The Catlins 2

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Again another early start for the sunrise.  

A cloudy sky greeted me before any hint of an orange sunrise but there was the possibility of a long exposure was worth trying to see what would happen .

A blue dawn. The picnic table and cabbage tree  
are lit by a nearby streetlight.

The blue dawn comes before the familiar red / orange colours. (This is because blue has a greater refractive index so this part of the spectrum appears before the red end.) There was very little colour at the red end this morning.

After an early breakfast we left by 0800hrs to be down at the Cathedral Caves so that we could gain access at low tide.

There is a steep descent down through some nice bush which takes about 30 minutes.

Lots of emerging mihas or korus as the fern fronds start to unfurl.

More interesting rock layers along the beach before we came to the cliffs where the caves were.

First entrance to the caves

Second entrance, only accessible a very low tide

The two caves meet about 100m into the cliff. A rockfall marks where they join. It was too dark to photograph.

Towards one of the entrances

After a steep climb back up the the carpark it was then off to the McLean Falls, this time in the rain.

The walk up to the McLean Falls is not too strenuous following the river.

Rain drops and spray on the lens at the McLean Falls.

This ended a long morning which stretched into around 2 pm before we got back for lunch. The next trip was out to Jacks Bay and on to the Devils Blowhole. Like the Cathedral Caves, the adjacent caves (inaccessible at sealevel) extended around 100 m into the land but where they meet the rocks above had collapsed.

A 55m drop down to sea level here.

 

With a relatively gentle swell surging in there was very little "blowing" happening. With a gale southerly whipping up big swells and high tide it would a be spectacle worth walking in to see.

Sunday 

Up again early today, in the hope of a good sunrise that Pounawea is renown for, I was not disappointed. 

Pounawea waterfront in the golden hour around sunrise.

All good things must come to an end! So it was time to pack up and clean up the lodge after breakfast before heading for home before stopping at Surat Bay.

Catlins Heads

Sea-lions are common on the beaches here.

Pounawea across the Catlins River

On a fine calm day Surat Bay would be great but as there was quite a stiff southerly blowing and there were no sea lions and few birds on the beach itself, the above three photos conclude our visit.

Hope you get inspired to go and spend time in the Catlins. We will be back!

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