Coasting the Catlins
Trip Start
Sep 10, 2008
1
43
71
Trip End
Sep 03, 2009
Invercargill,
South Island,
New Zealand
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
I'll be honest, I hadn't really been looking this leg of the journey. It had worked out cheaper for me to go the long way round, but it was going to take me the whole day to do a journey I could have done in half the time. We were dropped off at Invercargill by our first bus. I would have stayed if I had the time, but that was something I was beginning to run short on. And so we waited, with many others it seemed, for our next bus. There was a pile of bags lining the entrance to the tourist information point, as people quickly dived in to use the toilet and grab a bite to eat before there onward journey.
I didn't have to wait for too long for the Catlins Coaster bus to arrive. The group on our bus were very lucky, we had an excellent driver, who gave us useful information, but never got boring. Unfortunately the weather wasn't being so kind to us. As we pulled up to our first stop on the beach to look for penguins and seals, the rain poured down and the wind rattled our vehicle. We waited, slightly bemused. There was no way I was going to get out of the bus in this weather! Our guide seemed a little more optimistic.
Cold and wet on the Catlins!
Slowly, the rain slowed and the group decided to run for it. I still wasn't overly enthused, but I wasn't going to stay behind in the van and let everyone else have the fun! So we made our way round to the lighthouse. The rain started to come down again, and we started to walk faster and faster, until we were all running back to the van laughing.Soon it was time for lunch, and we stopped at a café, seemingly in the middle of no where for some pies and hot chocolate. It always amazes me how these places stay in business!
We took many stops that day, following the same pattern, waiting for the rain to stop. It didn't always work; we ended up running through a forrest trying to find a sheltered bit on our way to some waterfalls. We also stopped at a bus, which had been converted into an art gallery. It was called the lost gypsy gallery, and was like a playground for adults, with buttons to press, trains running round the outside, buzzers, handles making all sorts of crazy gadgets come to life. I loved it! Rumour has it that the artist was touring New Zealand. Apparently his bus broke down, so he decided to leave it where it was and turn it into a gallery. He has since built 3 houses in the surrounding area. As you do!
We made a couple of last stops on the way back. Enough for us to take a photo of the all important "sheep sign" and walk along a cliff to see some rocks sticking out of the ocean. In the rain. Looking back we saw a huge rainbow straddling the cliff. It was a perfect day; I think the mood swing weather made it!
