Weekend trip to the Catlins

Weelll hi everyone! I think it's been awhile since I last updated this thing. Since I returned home from my Easter break trip I've just been busy with school. I think it's unfair that study abroad students have to write papers and study for tests...haha. Today is May 16th which means I only have 45 days left in this beautiful country. I cannot believe how time flies. My friends and I are already talking about all the things we are going to miss! But with the small amount of time left here I'm trying to fit in as much as possible. Just about every weekend from now till I come home I've planned a trip to go somewhere. I don't know when I'll be able to come back and visit so I want to make sure I don't miss anything.

So this past weekend I went to an area called The Catlins, which is located on the bottom East side of the South Island. My friends and I who went decided it was basically a theme park full of natural beauty and wonders. It was amazing! We lucked out with the weather since this area is known for high rain. We saw the sun everyday and loved every minute of it. Since this place is easier to describe through pictures, I'm going to take you on a picture tour through my weekend. My friend Carla did this on her blog and I think it might be more enjoyable for you all rather than reading a novel-like blog post. So here goes!

We left early Saturday morning and made it to our first stop called Nugget Point:

 A cool poem about Nugget Bay

 View from the walk up the hill

 I loved the blue skies!

 The nuggets and the lighthouse

 There they are!

 Suzanne and I with the nuggets, photo proof we were there!

After that first breathtaking stop we got back in the car and drove a little ways to our next stop, Surat Bay. We decided to find a nice sandy spot and eat lunch. Unfortunately it wasn't the right time in the day to see any sea lions but we still loved our beachside picnic:

 Our view for lunch

 No sea lions :(

After that we headed to Slope Point, which is the most southern point of New Zealand!

 One of the lookout points on our drive

 These are the famous wind blown trees at the point

 The sheep field we had to walk across, they're so cute!

The sign explains that this is the southern most point of the South Island, pretty neat I think

Next we headed to Curio and Porpoise Bay to see more beautiful ocean and a petrified forest:

 Here's the petrified forest. It's hard to see but there were actually logs in the ground from millions of years ago!

 Pretty cool to think there once was a Jurassic forest here

 Porpoise Bay where you can see dolphins in the summer

Next stop: Mclean Falls

 View of our walk to the falls

 A tree I liked

The Mclean Falls, so pretty!

That night we headed to our hostel and made some dinner. We crowded around a tiny TV and were entertained for a few hours. We don't have a TV in our flat back home so it was strange to finally watch one after a few months. Even the commercials were interesting! Haha.

The next morning we got up early and went to see the Purakaunui Falls:

 Amazing!

 Carla and I in front of the falls

A river that flowed through the forest

Next stop: Jack's Blowhole

 Another spectacular view from the hike to the blowhole

 Carla and I being artsy

 so much green!

 the sign warns about Jack's Blowhole: 55m deep and 114m long, 68m wide

 It's hard to tell, but it was basically a giant hole in the middle of nowhere, where the ocean comes through the bottom to create a blowhole. It was actually kind of scary standing around the hole..

Me walking back down the hill, such a great view!

After that we decided to head home to Dunedin. Since we had a car for the day we went to see Tunnel Beach which was a beautiful place right in Dunedin that we had never been able to get to because we had no car. It was amazing!

We walked all the way to the point on the left

That's it for now. There's more pictures on Facebook so check them out if you can! Bye! :)