New Zealand – Curio Bay and the Catlins

Days 9 & 10, Manapouri to Curio Bay, 90 kms. Curio Bay is on the southern tip of the island in an area called the Catlins. The Catlins are known for their rugged coastline, extreme weather and wildlife. Our drive down the coast took us through the city of Invercargill, a pretty seaside city home to a robust fishing industry. Invercargill is where we would catch a ferry to Stewart Island, the only piece of land between New Zealand and Antarctica. On Stewart Island 85% of the land is Rakiura National Park. Plenty of pengies and seabirds live here as well as albatrosses. Unfortunately we knew Rakiura would have to wait until our next visit.

The day in Ivercargill was warm and sunny so we headed to Queen’s Park, a 200 acre public park and Botanical gardens. The orchid collection and tropicals house were stunning. Outside, trees and shrubs were in bloom and the air was rich and fragrant. It was nice to walk in the sun as we were warned Curio Bay can be windy and cold. Before leaving Invercargill we headed to E. Hayes & Sons, the coolest hardware store on the planet. This unique store has on display many antique motorcycles and motorized bicycles. This is the home of Burt Monro’s World’s Fastest Indian motorcycle. Burt used to race up and down the deserted beaches of Invercargill testing mechanical tweaks in hopes of earning New Zealand’s motorcycle speed record. He accomplished this in 1940 with a speed of 120.8 mph. This store is a must stop even if you are not a motorcycle nut.

Our last stop in Invercargill was a fish market where we watched the cook dredge a seriously fresh piece of cod in flour and herbs before deep frying it. She wrapped our lunch in butcher paper and handed the hot bundle over the counter. BEST FISH & CHIPS EVER! We also bought a piece of fresh salmon for dinner. Freshwater reared salmon is big business in New Zealand and is readily available in any market, not just fish markets. The first salmon farm we saw was in a hydroelectric canal near Mt. Cook. We later learned that the large amount of cold water coming out of lakes and reservoirs makes the freshwater reared salmon industry viable and sustainable. NZ is a large producer of food for their own people and for other countries as well. Japan is a big consumer of the freshwater reared salmon because the farms use no antibiotics or vaccines as the fish stock is, so far, clean and disease-free.

Driving into Curio Bay reminded me of the southern coast of Ireland around the area of Dingle. This is wild land with farms spread far from each other divided by wind scoured hedge rows of evergreens relentlessly bent against the prevailing and relentless wind. The holiday park is on a bluff between the exposed ocean cliffs and a protected sandy beach in a cove called Porpoise Bay. Thankfully the campsites were protected from the wind and sat between giant stands of nine feet tall flax. It was rainy when we arrived so we made a cup of tea and relaxed until 6 p.m., the time recommended by our guidebook as the best penguin viewing. There were not many other campers. The registration office was closed so we deposited our camping fee in the honor box. The amenities were rustic indeed! A clean kitchen with hot running water is available as are cold open air restrooms.

It is worth noting that we used two NZ guidebooks for this trip. Frommer’s helped us choose a nice post- earthquake hotel in Christchurch and guided us to their lovely botanical gardens as well. But for true off the beaten path adventures we used Scott Cook’s New Zealand Frenzy. We always tried to do a Frenzy recommendation if we were near an area he describes. [Bass: I’ll second this… if you like to get out at all, do not visit New Zealand without Frenzy!] Curio was on his must do list and it is on ours too.

In the van we dressed in layers like we were going skiing in Washington (i.e.: in the rain). We grabbed cameras and binocs and headed out. We only saw one other couple walking in our direction. Granted it was snotty….cold wind blowing the rain sideways. But there were small patches of blue sky above so we hoped it would clear for picture taking. This part of the coast is where yellow eyed penguins feed and nest. They come out of the crashing ocean waves from a day of feeding and then awkwardly hop over the rocks up to their nests on the vegetated cliffs. After thirty minutes of sitting under a bush in hopes of not getting completely soaked, we saw our first YEP. And as we looked around we noticed a very shiny, dark brown rock below us…….but then it started to move and roll over. It was a very large, very sleepy fur seal. For two hours we watched for more penguins and seals. The sun did come out as Bass shot more Nat Geo quality pics and vids.

This night in the van was extremely cold. We had rented a space heater knowing some of our campsites would be chilly. But the heater did not work so we broke out the extra doona (Kiwi for duvet) and slept in our clothes and ski hats. Our van came with two doonas as they bill our model as sleeping four. I cannot imagine four people in this van especially since the “loft” was miniscule, perhaps sleeping two 5 year olds. But we were sure happy for the two doonas and our down sleeping bags!

The next day was blue bird. We took our coffee and walked on the beach of Porpoise Bay where surfers were enjoying a brisk early morning surf. We saw another giant fur seal lounging in the sand occasionally flipping cooler sand up on to his body. We searched the shallow beach break for the famous pod of Hector’s Dolphins known to live here. Unfortunately we did not see any Hector’s but we will when we return to Curio to rent a beach cottage and spend a week watching YEPS, seals and dolphins. And since Lisa and Lawton are body surfers we will have them down in return for their lovely hospitality in Manapouri!