Way Out In The Catlins (Apr. 2 - 6)

Several weeks ago we were cruising on the WWOOF website and saw a wwoofing opportunity at a hostel in the Catlins region of the South Island that touted a beachside location, free surfing lesson, and penguin conservation work. Intrigued, I sent an email inquiring about wwoofing there, but they replied that they were booked for wwoofers for the season. A week or two later, Becky was reading the posting again, and decided to send another wwoofing request, to which they replied that they might need some help in early April. Not sure what the moral of this story is, maybe that it’s usually better to have a girl send the email?

The ends of the earth, New Zealand-style

Anyway, we arranged to stay in early April and drove to the Catlins from Dunedin. Now when you’re in NZ, you often experience the feeling that you’ve gone a bit back in time to a slower, simpler, and somewhat isolated way of life, especially when you’re outside the major cities. That covers just about the whole of the South Island, with the exception of the Christchurch area.

Windblown trees at Slope Point

Having said that, driving into the Catlins brings that to a whole other level in NZ, as the whole area just feels remote, so remote as to necessitate italics. The Catlins bills itself as “Where the forest meets the sea”, which apparently only occurs hours from civilization. The area is a beautiful stretch of land, but feels far away from just about everything, even though the distances aren’t that great. It may be only a 3-4 hr drive to Dunedin, but it’s a long 3-4 hrs, winding and twisting your way along the coast and the mountains for a few hundred kms. Becky, in particular, didn’t enjoy that aspect of the drive.

Our wwoofing contact, Nick, manages the Curio Bay Dolphin Lodge and also owns another small hostel/holiday house a short ways up the road in Waikawa. Since he and his fiancée Tomo already had a wwoofer booked at the Dolphin Lodge, for the first several days he had us stay and work at the Waikawa Holiday Lodge. In return for a free room, we cleaned the place for a few hours each day, making beds and other bits and pieces.

More a New Zealand bach than a proper backpackers, Waikawa Holiday Lodge

When we first pulled into the Lodge, Becky was unimpressed, saying that if this was a place we had just come to stay for the night, we’d probably be turning around and going somewhere else. To be sure, it’s not an impressive structure from the outside, but the inside is much cozier, especially when the fire’s going in the fireplace. We came to realize that although it is technically a backpackers, it’s best to think of the place more as a rustic bach. Once Becky realized that the Lodge was every bit as nice as the lodgings her family stays in on the Outer Banks, with a substantially bigger shower and a fireplace to boot, she suddenly developed warmer feelings for the place.

Andrew enjoying the fire at the Waikawa Holiday Lodge

What to say about Waikawa… It’s definitely a relaxed and back-to-basics kind of town, with the only internet connection at a local man’s (Jim) house, which is available “anytime I’m at home.” While in the area, we took in the local points of interest, including Nugget Point, which has an awesome location for a lighthouse, and also has heaps of seals nearby. Slope Point, the southernmost spot on the South Island (sorry, Bluff!) is also nearby, so of course we had to stop there and get the requisite photos.

The lighthouse at Nugget Point is a real gem

We stayed and wwoofed in Waikawa for a few days until a family rented out the place for the long Easter weekend, and on the whole had a nice time with the place largely to ourselves. We did meet a nice Kiwi couple from the Wellington area that offered to put us up if we’re ever in their neck of the woods. Well, we almost definitely will be there sooner or later, so Brenda and Blair, see ya in a few months! We’re also hoping the depressive German girls who stayed for a few nights perk up soon, or they’ll be having a miserable rest of their trip.

Andrew leans into the wind at Slope Point