Where two next?

Antipodean travelogue through the eyes of two - one textile and one building lover. It'll be hard to differentiate the two!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Southern Scenic Route (15) Catlins to Invergargil Day 6

We spent the night in Papatowai listening to the rain beat down while being rocked back and forth by gale force winds. The rain was so bad at times it woke us all up.

We travelled in May which is technically winter here, and if it didn't get dark early you would be forgiven for thinking that we had actually traveled during the summer, well maybe spring. We were more or less blessed with the weather and, if for no other reason but to ensure we appreciated it, mother nature decided to send us a stark reminder of what things could really be like in this part of the world!

We consulted the local map of the Catlins and decided to keep going as the weather was unfortunately not conducive to sight seeing. As we headed through the Catlins we kept coming across signs for various water falls. Not wanting to miss out on anything and risking eviction from the "small brother house" I suggested that we might stop for a short tramp if we came across one.

We eventually saw a sign for McLean Falls and drove down to the public car park. Where the ubiquitous signs stating "lock it or lose it" were there as stark reminders of one of the less appealing pass times of some Kiwi's, thieving! ( I assume Kiwi's but it could of course be fellow campers!).



We dressed up for bad weather. I resembled someone from a SWAT team- you'll see the picture later on- and we headed on the 30 minute tramp through part of the Catlin forest to the water fall. It was an unexpected treat and gave us an insight into the appeal of the Catlins, something we would have obviously missed had we drove on. Hurray to me!!!!!!

It was raining lightly during the tramp but you only got wet in the few clearings along the way. If anything the wet weather added to the atmosphere as we could appreciate the smells of the mosses and foliage that you associate with wet forest walks. Here's a few pics taken along the tramp.




In order to get to the water fall you have to cross the stream/ river associated with it. Here's a few pics of the river and the girls on the bridge.



The pic above is Annette being escorted by here SWAT personal body guard. AKA me.

There are two water falls that precede the main event and add to the suspense You have to climb a set of steps to reach the McLean fall itself. Here's a few pics of the smaller waterfalls.

And here's one of the sister's in front of the main one.

And one of the McLean waterfall by itself.

We continued from the falls directly to Invercargill and you will read more about the weather we experienced on the next post. We were literally blown away!

Cathal

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