“Gadgets & Gizmos, Curios & Oddities”

High Tide at Cathedral Caves was at 9:45am and we arrived there a bit before that.

I had practically planned the entire trip around the tide charts for this one activity. It’s one of the very few places they actually charge to see a natural feature in the country. People come in droves at low tide and pay the $10 to walk down the path to the beach. On the far end of the beach are the caves. They didn’t go as far back as I had thought, although the openings of the two caves were dramatically huge. They connect in the rear, we had taken our headlamps but didn’t need them. I was so glad to have the knowledge that there are more than the obvious 2 cave openings. We were the only ones who ventured around the point and I thought the 3 caves further out were much more interesting.

Our next stop was at Lost Gypsy Gallery. Our neighbor is an artist and makes yard art out of found objects. He would have been like a kid in a candy store here.

Blair is the owner of the gallery who makes thingamajigs and whatnots. They are interactive, so you are encouraged to push a button or turn a crank. The smaller ones are housed in a green painted schoolbus and are free to look at. Larger items are in the garden and are well worth the $5 admission to see them. Fred and I laughed a lot.

We made a quick stop at Florence Hill since unlike other stops, it was right on the main road. From there you get a wonderful, panoramic view of the coastline.

Then on to Purakanui Falls. These are touted as being the most photographed falls in New Zealand and there were lots of people there. Fred and I went down on the rocks in front of the viewing deck so he could set up his tripod and get photos.

Our next stop was Jack’s Blowhole. The blowhole really isn’t a blowhole at all, and it should be renamed Jack’s Surgepool. That’s not saying that this hour-long walk should be skipped. It’s not that strenuous and has amazing views of the rugged coastline below. The hole is fenced off in the middle of a large grassy area surrounded by trees. It was formed when a seacave, similar to the Cathedral Caves, roof fell in and exposed the ocean below. The hole is 55 meters deep and almost 200 meters from the sea.

By now the rain had really started coming down. We drove to Cannibal Bay, hoping it would let up by the time we got there. But it was not to be, so we went straight from there, directly to our lodging at Nugget Lodge. Pauline, the owner, lives right next door and was very friendly and informative.

I’ve run across posts on the forum that said they were disappointed in the Catlins. It’s really an area that requires time to explore and not just be a drive through on the way from Dunedin to Te Anau. To be appreciated, you really need to spend at least one night here. Most of the sights are on side roads. You won’t get anything out of the Catlins if you don’t get out of your car! You could certainly spend a week here and never get bored.

The Adventure Continues>>>