The Catlins
A Remote, Little Visited Stretch Of The Southern Scenic Route Between Dunedin And Invercargill, Where Waterfalls Drop Straight Onto Beaches, A Fossilised Forest Is Exposed At Low Tide At Curio Bay, And Yellow Eyed Penguins And New Zealand Sea Lions Are Seen On Quiet Beaches Without The Crowds Of Better Known Wildlife Spots · Owaka, Southland
The Catlins is a remote, lightly visited stretch of the Southern Scenic Route in the south-east corner of the South Island, between Dunedin and Invercargill. It has no single headline sight but a string of smaller ones strung along back roads: waterfalls that drop almost straight onto beaches, a 180 million year old fossilised forest exposed at low tide at Curio Bay, and wildlife seen on quiet sand without the crowds that gather at better-known Otago spots. Yellow-eyed penguins, among the rarest penguin species on earth, and New Zealand sea lions haul out on several beaches, while New Zealand fur seals are common around the rocky points. Nugget Point's lighthouse looks down on a scatter of offshore rock stacks that gave the point its name. There is no town of any real size here - Owaka, the region's unofficial capital, has a few shops and one petrol pump, the only fuel for a long stretch. Roads are narrow, winding and often gravel, and mobile coverage drops out for stretches at a time. The reward is a coastline that still feels genuinely undiscovered.
The Southern Scenic Route between Dunedin and Invercargill, Owaka, Southland, New Zealand
The Catlins has no gate, ticket booth or fixed opening hours - it is a public landscape of beaches, forest reserves and roadside waterfalls open at any hour, including Nugget Point's lookout, which is often best at sunrise or sunset. Curio Bay's fossil forest is only fully exposed within a couple of hours either side of low tide - check a tide table before visiting, not a fixed clock. Cathedral Caves close to visitors above a certain tide height and are closed outright, by arrangement with the land's Maori owners, for several weeks each winter - check current access before detouring. The small museum in Owaka and local cafes keep short, informal hours, roughly 9am to 4pm, and close entirely on quieter winter days.