Bluff
The small but busy fishing town and port of BLUFF, 27km south of Invercargill, occupies a slender-waisted peninsula with its man-made harbour on one side and wild Foveaux Strait on the other. Continuously settled since 1824, Bluff is the oldest European town in New Zealand and it is showing its age a little. Parts look decidedly run-down and most visitors are here to hop on the ferry to Stewart Island, but the place has a great setting, a long history and some fine short walks. Unless you have your own vehicle, seeing the town will involve a good deal of walking, as it spreads along the shoreline for about 6km.
Bluff’s famous oysters are celebrated at the annual Bluff Oyster & Food Festival (third weekend in May; w bluffoysterfest.co.nz), an event the local organizers claim is “unsophisticated and proud of it”.
Foveaux Strait, Bluff oysters and muttonbirds
Foveaux Strait, between the South Island and Stewart Island, has a fearsome reputation as a rough stretch of water, right in the path of the Roaring Forties with no land east or west until you hit South America. Mostly flat-floored and just 20–30m deep, this causes waves to rear up and further compound the discomfort of ferry passengers and those out harvesting the strait’s bounty.
The best-known foodstuff pulled from the waters hereabouts is the sweet Bluff oysters, a highly sought-after delicacy dredged from April until September then processed in local oyster sheds before being sent all over the country.
Foveaux Strait is also home to a cluster of overgrown rocks known as the Titi or Muttonbird Islands, where local Maori have the traditional right to harvest sooty shearwater chicks in April and early May. These muttonbirds (titi in Maori) are regarded as a delicacy, though the anchovy-duck flavour is something few Pakeha acquire.
The Catlins Coast
The rugged coastal route linking Dunedin and Invercargill is one of the less-travelled highways on the South Island, traversing some of the country’s wildest scenery along the Catlins Coast. It is part of the Southern Scenic Route (w southernscenicroute.co.nz), which continues on to Te Anau in Fiordland.
The region is home to swathes of native forest, most protected as the Catlins State Forest Park, consisting of rimu, rata, kamahi and silver beech. Roaring southeasterlies and the remorseless sea have shaped the coastline into plunging cliffs, windswept headlands, white-sand beaches, rocky bays and gaping caves, many of which are accessible. Wildlife abounds, including several rare species of marine bird and mammal, and the whole region rings with birdsong most of the year.
The best way to enjoy the Catlins Coast is to invest at least a couple of days and take it easy. From Nugget Point in South Otago (just southeast of Balclutha) to Waipapa Point in Southland (60km northeast of Invercargill), the wild scenery stretches unbroken, dense rainforest succumbing to open scrub as you cut through deep valleys and past rocky bays, inlets and estuaries. The coast is home to penguins (both blue and yellow-eyed), dolphins, several species of seabird and, at certain times of year, migrating whales. Elephant seals, fur seals, and increasingly, the rare New Zealand sea lion are found on the sandy beaches and grassy areas, and birds – tui, resonant bellbirds, fantails and grey warblers – are abundant in the mossy depths of the forest. Even colourful rarities such as kakariki and mohua can be seen if you’re patient.
Brief history
The Catlins, one of the last refuges of the flightless moa, was a thriving hunting ground for Maori but by 1700 they had moved on, to be supplanted by European whalers and sealers in the 1830s. Two decades later, having decimated marine mammal stocks, they too departed. Meanwhile, in 1840, Captain Edward Cattlin arrived to investigate the navigability of the river that bears his (misspelt) name, purchasing a tract of land from the chief of the Ngai Tahu. Boatloads of loggers soon followed, lured by the great podocarp forests. Cleared valleys were settled and bush millers supplied Dunedin with much of the wood needed for housing – in 1872 more timber was exported from the Catlins than anywhere else in New Zealand. From 1879 the rail line from Balclutha began to extend into the region, bringing sawmills, schools and farms with it. Milling continued into the 1930s, but gradually dwindled and today’s tiny settlements are shrunken remnants of the once-prosperous logging industry.
The Catlins Top Track
One of the most varied walks in the region is the private Catlins Top Track (Nov–April only; 22km loop; t 03 415 8613, w catlins-ecotours.co.nz), which begins and ends at Papatowai and crosses sweeping beaches, farmland, privately owned bush and even a stretch of disused railway line, delivering fascinating geology, a great variety of flora and fauna and true tranquillity. It can be walked in a day (9–10hr) but is better appreciated in two leisurely days, spending the night in a converted 1960s trolley bus high up on a spectacular viewpoint; the bus comes equipped with one double bed and four single bunks, electric lighting, a gas camping stove with cutlery and dishes, a gas heater in winter, and its own water supply – there’s even a separate loo with a view. All walkers are given an excellent booklet that details each section of the walk accompanied by a map. Bring your own food, drinking water and sleeping bag.
Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay
Contrasting seascapes come together at a windswept headland that separates two of the most beautiful bays in this region packed with such things. To the north, the beautiful sandy curve of Porpoise Bay forms superb rolling breakers where Hector’s dolphins love to surf. To the south, the rocky wave-cut platform of Curio Bay is littered with the remains of a petrified forest, its fossilized Jurassic trees clearly visible at low tide. Over 170 million years ago, when most of New Zealand still lay beneath the sea, this would have been a broad, forested floodplain. Today, the seashore, composed of several layers of forest buried under blankets of volcanic mud and ash, is littered with fossilized tree stumps and fallen logs. Steps lead to a beach where, in places, you can even pick out ancient tree rings. Return at sunrise or just before dusk when up to a dozen yellow- eyed penguins stagger ashore to their burrows in the bushes at the back of Curio Bay. If you want to get in the surf, contact Catlins Surf (T03 246 8552, Wcatlins-surf .co.nz), who rent boards, offer surfing lessons and give you a chance to try stand-up paddleboarding.
The New Zealand sea lion and Hector’s dolphin
Two extremely rare species – the New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri a.k.a. Hooker’s sea lion) and Hector’s dolphin (Cephalarhynchus hectori) – are found only in New Zealand waters.
New Zealand sea lions mostly live around the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, 460km south of the South Island, but some breeding also takes place on the Otago Peninsula, along the Catlins Coast and around Stewart Island. The large, adult male sea lions are black to dark brown, have a mane over their shoulders, weigh up to 400kg and reach lengths of over 3m. Adult females are buff to silvery grey and much smaller – less than half the weight and just under 2m. Barracuda, red cod, octopus, skate and, in spring, paddle crabs make up their diet, with New Zealand sea lions usually diving 200m or less for four or five minutes – although they are capable of achieving depths of up to 500m. Pups are born on the beach, then moved by the mother at about six weeks to grassy swards, shrubland or forest, and suckled for up to a year.
Sea lions prefer to haul out on sandy beaches and in summer spend much of the day flicking sand over themselves to keep cool. Unlike seals they don’t fear people. If you encounter one on land, give it a wide berth of at least 10m (30m during the Dec–Feb breeding season), and if it rears up and roars, back off calmly but quickly – they can move fast.
The Hector’s dolphin, with its distinctive black and white markings, is the smallest dolphin in the world and, with a population around 7,000, is also one of the rarest. It’s only found in New Zealand inshore waters – mostly around the coast of the South Island – with eastern concentrations around Banks Peninsula, Te Waewae Bay and Porpoise Bay, plus western communities between Farewell Spit and Haast. They roam up to 8km from shore in winter but in summer prefer shallow waters within 1km of the coastline, catching mullet, arrowsquid, red cod, stargazers and crabs. Female dolphins are typically a little larger than the males, growing to 1.2–1.4m and weighing 40–50kg. They give birth from November to mid-February, and calves stay with their mothers for up to two years.
In summer and autumn, the tiny resident population at Porpoise Bay regularly enters the surf zone and even comes within 10m of the beach. Hector’s dolphins are shy and being disturbed can impact on feeding, which in turn affects their already low breeding rate. If you’re spending time around them, be sure to follow DOC rules (posted locally), which essentially forbid touching, feeding, surrounding and chasing dolphins and encourage you to keep a respectful distance. Swimming around pods with juveniles is also forbidden, and in summer most pods will have juveniles.
Dunedin
The darkly Gothic harbourside city of Dunedin is the largest city in the southern half of the South Island, its population of around 120,000 bolstered by 25,000 students from the University of Otago – New Zealand’s oldest tertiary institution – who contribute to a strong arts scene, as well as vibrant nightlife, during term time at least.
The university aside, the city hasn’t had a lot of investment in recent decades and while some sections can feel a bit shabby it does mean that classic buildings remain unaffected by recent architectural meddling, giving a harmonious uniformity.
Although Dunedin spreads beyond the suburb-strung hills and surf beaches, the city has a compact and manageable heart, centred on The Octagon. This manicured, tree-lined green space is bordered by the art gallery, the Neoclassical Municipal Chambers and the schizophrenic St Paul’s Cathedral. Further afield, the newly revamped Otago Settlers Museum is sure to impress, while the Chinese Gardens offer contemplative calm. It is worth a look in the nearby Dunedin Railway Station even if you’re not making a journey on the time-warped Taieri Gorge Railway.
Beer and chocolate are always winners, best experienced on the Cadbury World tour and Speight’s Brewery Tour. Towards the north of the central city, Olveston gives a taste of Dunedin life from its heyday, a topic treated more formally in the Otago Museum. The Botanic Garden climbs up to the memorial on Signal Hill where you can look down on Otago Harbour, a sheltered inlet 22km long and no wider than a river in places. The harbour is protected from the ocean by the wonderful Otago Peninsula.
Local buses get you quickly to Baldwin Street, the world’s steepest, and to the sandy beaches of St Clair and St Kilda, the former with a classy hotel and cluster of cafés.
