Wells Worthwhiles: The Three Point Roadtrip

After leaving Dunedin, Daniel and I cruised down the Southern Scenic Route which takes you through some of the highlights of the Southland. The focus of our southern trip was mainly site in the Catlins, a national park in the southeast corner of the island. Even during the busiest season, not many tourists make it all the way down to this part of the country, so at this time of year we were some of the only tourists around. Our weather was fairly rainy so we did not get to see as much as we wanted, but we did get to do a little bit. The drive was still pretty starting out before the heavy rains hit. Our first major stop (after having a nearly run out of gas - we didn't... just a scare) was Nugget Point. This is a famous lighthouse with (usually) a lot of wildlife visible from the cliffs as you walk along the edge to the lighthouse. We saw were some seals playing on a little pool of water, but that was all. Next, we took the long drive to Stirling Point in Bluff. State Highway 1 runs the entire length of both the North and South Islands, and its final southern end is at Stirling Point. It is mistakingly thought to be the most southern point of the South Island, but it's not. That fact belongs to Slope Point which was our last stop for the day. This is a much less celebrated point, and it is on somebody's farmland. However, they do allow the adventurous tourists to walk through their sheep fields to get a look at the most southern tip of the island. We took a picture in the freezing cold (it is the closest we will ever be to Antarctica) and then raced back to the car. On a clear day you can see Stewart Island from here, but not in this weather! We wanted to visit the Cathedral Caves at low tide, but they were closed because the sea was too high and rough. One of the coolest things we saw on our route was a sheep herding. As we were driving between the Catlins and Bluff, we were stopped by a herd of sheep in the middle of the road, not uncommon in NZ. We stood still and just watched the sheepdogs at works getting the herd from one pasture the to other. They looked like they were having so much fun doing their job, and it was well worth the delay! Despite the weather, it was a fun day, and we finished it by finding our cozy little cabin at a holiday park in the Catlins. We cooked some dinner and shared hot chocolate in the tiny cabin room.