Catlins Part 2

After a two-night stay at Purakaunai Bay, it was time to move on.

Next up was continuing our exploration of the Catlins. 

We intended to start our day by stopping at Cathedral Cave. Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs. So we moved on to Curio Bay. 

This was a neat spot with fossilized trees and penguins. 

It was very windy, so we didn’t stay too long.

Then we moved on to Slope Point. This is really only notable as being the southernmost point of New Zealand. At the beginning of the 40 min., there and back, trail there was a memorial to all the people who had died by being swept out to sea… So, Lucy and Sammy clutched my hand at the beginning of the walk even though there was a huge grassy field separating us from the sea. But, if I thought Curio Bay was breezy, then it didn’t come close to the wind intensity of Slope Point. Even the grass was growing sideways. We took our photo with the sign and then trudged back to the car. Tom noted that its kind of crazy this southernmost point is about 5,000 km away from the equator and we were still about 5,000 miles away from the south pole -- wait. what?!

Next was Waipapa Lighthouse. I actually really liked it here. It was a sweet little bay and lighthouse. The ocean seemed more gentle. Sandy paths meandered through the tall sea grasses. There were sea lions, birds and very few people. It was, overall, more approachable for exploring. However, the rest of the family were tired of being tossed about by the strong wind gusts so we headed to our camping spot for the night.