South Island day 15: Invercargill to Dunedin

We left Invercargill fairly early and continued on the ‘Southern Scenic’ route to Dunedin, via the Catlins. There were a number of places we had read about that we wanted to visit on the way, so here they are in pictures:

Waipapa Point. The lighthouse here was quite reminiscent of the one at Cape Reinga. We also saw some sea lions in the grass – a couple only after we had passed them, which was a little disconcerting!

Curio Bay. One of only three places in the world where a petrified forest can be viewed, and here only at low tide – which it happened to be. Cue a bunch of tourists who ignore half a dozen signs about not going further than the yellow rope, due to penguins nesting. Anyway the petrified logs (horizontal lines) were cool to see.

McLean Falls. 30 minutes’ walk in, 10 minutes’ walk out makes for a 40 minute round trip. I think we both decided these were the best waterfalls we had seen on the trip. Highly recommended!

Florence Hill lookout. We could see Stewart Island from here.

Purakaunui Falls. As on most postcards from the Catlins. The walk from the carpark is only about 5-10 minutes, but if you had to choose between these and McLean Falls, I would say go to the latter.


We arrived in Dunedin with just enough time to join a ‘short tour’ at the Cadbury factory, then met up with Raewyn’s parents at the motel and spent the evening packing for the Otago central rail trail.