The Catlins is an especially beautiful area of New Zealand, combining native forest, sheep and cow ranches, and the wild southern sea. The Catlins are in fact as far south as you can go on the South Island of New Zealand, and I went the distance on Sunday.
Avoiding the faster main road between Dunedin and Invercargill, I drove along miles of a very stormy coast. Winds in excess of 55 miles an hour accompanied me all the way between those two cities. Sometimes I had to fight to keep the camper van on the road. But much harder was walking in the wind as I did for an hour at a couple of points.
Nugget Point was the first, and I walked to this old lighthouse:
Nugget Point Lighthouse
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Near Nugget Point
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Tautuku Beach
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At Slope Point I reached the southernmost point of the South Island, latitude 46 degrees 40 minutes south. It is 673 miles from the northernmost point, Cape Fairwell, which I visited a couple of weeks ago. This is no small island!
Far South
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The Seas Were So Rough that the Ferry to Steward Island Was Cancelled Sunday
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One of the reasons why I left Boulder this winter was to avoid the wind. We seldom get wind this wild at home. The good news is that I was able to stay on my feet.
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