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Talk a Walk Along the Catlins Coastal Heritage Trails.

November 1st, 2008

If walking is your favorite pastime there is a place in New Zealand that is fantastic. We were looking up hotels in New Zealand and ran across information on this trail. It is the Catlins Coastal Heritage Trail, a series of walks and places of interest joined by short drives.

The Catlins Coastal Heritage Trail runs along the Southern Scenic Route between Dunedin and Te Anau. It will take a minimum of five hours to complete all of the walks and see all of the interesting places. Following the trail from north to south, your starting point will be Niagara Falls. This waterfall is not nearly as large as the one in the U.S. Other sites of interest are a concrete horse trough, used by early horse teams, a local museum, and the former St. Mary’s Angilican Church. You will find the rare Hector’s dolphin at Porpoise Bay. Curio Bay houses a world-renowned fossil forest. At the most southern point of South Island is Slope Point, you return to the main road. Here you will find the burial site of those lost when the SS Tararua ran aground on April 24, 1881. Finally, there is Fortrose where you will see a blacksmith’s shop and the oldest European cemetery.

Entry Filed under: Travel