother’s Island tuatara, and the rare “common”
tuatara. Around 40 tuatara are on display and Lindsay relates the history and habits
of these unique living dinosaurs, then shows us a baby common tuatara and a pregnant
mother whose reptilian skin is cold to the touch.
To read the full story
please click the link to download the full
dunedin to te anau scenic drive, courtesy of apex car rentals new zealand...
the kiwi way
to read more extracts from our driving holiday's guidebook please click on any of
the following links:
north island scenic drives
south island scenic drives
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