Being able to stay awake until 10:00 p.m. was another first since we stepped foot on NZ’s “Mainland.” I was up at 5:00 a.m., checking email and getting ready for the day. After we had breakfast, we packed and checked out of the Mercure Leisure Lodge. We were on the road headed south a little after 9:30 a.m.

Friday was a bit colder than the previous three days, and a brisk wind made it feel even colder. We stopped for gas somewhere north of Milton, and continued through Balclutha onto the Southern Scenic Route. Taking Highway 1 would have been a faster route to Invercargill, but I had wanted to drive through the Catlins since I drove around the South Island in 2002. However, the road through the Catlins had unsealed stretches then, and I did not want to try it. Now that it is fully sealed, we decided to go for it.

The Catlins is a region in the southeastern corner of the South Island that is sparsely populated. You could say it’s well off the beaten track, and that’s one of its attractions. We should have done a little more homework before starting the drive, because we missed out on some of the attractions along the first stretch. We stopped a little before noon in the town of Owaka at a place called the Lumberjack Café so that we could formulate a plan of attack. While we read and enjoyed our hot drinks and muffins by the fire, the weather turned nasty outside:



Owaka, with a population of 400 or so, is the largest town in the Catlins, so we knew this would be the closest thing to a village we would encounter during our drive.

We read about Jacks Bay and the “blowhole,” which were just across the river from Owaka. We decided to head that way. The drive was a bit more twisty and turny than we expected. The road was unsealed almost all the way, and when the ice pellets started falling, we second-guessed our decision. But we pressed on. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Jacks Bay, the rain was pouring down and being driven by gale force winds. The blowhole was a 30-minute walk from the car park, too far in that kind of weather. I did manage to get a picture of Jacks Bay from the passenger’s seat:



We backtracked our drive, decided against driving to Parakanui Falls, and continued on the Southern Scenic Route to Papatowai. The drive was very hilly and twisty, and the temperature got as low as 2 degrees C, according to the thermometer in our Camry. That was not very reassuring for a couple of guys from Florida with rain and ice pellets falling.

We took it slow, and the rain slacked off a bit when we approached Papatowai. We stopped at a store for some fried food and took it to a parking area near the mouth of the Tahakopa River. There wasn’t a picnic area, but the view was nice:



We continued the drive, stopping soon to take a picture of Tahakopa Bay from a lookout point:



The rain stopped, and the temperature rose to a “warm” 8 degrees C. We were feeling so good about the improved conditions that we turned off the road for Porpoise Bay and Curio Bay. The road was sealed, which was good, and the weather held up, literally until the second that we pulled up to Porpoise Bay. Again, we were able to get some nice photos:



but ice pellets can hurt when they are being driven into you by gale force winds. We left and drove over to Curio Bay. The conditions were really deteriorating now, with the ice pellets falling heavily and the temperature plummeting to 3 degrees C. However, we had driven pretty far and were so close to the submerged petrified forest. Even if we could not get a close look, we would be able to get pictures from above. Once again, we had to put up with some major discomfort, but we got our photos:



Back in the car, we drove back toward the Southern Scenic Route. The temperature continued to hover just above freezing, and ice pellets fell intermittently. At one point, we were driving through slush, but we managed to make it through without any problem.

We drive through Fortrose, and by 4:00 p.m., we reached the Monarch Motel on Tay Street in Invercargill. Check in was quick, and we rushed to the Southland Museum to see Henry, the 120-something year old tuatara:



and to Esk Street to visit the world’s southernmost Starbucks:



After a stop at the Warehouse to get some gloves for Mr. FB, we stopped by Soprano's Pizzeria for dinner. We didn't think we'd have any trouble getting a table before 6:00 p.m. However, the young lady behind the counter told us that the place was completely booked up. That was hard to believe, considering that only one of about 20 tables was even occupied. Another lady behind the counter told the younger one that there were a few available tables, but the younger one prevailed. She told us we could place a takeaway order, and she waited until after we placed it to tell us it would take over 45 minutes to prepare. No pizza is that good, so we canceled the order and left. Maybe because the weather had been playing games with us all day, the dinner gods were as well. Whatever the reason, we chose the fast food option again. It has been the option of last resort for us too often, but at least it won’t be an option where we’re headed on Saturday.