The Catlins

The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions. It includes the South Island’s southernmost point, Slope Point.

The Catlins, a rugged, sparsely populated area, features a scenic coastal landscape and dense temperate rainforest, both of which harbour many endangered species of birds. Its exposed location leads to its frequently wild weather and heavy ocean swells, which are an attraction to big-wave surfers.

Geography

Purakaunui Falls, 17 km (11 mi) southwest of Owaka

The Catlins boasts a rugged, scenic coastline. Natural features include sandy beaches, blowholes, a petrified forest at Curio Bay, and the Cathedral Caves, which visitors can reach at low tide. Much of the coastline consists of high cliffs, with several faces over 150 m (500 ft) in height, and the land rises sharply from the coast at most points. For this reason, many of the area’s rivers cascade over waterfalls as they approach the ocean (notably the iconic Purakaunui Falls on the short Purakaunui River).

The South Island’s southernmost point, Slope Point, projects near the southwestern corner of the Catlins. To the west of this lies Waipapa Point, often considered the boundary of the Catlins region, beyond which lies the swampy land around the mouth of the Mataura River at the eastern end of Toetoes Bay. But various people place the western boundary of the Catlins region in various places, and some more stringent definitions exclude even Slope Point.

History

The first people known to live in the Catlins, Māori of the Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha, and Kāi Tahu iwi, merged via marriage and conquest into the iwi now known as Kāi Tahu. Archaeological evidence of human presence dates back to AD 1000. The area’s inhabitants were semi-nomadic, travelling from Stewart Island/Rakiura in the south and inland to Central Otago. They generally dwelt near river mouths for easy access to the best food resources. In legend, the Catlins forests further inland were inhabited by Maeroero (wild giants).

The Catlins offered one of the last places where the giant flightless bird, the moa, could be readily hunted, and the timber of the forest proved ideal for canoe construction (the name of the settlement Owaka means “Place of the canoe”). No formal Māori pa were located in the Catlins, but there were many hunting camps, notably at Papatowai, near the mouth of the Tahakopa River.

Wildlife

The Catlins coast often hosts New Zealand fur seals and Hooker’s sealions, and Southern elephant seals can occasionally be seen. Several species of penguin also nest along the coast, notably the rare Yellow-eyed Penguin (Hoiho), as do other seabirds including mollymawks and Australasian Gannets, and the estuaries of the rivers are home to herons, stilts, godwits and oystercatchers. Bitterns and the threatened Fernbird (Matata) can also occasionally be seen along the reedy riverbanks.

In the forests, endangered birds such as the yellowhead (mohua) and kakariki (New Zealand parakeet) occur, as do other birds such as the tui, fantail(piwakawaka), and kererū (New Zealand pigeon). One of New Zealand’s only two species of non-marine mammal, the long-tailed bat, lives in small numbers within the forests, and several species of lizard are also found locally, the most populous of which is the Common Gecko.

Many species of fish, shellfish, and crustaceans frequent both the local rivers and sea, notably crayfish and paua. Nugget Point in the northern Catlins hosts a particularly rich variety of marine wildlife. The proposed establishment of a marine reserve off the coast here has, however, proved controversial. Hector’s Dolphins can often be seen close to the Catlins coast, especially at Porpoise Bay near Waikawa.

Flora

The Catlins features dense temperate rainforest, dominated by podocarps (which cover some 600 km² or 230 sq mi of the Catlins). The forest is thick with trees such as Rimu, Totara, Silver Beech, Matai and Kahikatea. Of particular note are the virgin Rimu and Totara forest remaining in those areas which were too rugged or steep to have been milled by early settlers, and an extensive area of Silver Beech forest close to the Takahopa River. This is New Zealand’s most southerly expanse of Beech forest. Many native species of forest plant can be found in the undergrowth of the Catlins forest, including young Lancewoods, orchids such as the Spider Orchid and Perching Easter Orchid, and many different native ferns.

Settlers cleared much of the Catlins’ coastal vegetation for farmland, but in some areas the original coastal plant life survives, primarily around cliff edges and some of the bays close to the Tautuku Peninsula, these being furthest from the landward edges of the forest. Plant life here includes many native species adapted to the strong salt-laden winds found in this exposed region. The Catlins coastal daisy (Celmisia lindsayii) is unique to the region, and is related to New Zealand’s mountain daisies. Tussocks, hebes, and flaxes are common, as are native gentians, though sadly the endangered native sedgepingao can now rarely be found. In years when the Southern rātā flowers well, the coastal forest canopy turns bright red. The rātā also thrives in some inland areas.