After the Milford Sound cruise, Dunedin and my time working there were really on the forefront of my mind. But we still had the weekend to get there! One of the locations on my wishlist was another visit to the Catlins, however that was looking like a stretch from here. Flo and I decided to try it anyway.

We spent a bit more time at the Totara Campground this morning to give the kids some playtime before hitting the road for a long stretch. Lunch was had at the Sandfly cafe in Te Anau and then it also started to rain so we just drove on. A town, another town, heading further south, but not as far south as Invercargill… (our eternal nemesis, once again just skirted).

Quite late we stopped in the Catlins, at Papatowai. The road had been very pretty even in the rain and the beaches looked fantastic. We kitted ourselves with all our rain gear and hit the beach for a beachside walk. It lasted exactly for three waves. That third wave on the long flat expanse was just so incredibly high that we were all caught by surprise. It was thigh-high, water was running into our gum boots, our pants were wet…and we were laughing our butts off. With that, we drove on to a doc site to stay there for the night. The kids made friends with another set of German kids. This family had just emigrated to New Zealand from Germany and they were on the road to try and figure out where they wanted to settle. Good luck to the four of you! 🙂

The next morning, we took a “dry” beach-side walk at Papatowai. It was a lot of fun and absolutely amazing to be out there, pretty much alone. Afterwards, we let the four kids play together till almost lunch time.

For dinner, we had an invitation in Dunedin with our friends Celia and Tig and their family. Enough time to stop at Nugget Point, one of my favourite places. A lighthouse in the Catlins, usually with seals playing in the surf. We didn’t see as many seals as last time but I still enjoyed having shown the place to the kids.

Dunedin…just was a blast. Celia and Tig haven’t really changed. They are still some of the nicest people we know. Plus, the kids just hit it off. We entered their home and the kids were gone. For most of our time here, we don’t have pictures of the great hospitality and lovely company. We just enjoyed it.