Day 22: Places to see in Los Catlins: Waipapa Point, Slope Point and Curio Bay - Whistling Frogg Café
A tour of the places to see in Los Catlins It is the route we have scheduled for today, after having spent the last two days in the Fiorland area, making a cruise through Milford Sound and a tour of all the places to see in Milford Sound, which we have to confess, they have put the Very high bar on this trip to New Zealand in 36 days.
Knowing that we have won an extra day to the trip, after yesterday deciding that we were canceling the Doubtful Sound Cruise, due to good weather forecasts, when this place is better to see it with rain, today we take the most relaxed day and decide to do the route through the places to visit in Los Catlins in a quieter way, dividing the route into two parts.
So today it is time to get up a little later at 7 in the morning, have breakfast in our motorhome Jucy and after a walk on the lake of Te Anau, which we have next to the Te Anau Lakeview Holiday, our accommodation in Te Anau is night, when it's 9 o'clock in the morning take the route through the places to see in Los Catlins.
Anau te
Remember that if you are interested in making a route through New Zealand by motorhome, we recommend you look at the Motorhome Republic page where you can see all the available motorhome options, prices and make the reservation directly.
Do not forget that if you want to do this same tour of Los Catlins and parts from Te Anau, you must travel 220 kilometers to Waipapa Point, the first point to visit, which is about 3 hours away. In case you want to visit Invercargill, which is technically the place where you should Start the route, you will have to deviate a little in the last section.
More practical information to prepare your trip to New Zealand
- 10 essential tips for traveling to New Zealand
- 10 essential places to see in New Zealand
- The best travel insurance for New Zealand
The catlins
This region of New Zealand is a great unknown, despite being one of the most scenic in the country and one of the routes that could be perfectly included in the list of places to see in New Zealand.
With landscapes in which the rolling hills abound, which in some way remind us of those we saw when we went to visit Hobbiton on the North Island, the most ideal route is the one that goes from Invercargill to Dunedin, crossing the SH92, which is the Road that goes along the coast and has better views.
Landscapes of Los Catlins
As you go into the route through the places to see in Los Catlins, you will discover the richness of the region where farmland, impressive forests and lonely beaches abound where if the weather is good, you can take the opportunity to refresh yourself and enjoy an unforgettable day.
In addition to the landscapes, wildlife is abundant in Los Catlins and you can see, if you are lucky, seals and sea lions as well as southern right whales in spring.
Waipapa Point, one of the places to see in Los Catlins
After the year 1881 the SS Taranua was wrecked in these waters, with the life of 130 people, in 1884 the Waipapa Point Lighthouse was built at this point. Like the rest of the headlights that we have been visiting throughout the trip, to get to this one you must also leave the car in the free parking lot. From there you can take two trails, 10-15 minutes, one inside and one outside. In our experience, we recommend going abroad on the way out, if you are lucky, you can see, sea lions on the beach!
Waipapa Point
Sea lion at Waipapa Point
On the way back, we recommend you do it inside, an area with more vegetation where you can see some trees that have grown in incredible ways due to the strong winds that plague this area of the coast.
Trees in Waipapa Point
It is 1 noon when we have just visited Waipapa Point and taking advantage of the incredible place and the breathtaking views, we decided that it is the perfect place to eat and rest for a while, coffee in hand, for when it is 2 in the afternoon, make way to the next point of our route through the places to see in Los Catlins which will take us to Slope Point 22 kilometers and half an hour away.
Slope Point
Known for being the southernmost point of the South Island of New Zealand, Slope Point is another of the sites to visit in Los Catlins. After leaving your vehicle in the parking lot enabled for them, you must travel a path of about 20-30 minutes, which runs through private lands, until you reach a cartel where it is indicated that this is the southernmost point of the island . From here you can also enjoy unique landscapes, in which the windy days, you can see how the waves collide in an incredible way against the rocks.
Keep in mind that this path remains closed between September and October, months in which the lambs are born.
Slope Point
After this visit, which does not take us more than half an hour, we return to the road heading for Curio Bay 15 kilometers away, which is the last visit we have scheduled for today's route through the places to see in Los Catlins.
Slope Point, one of the places to see in Los Catlins
Curio Bay, another place to visit in Los Catlins
This incredible petrified forest is another place on the route through Los Catlins that we recommend you not to miss, although it is important to come 4 hours before or after low tide to see it in its entirety.
Also in Curio Bay you can see, if you are very lucky, yellow-eyed penguins along the petrified forest of millions of years or through the path you will have to cross until you reach the viewpoints.
Above all, follow the rules and respect the place, since these animals are in danger of extinction.
Curio Bay
Porpoise Bay
A few meters from Curio Bay is this bay famous for being a perfect place to see Hector penguins and dolphins. We recommend you to take this visit with tranquility and whenever you can, take binoculars since in many occasions these incredible animals can be seen, but quite a distance.
Porpoise Bay
If you don't mind not having an internet connection, there is no coverage in this area, and you want to stay in a spectacular place, do not hesitate to do so at the campsite in Porpoise. It has really spectacular views, of the best we have seen in New Zealand and the prices are very tight, although the facilities are also quite limited.
Porpoise Bay
And from here when it's 4:30 in the afternoon we end our route today through The Catlins Running along the 30 kilometers that separate us from Whistling Frogg Café, our accommodation in Los Catlins, just 2 kilometers from Cathedral Cave, which will be the first visit we make tomorrow, continuing our route through the places to know in Los Catlins.
We leave you the route we have followed today by the places to visit in Los Catlins and it has taken us to visit Waipapa Point, Slope Point and Curio Bay to stay at the last minute of the day at Whistling Frogg Café a few kilometers from Cathedral Cave.
Day 23: Places to see in Southland in New Zealand: Cathedral Caves, Purakaunui Falls, Nugget Point, Moeraki Boulders
