Southern Scenic Route, Dunedin & Otago Peninsula

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The Southern Scenic route was the first such road to be completed on the South Island and runs from Te Anau south to the sea and along the coastline until nearly Dunedin on the East coast. It covers a range of scenic gems and includes many reserves and parklands, all of which help maintain and in some cases restore natural areas.

Technically, we were already on the scenic route after we had left town the previous day, but on waking up it felt more like we had entered a new phase of our trip than before. We took a stroll to the nearby viewpoint overlooking the lake (not much of a view!) before packing up and retracing our 'steps' along the very long gravel track which led to the main road. As a brief detour, we visited a small nature reserve which provided a short walk through some woodland and gave useful (if not a little basic) information as to the flora and fauna of the area.

On the road again (thankfully - the suspension really is crap) we filled our water bottles at a tiny community centre - with school and pool attached - in the middle of nowhere, then we made our way to Clifden where we had read about some caves that could be explored. On approach it was hard to see an entrance, and on closer inspection it was easy to see why: an opening partially sunk into the ground and only about 2 metres in diameter, leading into the sheer hill face. I really was not comfortable going in, but I tried as Warren wanted to see what it was all about. The map outside showed a couple of other entrances/exits but also that some 'caves' were muddy after rainfall (it had been raining quite a bit recently). As we edged our way inside it was clear this was not a normal cave but more for 'caving' enthusiasts who like tight squeezes and a challenge. Just as I was giving in - my resolve can only take me so far crawling in the dark - a couple of Canadian lads joined us. One of the pair was of my frame of mind while his friend wanted to explore further, so Warren continued with him while I returned to the light with the other.

After what seemed like ages (actually about 30 minutes) and much idle chat with the Canadian guy, Warren emerged about 300m further down the road looking thrilled to be out and not a little muddy. He even had a small tear in his trousers! He admitted that he had enjoyed the experience, but that it had seemed longer than the promised distance, what with some precarious tunnels and water avoidance tactics: quite tiring overall. We bid farewell to the lads and drove for 5 more minutes to the old suspension bridge, once famed as being the longest in NZ. Sadly, this title had long since been given to another bridge and this one looked in a very poor state, obviously now being closed off due to fear of death.

The road south from here was pretty uninspiring and it was not until we almost had met the sea when the hills appeared on our right and the coastline loomed ahead that I would call the route 'Scenic'. Colac Bay (central hub for surfers) held our attention briefly as we passed through. They had painted a bus shelter to look like a bus and, depending on which side you viewed it from, filled with characters from The Simpsons and South Park - very artistic and amusing! Riverton, another town along the coast, boasts fabulous rocks which on our investigations were either very well hidden or non-existent. Regardless, we abandoned the search, opting to crack on to Invercargill.

Invercargill, a sprawling, industrious place, is the southernmost city on the south island (not counting the town of Bluff about 20km further south) and had Scottish roots that are evident in many of the road names. When we arrived it was grey and drizzling - not conducive to the best first impression - but we tried our best to ignore the negative weather and headed for the i-site which was fortuitously attached to the museum/art gallery. The latter was a bit random and none too engaging, but the highlight was definitely the Tuatata - small lizards that are endangered and being bred in the small institution. The babies were tiny, all spiky and alert - cute!

Venturing back into the rain, we scanned the guidebook for something else indoors to occupy our time but nothing appealed, so it was back in the van an onwards to Bluff. As mentioned, Bluff holds fame as the southernmost point on mainland NZ, but the title of actual southern point goes to Stewart Island - reached by ferry from Bluff. As our funds did not stretch to this journey (mainly a nature reserve anyway) we settled for the next best thing. With the weather being as wet here as Invercargill, we saw most of the sights from the warmth and dryness of the van: most were old buildings whose former use has been abandoned or monuments.

