This weekend was our anniversary weekend and to celebrate we ventured out into the Catlins. This long stretch of rural land, along the Southern Scenic Route, is filled with many tramps and side attractions.
We were certainly off season during our visit but an interesting experience it was. The scenery was beautiful. Our first stop was Curio Bay where one can see Hector Dolphins (the world's smallest dolphin) and yellow eyed penguins (the world's rarest penguin). We luckily saw none of them but we still were able to enjoy the petrified forest and rugged coastline. It was an ethereal scene with a misty coast and the tide rising along the shadows of Prehistoric past. You could see some of the outlines of Jurassic aged trees in the beach, captured in silica stone. We were able to walk along it and I curiously touched the surface of this rock amazed at the years between us.
We next headed to Mclean Falls for a short tramp through dense rain forest. The trek took us through lush green jungle, and ended with a spectacular view of a young waterfall where you could still see the stratification of different rock layers. We were able to climb quite close to the waterfall itself and were astounded by its grandeur.
After this we went to Purakaunui Falls, which are supposed be renowned as the most photographed waterfall in New Zealand. They were beautiful but somewhat disappointing after Mclean Falls. However, the trail was very short which was a plus during this muddy season.
So speaking of mud, our next tramp was off to Picnic Point in Papatowai. This misty beach is a site where you can free dive for Paua, a very large sea snail found in a shiny shell, that is if you don't mind swimming with the great white sharks which also share the waters.
We were walking along the beach line, and then found this trail called King's Rock. We followed this trail that was in a clear state of disrepair. Obviously winter is not a tourist season. While we walked, Paul made up lots of fairy tales about King's Rock to convince me this was a good idea.
But the further along we got the larger the debris that was found blocking the trail. Whole trees fell across the path; mud pits became quite deep as Paul nearly lost his shoe in one of them. Then the trail seemed to dead end at a fenced cow pasture. We stared at the sign in front of us for a couple minutes, which told us to follow the marking posts THROUGH the pasture. So over the private fence we went, mucking our way through well trodden mud. We spied a number of cows and calves mowing the pasture. As we continued we hoped that neither of us was going to twist an ankle in all these divots in the ground. We finally made our way to the beach, and there sat this huge hunk of rock covered with bushes. Well that's it, it was a rock. We also realized this WAS NOT a loop trail, despite what Paul thought. Arggh.
So back we went through the pastures, over the fence, around the downed trees, shoes thick into sticky mud and finally did we return to the beach at Picnic Point. Luckily there were many native sponges strewn along the ground and we used them well on our shoes to wash off the mud.
After that we decided we had finished tramping for the night and went to the Hilltop Accomodations. In true New Zealand fashion we checked our selves in to our own suite as the owners were not around. It was a quaint hostel, with a great view of the surrounding area. Yes, more sheep dotting the landscape. Gotta love your sheep. We had our dinner of chicken soup and instant noodles. Then off to some well deserved rest and showers.
The next day, we attempted to tramp a bit more. Our first attempt was Possumer's Trail (yes they hunt possum and make them into coats here). This started out well enough, but progressively became more and more like a swamp. We discovered that a good sign of a poorly kept trail is when there is a LARGE tree covering up the trail and mud that you can swim in. I was walking in front of Paul when at the end of one of the boardwalks there was some fairly wet looking ground. I attempted to test it out with my toe, but immediately found myself sucked in foot deep. We later tested it with a stick and I probably could have fallen in to my knees. After the third or fourth set of these mud pools we decided to turn back.
We took the Old Coach Road instead, and enjoyed a trail that followed the coastline. Paul chased some wild cows along the way, no kidding. He brought out his whipping stick and told me he knew how to use it. Hmmm... I later found him digging at the beach sand telling me he was trying to catch the clams. I quickly did a mini-mental status survey, but he seemed to generally be all there, or as much as he usually is.
After this quick tramp, we headed off to Claire's, who is a fellow doctor that works with me at the clinic. She's a Scottish transplant, and her husband who's a native Kiwi. They own a small farmlet in the area. There they have chickens, lambs, cows, and horses. They grow their own vegetables and plan on becoming more self sufficient by canning them. Claire's husband also hunts deer, fishes, dives with paua, and is raising trees to sell for timber.
We had a marvelous home cooked meal and good company. Then we went home.
New Zealand Travel Tip #1: Avoid smooth mud patches on trails (because it is liquid) or wear bigger boots.
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