- Chapter 09

Christmas was rather quiet for us. After a brief stay in Akaroa, the journey continued south. One of our first stops was Katiki Point.

This place is known for seals with babies, but also penguins. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the penguins here. Nevertheless, this visit turned out to be a nice walk.

From there, we decided to drive to Palmerston. We could already see our destination from afar, which we wanted to climb. It was the Sir John McKenzie Monument. We set off, always keeping our eyes on the goal, but it just wouldn't get closer.
After numerous twists and turns, going up the steep hill, we finally reached the top. We had an amazing 360° view. After enjoying it enough, we walked back down and were glad to have arrived safely at the bottom.

On this day, we decided to drive to Dunedin, where the next day we visited the steepest street in the world. When we arrived, we were amazed at how steep it really is. It is said to have a gradient of 35 percent, and we didn't expect it to be such a tourist attraction. Of course, we took some photos before getting back in our car and moving on.

We visited Nugget Point Lighthouse, which is reached by a wide gravel path. You have a nice view of the sea and the rocks that emerge from it.

This was followed by a visit to several waterfalls and particularly scenic lookouts. Since the weather didn't play along as we imagined, we equipped ourselves with rain jackets and set off.

The first stop of the day was Jacks Blowhole. You can imagine a deep hole in a rock, similar to a small gorge, in which the water enters during high tide and shoots up the walls. From there, we continued to the Purakaunui Falls. A short 10-minute walk led through a rainforest-like landscape to the tiered waterfalls.

The subsequent Matai and Horseshoe Falls, on the other hand, were rather less spectacular, so we only made a short visit there.
The next attraction was only a few minutes' drive away. It was an old, decorated bus. It is called "The lost gypsy Caravan" and is an absolute paradise for children and those who enjoy trying things out and playing with everything possible. There are plenty of buttons and cranks to press and turn. You watch with anticipation to see what happens.

As the last stop of the day, we chose McLean Falls. After a short ascent, you can see the waterfall that extends over several levels. If you do it right and are careful, you can even climb to a higher plateau and take breathtaking photos.

However, the highlight of our visit to the Catlins was seeing two yellow-eyed penguins. Since they only come ashore at dusk, we decided to stay overnight. At around 9 pm, we set off and were lucky. A pair of penguins came ashore and we had plenty of time to admire them and of course take photos.