The Southern
Scenic Route
February 15, 2000
There
are lots of almost-deserted places in New Zealand. The road connecting Invercargill and Dunedin (along the southeastern coast of the
South Island) is one. It's part of what's called the "Southern Scenic Route." This five-plus
hour drive
includes roads that lead to miles and miles of shoreline, almost all of it
people-free. Indeed, there are so few people in this part of New Zealand
that most of the side roads and about 12 miles of the "main" road are
unpaved! Nonetheless, these gravel roads can be safely driven in a rental
car, albeit at about 35 mph. So really the only question is: which of the
20 highlighted sights in the spectacular Catlins area to see, and which of the
many maintained tracks to hike. As usual we're amazed at how many well
maintained tracks there are in remote regions
We
hiked about 40 minutes to McLean Falls on a shaded trail through fern forest. Like most of
NZ's trails, this one was built by volunteers. In this case, local high
schoolers worked for ten years to complete the project. Later, a shorter
nature walk took us to Lake Wilkie, a glacial basin in the process of being
filled in with sediment. Helpful signs focused on changes in
vegetation and habitats in going from forest land to lake side.
We also checked out two beaches. The one at Waipapa Point is home to the last
standing wooden lighthouse built in 
New
Zealand (constructed in 1884 after 131 died in the worst shipping disaster in NZ history.) While
walking around the beach we almost stepped onto a
smooth gray rock, which turned out to be a large sea lion lounging on the warm
sands. The other beach at Curio Bay had a (mostly washed away) petrified
forest and a rocky shoreline. Note the sheep and farmhouse in the photo
background below. This route, like many in New Zealand, has plenty of sheepviews.
This is a great drive, especially when the
weather is
fine and you can stop and do some of the sights. There is the occasional very
small town enroute and even a farmstay or two to be had, should you want to
dawdle and spend a night. There are also dolphins and penguins to be seen,
if you choose to do a local tour or boat trip. But don't forget to gas up
before you go; there's not much "civilization" on the way. How
nice! :-)
There
are lots of almost-deserted places in New Zealand. The road connecting Invercargill and Dunedin (along the southeastern coast of the
South Island) is one. It's part of what's called the "Southern Scenic Route." This five-plus
hour drive
includes roads that lead to miles and miles of shoreline, almost all of it
people-free. Indeed, there are so few people in this part of New Zealand
that most of the side roads and about 12 miles of the "main" road are
unpaved! Nonetheless, these gravel roads can be safely driven in a rental
car, albeit at about 35 mph. So really the only question is: which of the
20 highlighted sights in the spectacular Catlins area to see, and which of the
many maintained tracks to hike. As usual we're amazed at how many well
maintained tracks there are in remote regions