Brief history
From around 1100 AD, Maori fished the rich coastal waters of nearby bays, travelling inland in search of moa, ducks and freshwater fish, and trading with other iwi further north. Eventually they formed a settlement around the harbour, calling it Otakou (pronounced “O-tar-go”) and naming the headland at the harbour’s entrance after their great chieftain, Taiaroa – today a marae occupies the Otakou site. By the 1820s European whalers and sealers were seeking shelter in what was the only safe anchorage along this stretch of coast, unwittingly introducing foreign diseases. The local Maori population was decimated, dropping to a low of 110, but subsequent intermarriage bolstered numbers.
The Scots arrive
The New Zealand Company selected the Otago Harbour for a planned Scottish settlement as early as 1840 and purchased land from local Maori, but it wasn’t until 1848 that the first migrant ships arrived, led by Captain William Cargill and the Reverend Thomas Burns, nephew of the Scottish poet Robert Burns. With the arrival of English and Irish settlers the following year, the Scots were soon in the minority, but their national fervour still stamped its distinct character on the town.
The prospectors arrive
In 1861, a lone Australian prospector discovered gold at a creek near present-day Lawrence, about 100km west of Dunedin. Within three months, diggers were pouring in from Australia, and as the main port of entry Dunedin found itself in the midst of a gold rush. The port was expanded, and the population doubled in six months, trebled in three years and made the city New Zealand’s most important. This new-found wealth spurred a building boom that resulted in much of the city’s most iconic architecture, including the university.
By the 1870s gold mania had largely subsided, but the area sustained its economic primacy through shipping, railway development and farming. Decline began during the early twentieth century, when the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 made Auckland a more economic port for British shipping. In the 1980s, the improvement in world gold prices and the development of equipment enabling large-scale recovery of gold from low-yielding soils re-established mining in the hinterland. Today you can visit the massive operation at Macraes, an hour’s drive from Dunedin.
Dunedin’s scenic railways
Dunedin’s dramatic railway station marks the start of two wonderfully scenic train trips, both run by the Taieri Gorge Railway (03 477 4449, taieri.co.nz). One threads inland through the Taieri Gorge itself while the other winds along a spectacular coastal route north to Palmerston.
The Taieri Gorge route
The Taieri Gorge journey stretches 77km northwest from Dunedin through rugged hill country. Constructed between 1879 and 1921, the line once carried supplies a total of 235km from Dunedin to the old gold town of Cromwell, returning with farm produce, fruit and livestock bound for the port. Commercial traffic stopped in 1990, and much of the route was turned into the Otago Central Rail Trail, but the most dramatic section – through the schist strata of the Taieri Gorge – continues to offer a rewarding journey at any time of year.
Most trains run as far as Pukerangi (58km from Dunedin), a lonely wayside halt near the highest point of the track (250m) where you wait a few minutes then head back. Some services continue a further 19km to the old gold town of Middlemarch.
The air-conditioned train is made up of a mix of modern steel carriages with large panoramic windows and nostalgic, refurbished 1920s wooden cars. Storage is available for backpacks and bicycles, and there’s a licensed snack bar on board.
Taieri Gorge and rail trail combos
As well as the day-trips, the Taieri Gorge trip makes an excellent way to start your journey inland towards Wanaka and Queenstown. Buses meet the train at Pukerangi or Middlemarch and head through the Maniototo to Queenstown: book through the Taieri Gorge Railway.
Cyclists can take the train (bikes go free, though they need to be booked) then hop straight onto the Otago Central Rail Trail.
The Seasider
A completely different but equally picturesque rail journey, the Seasider, leaves Dunedin Railway Station and runs along the main northbound line 66km up the coast to Palmerston. It initially follows the flank of Otago Harbour then winds through Port Chalmers to Blueskin Bay with tunnels, bridges and great coastal views all the way. The train ($86 return; $57 one-way; 4hr return) runs sporadic days throughout the year (check the website for times) and stops for 30min for coffee in Palmerston.
Rugby in Dunedin
There’s no surer way to get a real taste of Dunedin in party mode than to attend a rugby match at the new 30,000-seater Forsyth Barr Stadium (wforsythbarrstadium.co.nz) at 130 Anzac Avenue, 2km east of The Octagon. The city is proud of having the world’s only fully roofed, natural-turf stadium, but its $200 million construction (in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup) was controversial and put huge strains on the local ratepayers. Highlanders Super 15 games are held every second weekend during the season (late Feb–July) and there are occasional All Black Games (generally May–Oct). For free schedules and ticket sales visit The Champions of the World shop, 8 George St (Mon–Fri 9am–5.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; t 03 477 7852).
Gore
The quiet Southland farming town of GORE, 70km west of Balclutha and 70km northeast of Invercargill, is a pleasant transit point at the intersection of routes from Dunedin to Te Anau and Invercargill. Dominated by the Hokonui Hills, Gore spans the Mataura River (“reddish swirling water”), and claims to be the brown trout capital of the world – celebrated by an enormous fish statue in the town centre. It also claims to be New Zealand’s home of country music (not that anyone is fighting them for the honour), a scene that is most accessible during Gold Guitar Week (late May and early June; t 03 208 1978, w goldguitars.co.nz) when hundreds of would-be country stars and a few established performers roll into town for five days of low-key entertainment.
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