We drove up a very steep road to a lookout (ha!) point from which we are told on a clear day you can see Stewart Island. Hmmm...... It was nice sitting on 'top of the world' here though for a while, indulging in hot beverages while the van rocked slightly in the wind. After debating whether to camp here for the night (ignoring the signs to the contrary) we decided that somewhere less windswept and more legit would be better. Our last stop on the small peninsular was 'Sterling Point' where we took the obligatory photo next to the multi-arrowed sign (we actually got out of the van! Brrrr!) before driving back to Invercargill to buy supplies for the next few days. Once we had found ice (none of the supermarkets had it - had to stop at a garage!) we bought some fish and chips from a recommended shop to have for our dinner.

The plan was to drive along a little way from town and find a spot on/near the coast to have dinner and camp. However, this was more difficult to execute than anticipated due to darkness falling and street lights being absent outside of towns, making spotting good side roads challenging. The fish and chips on my lap were gradually losing their heat and we were still no closer to seeing anywhere so we gave in and stopped at an information point lay-by to have dinner, deciding to move on after to find a place for the night.

Just as we had finished eating and were about to climb back in the front of the van a car pulled up near us. Now, we could not tell if it was a police car or not, so we were both a little nervous (although at least this time we were not actually camping in a suspect area). This tension increased as a man got out and started waking toward us, with Warren telling me to jump in the van while he came round and did the same. The guy started to talk to Warren, saying he could not camp here but that there was a place in the next town where it was fine to (not a policeman, just a helpful local - but still - scary!).

Not waiting to chat longer (like our friend from the wood on the North Island, he may have been a hunter) we carried along the road in the direction he suggested to the town of Fortrose - our route anyway - and soon found the turn-off. The campsite was a partially grassed car park with toilet block that, although said no tents, said nothing about campervans. We took courage also from the fact that another full-blown campervan had already parked up, as well as it being pitch black already. Therefore, after a rather stressful search, we found a nice spot and settled for the night.

The next morning we had a quick breakfast and set off along the breezy coastline. The weather was foul with high winds and constant rain, with the radio reporting floods for the region where we were heading. Our first stop was at a shipwreck just outside of Fortrose that was visible at low tide and while not being particularly spectacular, was worth the 5 minute detour. Our next stop was a place called Slope Point which marks the true most southern point of the south island which is sometimes mistaken as being at Bluff. The 20 minute walk started at the end of a windy road across a farmers field and we headed down to the cliffs, trying not to be blown off by the ferocious winds. There is nothing really at Slope Point: no Lands End style sign pointing to cities all over the world - which was a relief as these seen to crop up quite regularly in NZ.

Further along the road we paused at Cunol/Porpoise Bay to see if there was any wildlife to be seen and unfortunately there was none. There was a short walk to some petrified trees just 5 minutes from the car park and we decided to give it a go, but the head wind was so strong that you couldn't breathe while walking into it! Needless to say, we gave in without hitting the beach to see the 'trres' up close.

Heading slightly inland, we sought protection from the stormy coastline in a little valley and did a half hour walk to a waterfall, donning our wet weather gear including our new waterproof trousers that we bought at The Warehouse (which weren't waterproof at all! Dammed ripoff merchants, I should've known better after buying batteries from them), we heading off into the rain. The falls were worth the walk being particularly active just to the huge amounts of rain that had been falling in the region. We journeyed along the coast further to a cliff top viewpoint where we had lunch while looking down from the sheer cliffs as the gusts of wind rocked the van precariously- in retrospect maybe I shouldn't have parked so close to the edge!

There are no major towns along this route, although one small place - Owaka - had a little information centre which we stopped at and enquired about our chances of spotting wild penguins at Nugget Point further up the road. Breaking the tradition of our usual bad luck for going to see things at the wrong time of year, we were told that our chances were better than average as the penguins are particularly active and sociable this time of year having finished their breeding cycle and that they usually returned to their nest from finishing a couple of hours before dusk (3-4pm).

