Sleeping In A Van On Porpoise (Bay) (Apr. 6 - 11)

After leaving Waikawa, we headed just down the road to Dolphin Lodge on Porpoise Bay to continue wwoofing for Nick there. With a mostly full house of backpackers, our accommodations weren’t quite as deluxe as our double room in Waikawa, as we were living in a van, down by the river mailbox! Though the weather has been cool in this area the past week, with 4 or 5 duvets we hardly noticed the chill in the van. To tell the truth, in some ways the van was a bit better than the dorms, as the van provided a reprieve from the snoring, creaking beds, and other assorted unpleasant noises (not to mention odors) that accompany dorm life. (Postscript: our last night in the van, however, was not good times, as Becky’s side of the van leaked and I couldn’t sleep as I had come down with a wicked cold – we decided to leave that morning.)

Becky is blown away by our sleeping accomodations

Wwoofing continued to be cruisey at Dolphin Lodge, with an hour or two of sweeping, mopping, and cleaning to do each day. To be honest, we wouldn’t have necessarily minded a bit more work most days, as there’s only so much to do in the area, especially when the weather is chilly and windy, as it often is. The Southland (region where the Catlins are located) plasters “Southland - Spirit of a Nation” on its signs, whatever that means, although “Southland – Gusty and Mostly Cloudy” would be more apt. This is one windswept little area, and when we’ve seen sun this week, we’ve learned to appreciate it, as it’s parceled out mighty stingily here at the bottom of NZ. Not that a little grey weather will stop you from surfing…

Purakaunui Falls in the Catlins

Far from it actually, as Nick says the worst weather often makes for the best surf. In that spirit, we took surfing lessons from Nick one day in what was probably about 55ºF temperatures. With full wetsuits, you hardly notice the cold though, so being in the ocean for a few hours isn’t bad at all. I really enjoyed the surfing, and we both got up on our boards the first day, catching some waves. I could see how people get a kick out of surfing in all types of weather, as it’s good fun to be the only guy out in the ocean on a freezing day, riding waves and enjoying the surf. Becky feels like it’s a pastime she should get behind, as it would finally justify her vocabulary (“I was like, dude, these waves were so sweet”).

Andrew posing with his extreme foam board

Perhaps the best part of surfing was that several Hector’s dolphins joined us while we took our lesson, swimming just meters from us, and playing around by riding the waves themselves! Porpoise Bay is said to be one of the only beach areas that Hectors come to without being fed by humans, so they’re like locals themselves. It certainly made us glad that we hadn’t paid to swim with dolphins earlier in Kaikoura, Akaroa, etc.

Catching a wave in Porpoise Bay

With little other to do in the area, we went to see the other typical NZ outdoor sights in the area: picturesque caves, beaches, and waterfalls. The Catlins has its own Cathedral Cave, although we’d have to say it’s inferior to the one in the Coromandel, especially since they charge admission here. Tip: don’t go on Easter Sunday as heaps of other people seem to have the same idea, making for a crowded hike. Parakaunui Falls and McLean Falls were worthwhile, however, and we enjoyed the short hikes to get there.

They have sheep in the Catlins!

So what else is there to do in Porpoise Bay? Answer: not much, and there’s a lot of it. To be sure, the Catlins is remote and languid, which I can get behind, in moderation. After a few days of hanging out at Porpoise Bay, though, we went a bit stir crazy. There are only so many penguins you can stake out, dolphins you can spy, and cups of tea you can drink before you bug out from the caffeine and need something else to do. Unfortunately, there isn’t that something more anywhere nearby.

They have blue skies in the Catlins, too! (on occasion)

I could see recommending 2-3 days in the area to see the sights and wildlife and to relax, but more than that takes either a heap of reading material or a staggering dedication to inactivity that we were unable to maintain. We didn’t think of ourselves as “high-energy people”, but after spending a week in the Catlins, I think we established what our minimum threshold of stimulation is. As you might have guessed, Porpoise Bay wasn’t exactly surpassing it.

Despite a bit of ennui and the bad cold I caught there, I think we’ll look back on our time in the Catlins pretty favorably. As the guidebooks will tell you, it’s certainly beautiful and unspoiled, and when the weather is good, the natural beauty really comes through. I’m glad we came here and took surfing lessons, and I’m looking forward to surfing some more when we drive north through the country in the spring. As for the cold, there’s more than a few probable culprits: surfing in really cold weather, cleaning rooms in a hostel, sleeping in a van for a week, just being exposed to heaps of germs in a hostel, who knows…

The sun sets over another lazy day in the Catlins

After wwoofing at several places now, I think we can safely say that the best stays are ones where you’re able to develop a strong rapport and hang out with the hosts. Although Nick and Tomo were certainly nice and friendly people, that didn’t happen for this visit, so we ended up trying to entertain ourselves, which was hit-or-miss. Also, coming from our last wwoofing experience where we were really active most of the time and got on so well with our hosts, this location couldn’t help but end up feeling a little anticlimactic. If we were really into surfing, this would be a tremendous spot, as we’d only have to do a few hours of work a day, then be free to surf and hang out the rest of the time, but oh well, it was pretty good. Next we head on toward the bright lights of big city Invercargill...

Nick and Tomo at the Dolphin Lodge