Although we felt there were still things to see in Dunedin, we decided to set off for Invercargill and see if we had more time for Dunedin on the way back. The only slight problem in leaving Dunedin was the inability to find a petrol station on the way out - we ended up driving towards the airport to find one, just in case there wasn't one in the next town.
The first part of our journey repeated what we had already done on the tour, as far as Balclutha. But it did give us time to stop and photograph the bridge at Balclutha.
Shortly after that, we were off onto the scenic route to the Catlins. We reached the sea at Kaka Point, where some brave souls were surfing.
We thought about taking a side road to Nugget Point, but the road was very poor, so we continued on inland. The road continued round rolling and folded hills; this is mostly sheep country, though a few cattle can be seen from time to time.
Our first walk took us through beech and podocarp forest
to the Purakaunui Falls; the river drops 65 feet over a series of terraces - these are the lower ones.
Another drive took us to another walk and the Horseshoe Falls and the Matai Falls. At the Horseshoe Falls, the river is split into several streams by very hard rocks.
You don't notice at first that there is another stream of water which is descending the wall of rock behind you, crossing the lookout point, and soaking your feet.
The Matai Falls are rather better known, and have more water going over them.
We continued through the hills, and then back to the coast again at Papatowai. Here, you can see the boiling surf breaking on the bar just outside the lagoon.
The road climbs again, providing superb views over the whole area from Florence Hill Lookout.
The road turns slightly inland again, and soon provided another forest walk, this time to Lake Wilkie. The lake is small, and formed after the last ice age, when water was trapped between ancient sand dunes and a cliff.
It used to be much larger and is slowly filling in.
The road winds further inland, and an unmade track takes you to another forest walk and the McLean Falls. I am afraid I was all waterfalled out by then, so I won't post any more waterfall photographs, though I did take some. I don't want any few remaining readers to suffer death from waterfall boredom.
We decided to make directly for Invercargill and miss Curio Bay, as the interesting fossil trees that can be seen on the beach would have been covered by the rising tide. The road continued through some stunning countryside
I took this through the windscreen, which explains the odd spots at the sides. Eventually, the road descended again to the coast and became very flat, and we were in the outskirts of Invercargill.
We found somewhere to stay for the night, but Invercargill is very quiet. Perhaps this is because it is Sunday night.
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