A Catlin Sunrise

The Catlins, situated on New Zealand's south island's south east coast, displays a rugged wild beauty and a plethora of sea life. We began our journey by heading to Bluff, one of the most southerly points on mainland New Zealand. There was a multi-armed sign which showed you distances to many locations in the world; Edinburgh for example is 18,689km away as the bird flies. We stopped in Bluff for some lunch and then headed west on the coastal scenic highway, stopping at Curio Bay where there is a fantastically persevered Jurassic forest. It is so well preserved due to silica based mud flows sweeping into the area and fossilising the forest in a matter of weeks, meaning almost everything looks as though it is a few hundred years old, not millions. After the curiosities of Curio Bay and adjacent porpoise bay (sadly no porpoises) we continued along the coast. 

We were hoping to take a look at Cathedral Cove, an iconic, highly photographed sea cave but sadly the tide was against us and we both didn't fancy swimming to it so we headed on. We stopped for the night at the DOC campsite in Purakaunui Bay. It was a great wild location situated at the end of a long gravel road so there were few other campers. Stuart and I took a stroll along the beach before setting up for the night with our 'just add water' camping meal kits.