Arriving there a little early, we started off with a walk to the headland at Nugget Point where a lighthouse sat atop a set of sheer cliffs 100m above the sea. It was a spectacular view with the waves crashing onto high sea cliffs, looking down at the huge kelp forests being battered around by the sea and the pinnacles that stretched out from the headland that had once been attached to the main land before being eroded over time.

Having done this, it was penguin time so we stumbled down to a little hide a few hundred metres away from the carpark and were amazed to spot a penguin standing on the rocks, with his wings out enjoying the fine weather. We saw a couple more standing around and decided to stay and watch for a while. We were rewarded by the sight of two penguins swimming into shore, the waves washing them up on the beach before they lifted them selves up and scampered along, with adorable little jumps to propel themselves from one rock to another before joining their comrades near the nest. The particular breed was yellow eyed penguins which are apparently the biggest and also the rarest in NZ as they are antisocial creatures and don't welcome attention from humans. We stayed and watched for nearly an hour and probably could've watched for longer had it not been so cold, but instead headed off to find a camping spot at a viewpoint next to the sea for the night.

Up bright and early the next morning, we now turned north towards Dunedin and although the southern scenic route stretches all the way there, we'd seen all the attractions. There really wasn't a lot between there and Dunedin except torrential rain, flooded fields and burst riverbanks. Dunedin is supposed to resemble a Scottish city and if the weather is anything to go by, I could see why. We stopped at the i-site briefly to ask where we could find free parking and internet access which turned out to be free at the local library, hurray!

Parking up and exploring the city, we headed first to the city art gallery which was a bit contemporary for us although did have some good photographs of underground buildings from around the world such as the underground town at Coober Peady and various defence complexes in mid-west USA. We then wandered around and looked at some of the older and nicer buildings in the city including the ornate train station before deciding that it was just far too wet & miserable to wander around so we'd be best going somewhere a bit earlier to hold up for the night.

We headed to the Otago Peninsula- a rugged and hilly peninsula stretching out from Dunedin and splashed out on a powered campsite for the night. This of course meant hot showers, power for the electric heater to dry out the damp van and cooking in a proper on-site kitchen. It was also handy for making ice to replenish the store in the coolbox as the kitchen had a big freezer. We held up there for the remainder of the afternoon enjoyed the unfamiliar experience of having warm surroundings.

In the morning we lingered on the site for a while, enjoying the facilities before heading up to the northern tip of the peninsula to see the fur seal and the albatross colony. The fur seal colony was fenced off from the public to protect them from the huge bull seals that luge around on the rocks. At first we didn't see them as they simply looked like rocks themselves but Stacey must have scared them as a few of them looked up, saw us and scampered along and into the sea. The albatross colony had a good visitor centre but you couldn't actually go onto the colony without paying for an expensive guided tour.

The main road onto the peninsula runs up the west side which we'd been travelling up the previous day so we decided to head back down the eastern side which is more rugged and less explored by tourists. We had a quick walk to a beautiful beach but the wind was still terrible so didn't stay out for long. Having been chilled to the bone doing this, we stayed in the van for the rest of our tour stopping at viewpoints to see the fantastic scenery.

Heading back into Dunedin, we stopped again at the library for the free internet - a fantastic resource that we hadn't realised was available in most libraries - and stocked up on supplies before continuing north again towards Port Chalmers. It was late in the day by this point so we kept driving north along a narrow road that ran between the cliffs and the sea to the tiny town of Ahimoana with the intention of finding a camp spot for the night. There were some beautiful beaches there and a supposed nest of little blue penguins (although the weather was far too foul to go out in search of them). We parked at the end of the lonesome road near a huge pier with a great view back over the bay to the Otago Peninsula where we'd just been, although the spot was unfortunately very exposed to the elements. That night I slept well as the campervan rocked from side to side in a fashion not dissimilar to a sleeper birth on an Indian train, but poor Stacey had a terrible night for the fear that the van might be blown over and into the sea. Good thing she let's me drive now so that she did not have to worry about concentrating on the road the next day!

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