Okay maybe a bit of an understatement here, we didn’t get all the way to Antarctica. We did, however make it all the way to the southernmost point of New Zealand – a nice bookend to our stop at Cape Reinga, the northernmost point, a few weeks prior.
Instead of just a single point/location like the north, the southern end of New Zealand is actually a stretch of land going east-to-west. Collectively, the area is known as The Catlins. We spent a full 3 days exploring this region, driving slowly from Invercargill/Bluff in the West along to Nugget Point on the east before turning Northward. We used this map as a guide on where to stop:
The region is quite diverse – from the (typical) New Zealand sheep and cow paddocks, you can go up into the temperate rainforest area on one side and down to sandy bays and beaches on the other. We made it to several waterfalls and bays, multiple lighthouses, and even a huge blowhole.
We also spent one sundown staking out penguins returning from sea, and got to see a wild Yellow-Eyed Penguin – the rarest species in the world (he was pretty far away, but trust us)!
